Stutzman Helps Stop Squires
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MENTONE - The scoreboard read that Tippecanoe Valley had beaten Manchester 34-6 Friday evening, but still Viking coach Scott Bibler was a concerned man.
"It's a victory; we'll take it," he said afterward.
Oh, the Viking defense was fine. Nearly flawless, in fact. The Squires managed one first down on the evening and coughed the ball up four times.
And whatever concerns he had, Josh Brady, Nick Stutzman and Darren Parker were certainly exempt. Brady had a key block on a punt attempt, Stutzman scored three touchdowns, and Parker rolled up 82 yards in punt returns, giving Valley good field position. Parker, who is also Valley's punter, forced Manchester to start at its four- and seven-yard lines with his two punts in the first half.
"Special teams, I was pleased with some of our punt returns," Bibler said. "Darren Parker had some nice punts."
Brady blocked Rex Reimer's punt attempt midway through the first quarter, giving Valley good field position at Manchester's 12-yard line. Five plays later Stutzman ran in from three yards out to give Valley the 6-0 lead. The Vikings faked the extra-point attempt, and Eric Backus ran in for the two-point conversion and 8-0 lead.
Stutzman added his second touchdown with 4:16 to go before halftime. Parker kicked the extra point, and Valley led 15-0.
As the third quarter neared the end, Valley still held a 15-0 lead. The Vikings faced a fourth down with two yards to go. Bibler called the fake, and Parker ran to the right and got outside for the first down.
Picking up that first down was the one key first down that deflated the Manchester defense.
"Darren Parker, I can't say enough about him and his performance tonight," Bibler said. "I tell you what, that kid played hard. As a punter, punt return man, safety, halfback and receiver, he did a nice job. He was all over the field.
"Early I thought the sweep would be there, but once I saw it start to develop, I thought they had him pinned. By his effort, just cranking at the corner and diving, he got the first down."
After Parker picked up the first down, the Vikings went on to score on the drive with 11:20 left in the game. Running back Terry Engstrand broke several tackles and actually carried a defender or two with him as he chugged to the end zone. His 18-yard run, followed by a Parker kick, put Valley up 22-0.
Manchester answered with one play 20 seconds later, a 70-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Reimer to brother Rex Reimer. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and Manchester trailed 22-6.
Stutzman's third touchdown came when he ripped the ball away from Neal Scott after Scott had caught a pass from quarterback Brandon Reimer. Stutzman yanked the ball from Scott's arms and ran 35 yards for a touchdown to put Valley up 28-6.
Valley scored its last touchdown with 2:41 left when Parker fumbled the ball in the end zone, only to have teammate Orville Haney pick it up for the score. Parker's kick was blocked, and Valley led 34-6.
The Squires had trouble doing much of anything against Valley. They had just 156 total yards, and nearly half came on the touchdown pass. Their defense helped keep them in the game early, but the Valley offense wore it down in the fourth quarter. Only one first down by the Squire offense meant the tired Squire defense was out on the field way too long.
The win was nice, but what has Bibler concerned is his offensive line. This game did nothing to relieve those worries.
His team had just 68 yards of offense at halftime. Valley finished the game with 135 rushing yards - on 45 carries, an average of just three yards a carry. These numbers follow a week when Valley had just 126 rushing yards on 42 carries against Warsaw - also an average of three yards a carry. These numbers are against two teams who are a combined 0-4.
Valley is used to running the ball and running the ball for big numbers. Bigger numbers than three yards a carry, anyway.
"We felt the way we played offensively was very sloppy," Bibler said. "We didn't execute very well. We're not coming off the ball very well. I was really frustrated with our offensive performance."
Bibler believes it's time for his players to start blocking the way they are capable of blocking.
"Our offensive line is the concern right now," he said. "If you pick the weakest part of our team right now, it is the offensive line. We've got guys I know who can get the job done. But we're not getting it done now.
"I don't know what it takes. I still want to hang with our seniors because I want to give them a shot. Somewhere down the road they're either going to have to start performing better, or we'll start giving the underclassmen the challenge and go with that."
Stutzman rushed for 54 yards on 18 carries to lead Valley.
Valley, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Three Rivers Conference, is at Southwood on Friday.
Manchester, 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the TRC, hosts Whitko on Friday.
While the win may not have gone according to his script, Bibler knows it's good to go into next week's game with TRC defending champion Southwood on a winning note.
"I'm glad to get the victory," Bibler said. "The team needed that, we're 1-0 in the conference, and that's where you have to start if you want a chance at the conference crown." [[In-content Ad]]
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MENTONE - The scoreboard read that Tippecanoe Valley had beaten Manchester 34-6 Friday evening, but still Viking coach Scott Bibler was a concerned man.
"It's a victory; we'll take it," he said afterward.
Oh, the Viking defense was fine. Nearly flawless, in fact. The Squires managed one first down on the evening and coughed the ball up four times.
And whatever concerns he had, Josh Brady, Nick Stutzman and Darren Parker were certainly exempt. Brady had a key block on a punt attempt, Stutzman scored three touchdowns, and Parker rolled up 82 yards in punt returns, giving Valley good field position. Parker, who is also Valley's punter, forced Manchester to start at its four- and seven-yard lines with his two punts in the first half.
"Special teams, I was pleased with some of our punt returns," Bibler said. "Darren Parker had some nice punts."
Brady blocked Rex Reimer's punt attempt midway through the first quarter, giving Valley good field position at Manchester's 12-yard line. Five plays later Stutzman ran in from three yards out to give Valley the 6-0 lead. The Vikings faked the extra-point attempt, and Eric Backus ran in for the two-point conversion and 8-0 lead.
Stutzman added his second touchdown with 4:16 to go before halftime. Parker kicked the extra point, and Valley led 15-0.
As the third quarter neared the end, Valley still held a 15-0 lead. The Vikings faced a fourth down with two yards to go. Bibler called the fake, and Parker ran to the right and got outside for the first down.
Picking up that first down was the one key first down that deflated the Manchester defense.
"Darren Parker, I can't say enough about him and his performance tonight," Bibler said. "I tell you what, that kid played hard. As a punter, punt return man, safety, halfback and receiver, he did a nice job. He was all over the field.
"Early I thought the sweep would be there, but once I saw it start to develop, I thought they had him pinned. By his effort, just cranking at the corner and diving, he got the first down."
After Parker picked up the first down, the Vikings went on to score on the drive with 11:20 left in the game. Running back Terry Engstrand broke several tackles and actually carried a defender or two with him as he chugged to the end zone. His 18-yard run, followed by a Parker kick, put Valley up 22-0.
Manchester answered with one play 20 seconds later, a 70-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Reimer to brother Rex Reimer. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and Manchester trailed 22-6.
Stutzman's third touchdown came when he ripped the ball away from Neal Scott after Scott had caught a pass from quarterback Brandon Reimer. Stutzman yanked the ball from Scott's arms and ran 35 yards for a touchdown to put Valley up 28-6.
Valley scored its last touchdown with 2:41 left when Parker fumbled the ball in the end zone, only to have teammate Orville Haney pick it up for the score. Parker's kick was blocked, and Valley led 34-6.
The Squires had trouble doing much of anything against Valley. They had just 156 total yards, and nearly half came on the touchdown pass. Their defense helped keep them in the game early, but the Valley offense wore it down in the fourth quarter. Only one first down by the Squire offense meant the tired Squire defense was out on the field way too long.
The win was nice, but what has Bibler concerned is his offensive line. This game did nothing to relieve those worries.
His team had just 68 yards of offense at halftime. Valley finished the game with 135 rushing yards - on 45 carries, an average of just three yards a carry. These numbers follow a week when Valley had just 126 rushing yards on 42 carries against Warsaw - also an average of three yards a carry. These numbers are against two teams who are a combined 0-4.
Valley is used to running the ball and running the ball for big numbers. Bigger numbers than three yards a carry, anyway.
"We felt the way we played offensively was very sloppy," Bibler said. "We didn't execute very well. We're not coming off the ball very well. I was really frustrated with our offensive performance."
Bibler believes it's time for his players to start blocking the way they are capable of blocking.
"Our offensive line is the concern right now," he said. "If you pick the weakest part of our team right now, it is the offensive line. We've got guys I know who can get the job done. But we're not getting it done now.
"I don't know what it takes. I still want to hang with our seniors because I want to give them a shot. Somewhere down the road they're either going to have to start performing better, or we'll start giving the underclassmen the challenge and go with that."
Stutzman rushed for 54 yards on 18 carries to lead Valley.
Valley, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Three Rivers Conference, is at Southwood on Friday.
Manchester, 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the TRC, hosts Whitko on Friday.
While the win may not have gone according to his script, Bibler knows it's good to go into next week's game with TRC defending champion Southwood on a winning note.
"I'm glad to get the victory," Bibler said. "The team needed that, we're 1-0 in the conference, and that's where you have to start if you want a chance at the conference crown." [[In-content Ad]]