Marian Knights Trip Tippy Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Cliff Tanner-
Marian used four turnovers, each giving it a short field to travel, to hold off a fiesty Valley team 39-25 Friday night.[[In-content Ad]]"We didn't have the season we wanted this year, but I have to tell you those kids left it all out on the field tonight," Valley coach Jeff Shriver said. "They played hard and didn't give up."
Marian drew first blood in the the first quarter after Michael Lewis fumbled the punt and the Knights recoverd the ball at the Valley 22-yard line. Coley Parker took the ball in from the 1-yard line three plays later to take an early 7-0 lead.
Lewis made up fo the fumble 17 seconds later when he ran through the left side of the Knights' line and sprinted 64 yards down the sideline to bring the score to 7-6 after the failed kick.
Marian blocked a Valley punt early in the second quarter to put the Knights in Valley territory at the 43.
The Knights turned the blocked punt into another score when Matt Thomas plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown to cap the drive and give his team a 14-6 lead.
Just as Marian began to get some momentum, Lewis struck again, this time going right up the middle for a 45-yard touchdown, pulling Valley within two at14-12.
"Lewis did a great job for us tonight," Shriver said. "He ran the ball extremely well tonight and gave us some good scores and kept us in the game. He has stepped up his play the last few weeks."
Just before the half, Marian used another Valley turnover to score 2:29 left when Matt Thomas scored on a run of three yards to take the 21-12 lead into the half.
Lewis had something to say about that again.
After Valley was flagged for delay of game when they didn't take the field with in the allotted time after the half, he took the second-half kickoff at the six and he outraced the Knight defense for 94 yard kick off return.
Lewis finished with 159 rushing, 94 yards on special teams and caught two passes for 52 yards. He finished with 315 all purpose yards for the night.
"We had a lot of people step up for us tonight. Our defense did a good job for us. They were getting kind of wore out towards the end ogf the game," Shriver said.
Upsortsmanlike and personal foul penalties continued to plague the Vikings during crucial times. On the night, Valley was called for four personal fouls.
"We did a nice job of improving keeping the personal fouls down. We still had a couple that hurt us and let Marian charged down the field," Shriver said.
Valley kept the score dow at 21-19 going into the final quarter.
The only score Valley allowed was a 23-yard field goal by Tyler Basham.
Valley cut the lead to 32-25 when Ross Miller ran for four yards for his first touchdown with 3:35 left.
After Marian went up 39-25 on a 31-yard run by Parker, Valley began to drive down the field. It appeared as though Lewis had scored another touchdown. Instead, officials gave the ball to Marian after it was called that lewis had fumbled the ball out of bounds.
Valley fell to 3-7 on the year and Marian went up to 4-6. Marian will take on South Bend St. Joseph High School at home next Friday.
"We have a lot of good things to look forward to next year. We will have some young kids who got a lot of playing time this year that will be more experienced. We have some kids coming up the ranks," Shriver said.
Coach added, "I am so proud of what the team accomplished tonight. It seemed as though the only ones who believed in this team was ourselves. I wouldn't trade this set of guys for nothing."
Marian used four turnovers, each giving it a short field to travel, to hold off a fiesty Valley team 39-25 Friday night.[[In-content Ad]]"We didn't have the season we wanted this year, but I have to tell you those kids left it all out on the field tonight," Valley coach Jeff Shriver said. "They played hard and didn't give up."
Marian drew first blood in the the first quarter after Michael Lewis fumbled the punt and the Knights recoverd the ball at the Valley 22-yard line. Coley Parker took the ball in from the 1-yard line three plays later to take an early 7-0 lead.
Lewis made up fo the fumble 17 seconds later when he ran through the left side of the Knights' line and sprinted 64 yards down the sideline to bring the score to 7-6 after the failed kick.
Marian blocked a Valley punt early in the second quarter to put the Knights in Valley territory at the 43.
The Knights turned the blocked punt into another score when Matt Thomas plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown to cap the drive and give his team a 14-6 lead.
Just as Marian began to get some momentum, Lewis struck again, this time going right up the middle for a 45-yard touchdown, pulling Valley within two at14-12.
"Lewis did a great job for us tonight," Shriver said. "He ran the ball extremely well tonight and gave us some good scores and kept us in the game. He has stepped up his play the last few weeks."
Just before the half, Marian used another Valley turnover to score 2:29 left when Matt Thomas scored on a run of three yards to take the 21-12 lead into the half.
Lewis had something to say about that again.
After Valley was flagged for delay of game when they didn't take the field with in the allotted time after the half, he took the second-half kickoff at the six and he outraced the Knight defense for 94 yard kick off return.
Lewis finished with 159 rushing, 94 yards on special teams and caught two passes for 52 yards. He finished with 315 all purpose yards for the night.
"We had a lot of people step up for us tonight. Our defense did a good job for us. They were getting kind of wore out towards the end ogf the game," Shriver said.
Upsortsmanlike and personal foul penalties continued to plague the Vikings during crucial times. On the night, Valley was called for four personal fouls.
"We did a nice job of improving keeping the personal fouls down. We still had a couple that hurt us and let Marian charged down the field," Shriver said.
Valley kept the score dow at 21-19 going into the final quarter.
The only score Valley allowed was a 23-yard field goal by Tyler Basham.
Valley cut the lead to 32-25 when Ross Miller ran for four yards for his first touchdown with 3:35 left.
After Marian went up 39-25 on a 31-yard run by Parker, Valley began to drive down the field. It appeared as though Lewis had scored another touchdown. Instead, officials gave the ball to Marian after it was called that lewis had fumbled the ball out of bounds.
Valley fell to 3-7 on the year and Marian went up to 4-6. Marian will take on South Bend St. Joseph High School at home next Friday.
"We have a lot of good things to look forward to next year. We will have some young kids who got a lot of playing time this year that will be more experienced. We have some kids coming up the ranks," Shriver said.
Coach added, "I am so proud of what the team accomplished tonight. It seemed as though the only ones who believed in this team was ourselves. I wouldn't trade this set of guys for nothing."
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