ROCHESTER - It's uncertain whether he washed the uniforms or made the pregame meal, but Rochester's Matt Shafer did just about everything else Friday.

He scored the Zebras' first 17 points in a 29-14 win over Three Rivers Conference rival Valley to regain possession of the Bell Trophy and gain the inside track to a TRC crown Friday night at Barnhart Field.

Shafer caught a 30-yard pass from quarterback Scott Thomas with 6:21 left in the first quarter and connected on the extra point to put the Zebras up 7-0 on Rochester's first possession of the game.

The touchdown came two plays after Thomas hooked up with Shafer on a 75-yard reception that was called back on a holding call at Valley's 20-yard line.

The Vikings tied things up later in the first quarter when Aaron Reed took a hand-off from quarterback Bryce Kelley 67 yards down the Rochester sideline. Jerrod Parker's extra point knotted things up at 7-7.

Valley took its first and only lead of the game in the second quarter when Justin Hughes capped a two-play, 10-yard drive with a three-yard rumble. Hughes, a 5-foot-10, 251-pound lineman, was used a la William "Refrigerator" Perry in a full-house backfield.

Parker connected on his second extra point conversion of the evening to put the Vikings up 14-7 with 10:52 left in the first half.

After Rochester stalled on its next possession, the Vikings got the ball on their own 21-yard line and drove to the Rochester 47.

In a play that Valley head coach Scott Bibler said he wished he could take back, the Vikings attempted a fake punt with Kelley, who is Valley's regular punter, that was sniffed out by the Zebras dropping Kelley for a four-yard loss.

"That was a bad call on my part," said Bibler. "We had the lead and should have gone with field position. I take full responsibility. I blew it. That's all there is to it. But it doesn't excuse the fact that we didn't play to our capability after that."

Valley practiced the fake punt all year and Friday was the first time it was attempted.

The key on the failed fourth down conversion was a breach of protection by the offensive line that didn't allow Kelley to the outside.

That seemed to carry over in the second half.

The Vikings are known for their ability to play ball-control football with a steady dose of running.

Valley managed just one first down in the second half and managed just 19 rushing yards in the final 24 minutes.

Rochester controlled the clock in the second half, allowing the Vikings just three possessions and a total of 16 plays.

The Zebras came out in the second half and held the ball for nearly seven minutes in a 13-play, 77-yard drive that was capped off by a two-yard run from junior running back Josh Runkle.

Runkle rushed for just 14 yards on eight carries Friday.

It was fullback Michael Ziegler's night to lead the Rochester rushing attack.

Ziegler carried the ball 21 times for 144 yards and one touchdown that came late in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 29-14.

Ziegler, a 5-foot-10 senior, was aided by a near-perfect night of passing by Thomas.

The Zebra signal caller was 11 of 14 for 161 yards with the touchdown to Shafer and no interceptions.

Thomas was a perfect 6 of 6 in the second half for 70 yards.

"I thought he passed with confidence and poise," said Bibler. "He looked better than I've seen him. We didn't get much pressure on him either, so give them credit."

Thomas was dropped behind the line of scrimmage just twice Friday and was rarely hurried or pressured by a typically stout Vikings defense.

Kelley, Thomas' counterpart, didn't have the same sort of luxury.

Hurried and flushed out of the pocket all night, Kelley struggled to find receivers and racked up just 68 yards on 4-of-11 passing. Forty-six of those yards came on a hail mary toss to O.B. Thompson on the final play of the game.

"One (Rochester) had good coverage," said Bibler of his team's passing struggles. "They dropped linebackers back into coverage. Two, we didn't have good protection. We just didn't do a good job like we had the past few weeks."

With the loss, not only do the Vikings fail to retain the Bell Trophy for a third straight year, they also fall a game behind Rochester in the TRC.

Valley finishes out its conference schedule with home games against North Miami Friday and Whitko the following week.

Rochester moved to 5-2 overall and 5-0 in the TRC. The Zebras end the season against Whitko and North Miami as well.

The Vikings, 4-3 overall and 4-1 in conference, look to get back on the winning track when they host Warriors at 7 p.m. in Death Valley.

ROCHESTER 29, VALLEY 14

T. Valley 7 7 0 0 - 14

Rochester 7 10 6 6 - 29

TV R

First downs 5 15

Rushing yards 30-151 44-183

Passing yards 68 161

Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-11-0 11-14-0

Total offense 219 344

Fumbles/lost 0-0 1-1

Punts/avg. 6-27.5 2-27.0

Penalties/yards 3-34 4-41

First Quarter

R -ÊScott Thomas 30 pass to Matt Shafer (Shafer kick) 6:21, 7-0

TV - Aaron Reed 67 run (Jerrod Parker) 0:36, 7-7

Second Quarter

TV -ÊJustin Hughes 3 run (Parker kick) 10:52, 14-7

R - Shafer 2 run (Shafer kick) 1:34, 14-14

R - Shafer 44 Field Goal :02, 17-14

Third Quarter

R - Josh Runkle (kick failed) 5:07, 23-14

Fourth Quarter

R - Michael Ziegler 25 run (kick failed) 4:35, 29-14

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Valley, Aaron Reed 7-72, Bryce Kelley 7-24, Nick Young 8-23, O.B. Thompson 3-18, Jerrod Parker 4-11; Rochester, Michael Ziegler 21-144, Josh Runkle 8-14, Matt Shafer 11-13, Scott Thomas 4-12

Passing - Valley, Kelley 4-11-68 0 TD, O INT; Rochester, Thomas 11-14-161 1 TD, 0 INT

Receiving - Valley, Thompson 1-46, Chad Hoffer 1-13, Kyle Brown 1-9; Rochester, Shafer 7-118, Cory Fornal 1-27, Aaron Fornal 1-16 [[In-content Ad]]