Eagle QBs Riddle Vikings In Valley’s Opening Loss
August 22, 2020 at 4:36 a.m.
Eagle QBs Riddle Vikings In Valley’s Opening Loss
By Anthony Anderson-
Culver Academy appears as if it will be able to dispute the adage in 2020, and Tippecanoe Valley wound up in no position Friday night to argue otherwise about the Eagles.
With junior Jimmy Pisani and sophomore Cooper Farrall splitting QB duties, Culver blanked the Vikings 16-0 in each team’s season opener at Smith-Bibler Memorial Field.
Both big and sturdy quarterbacks riddled Valley with their running abilities, and Pisani fired a 42-yard, second-quarter touchdown bomb to Jaxon Mull for the night’s first score.
Pisani and Farrall even hooked up with each other on the ensuing two-point conversion, the 6-foot-3, 201-pound Pisani finding the 6-5, 208-pound Farrell on a fade pass into the right corner.
Pisani closed the night at 103 yards on 12 keepers, with his 29-yard TD scramble at 2:17 to go in the game effectively clinching the outcome and his two-point run capping the scoring.
Farrall added 57 yards on 11 carries.
The Vikings nevertheless stayed in contention all evening, thanks in part to their opportunistic defense ringing up three takeaways.
Hunter Eherenman’s goal-line interception of a Pisani pass at 5:32 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Valley its final shot at knotting the game.
The Viking offense, starting at its own 10, went three-and-out over the next 1:07, though, with those plays accounting for the only time the hosts would ever possess the ball in the final period.
After Culver made it 16-0, Valley fumbled the ensuing kickoff for its third turnover of the night, matching the visitors’ total.
Viking lineman Wade Melanson made a first-quarter interception of a deflected pass, and teammate Rex Kirschenstein recovered a third-quarter Eagle fumble into the end zone.
Junior running back Braden Shepherd led the Valley offense with 72 yards rushing on 10 carries. He added three receptions for 17 yards.
Jamasyn Virgil made two catches for 20 yards and Kirchenstein two for 18.
All that damage came in the first half, though, as Culver’s defense dominated after the break.
The Vikings finished with just one first down in the second half and a net of minus-4 yards, that coming on the heels of six first downs and 136 yards in the opening half.
The Eagles defeated Valley for the 11th straight time over the last 10 years to go up 16-4 in the all-time series.
Culver notched 265 total yards, 219 of that on the ground.
Viking junior quarterback Branson McBrier, attempting the long ball several times, finished 8-of-20 passing for 62 yards. He was sacked four times to go with one interception.
Virgil was in on at least three tackles for loss to help key the Valley defense.
The Vikings open the Three Rivers Conference portion of their season next Friday when they visit Northfield. Culver Academy hosts New Prairie.
Culver Academy appears as if it will be able to dispute the adage in 2020, and Tippecanoe Valley wound up in no position Friday night to argue otherwise about the Eagles.
With junior Jimmy Pisani and sophomore Cooper Farrall splitting QB duties, Culver blanked the Vikings 16-0 in each team’s season opener at Smith-Bibler Memorial Field.
Both big and sturdy quarterbacks riddled Valley with their running abilities, and Pisani fired a 42-yard, second-quarter touchdown bomb to Jaxon Mull for the night’s first score.
Pisani and Farrall even hooked up with each other on the ensuing two-point conversion, the 6-foot-3, 201-pound Pisani finding the 6-5, 208-pound Farrell on a fade pass into the right corner.
Pisani closed the night at 103 yards on 12 keepers, with his 29-yard TD scramble at 2:17 to go in the game effectively clinching the outcome and his two-point run capping the scoring.
Farrall added 57 yards on 11 carries.
The Vikings nevertheless stayed in contention all evening, thanks in part to their opportunistic defense ringing up three takeaways.
Hunter Eherenman’s goal-line interception of a Pisani pass at 5:32 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Valley its final shot at knotting the game.
The Viking offense, starting at its own 10, went three-and-out over the next 1:07, though, with those plays accounting for the only time the hosts would ever possess the ball in the final period.
After Culver made it 16-0, Valley fumbled the ensuing kickoff for its third turnover of the night, matching the visitors’ total.
Viking lineman Wade Melanson made a first-quarter interception of a deflected pass, and teammate Rex Kirschenstein recovered a third-quarter Eagle fumble into the end zone.
Junior running back Braden Shepherd led the Valley offense with 72 yards rushing on 10 carries. He added three receptions for 17 yards.
Jamasyn Virgil made two catches for 20 yards and Kirchenstein two for 18.
All that damage came in the first half, though, as Culver’s defense dominated after the break.
The Vikings finished with just one first down in the second half and a net of minus-4 yards, that coming on the heels of six first downs and 136 yards in the opening half.
The Eagles defeated Valley for the 11th straight time over the last 10 years to go up 16-4 in the all-time series.
Culver notched 265 total yards, 219 of that on the ground.
Viking junior quarterback Branson McBrier, attempting the long ball several times, finished 8-of-20 passing for 62 yards. He was sacked four times to go with one interception.
Virgil was in on at least three tackles for loss to help key the Valley defense.
The Vikings open the Three Rivers Conference portion of their season next Friday when they visit Northfield. Culver Academy hosts New Prairie.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092