Tippecanoe Valley Blanks Oak Hill
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
INDIANAPOLIS - The Tippecanoe Valley defense must like the conditions of the RCA Dome.
Three years ago, the Vikings toppled (then No. 1) North Miami by two and won the Three Rivers Conference championship outright, snubbing three first-and-goals in the fourth quarter.
This year, the defense scored almost as much as the offense, knocked the Oak Hill quarterback out of the game in the third quarter, and shut down the high-flying Eagle passing attack in a 35-0 win.
The win was the second in a row for Tippecanoe Valley and third in four outings, and the first shutout victory since a 12-0 decision over Warsaw in the 1996 season opener. Tippecanoe Valley has allowed fewer points each game this season, from a high of 29 in the season opener to the goose egg this week. The Vikings have outscored their opponents 87-7 the past two games.
Valley is now 3-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play, good enough for second place behind front-runner Rochester, who the Vikings play Friday. Oak Hill dropped to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in TRC play.
One week after the offense showed its strength with a 52-point outing at Northfield, it was the defense that flexed its muscle for Tippecanoe Valley.
Leading 12-0 early in the third quarter and with Oak Hill threatening from the Valley 29-yard line, senior Vikings James Dawson and Anthony Simpson put a hit on Oak Hill quarterback Kyle Wert that basically sealed the win for Tippecanoe Valley.
Wert fell back in his pocket on 2nd-and-9 looking for an open receiver with nine minutes to play in the third quarter, only to be hit by Dawson first from behind and then Simpson from the front. The impact resulted in a fumble, which Simpson took 71 yards to paydirt and a three-touchdown Valley advantage.
More importantly, Wert had to be taken out of the game after a 15-minute injury timeout, and with the loss of its quarterback, Oak Hill never really threatened again. The Eagles got just one first down and less than 30 yards of offense after Wert exited the game.
Dawson played a part in three Oak Hill fumbles, forcing two on the day and recovering another one. The Vikings blocked an Oak Hill field goal in the first quarter, allowed just two Eagle passes of more than seven yards and none more than 16, and senior Andy Young picked off an errant Oak Hill pass midway through the fourth quarter for another defensive touchdown. Oak Hill, after throwing for 200-plus yards in an upset win over Whitko last week, was held to 65 yards through the air Saturday.
Simply put, the Viking defense was everywhere, and head coach Scott Bibler liked it.
"It was difficult, but I thought that the coaching staff did a nice job getting these guys ready and the kids executed the gameplan pretty well," Bibler said. "(The score) is not an indication of what our offense did, it's an indication of what our defense did.
"The main concern I had was giving up the big play, because that has really been one of our downfalls all season long - our pass coverage," Bibler said.
"We haven't shown the ability at times to get a good pass rush in. I was pleased that our coverage was good, and our pass rush was good today - we had some heat on the quarterback. We keep getting better each week."
It took a while for the Valley offense to warm up, scoring the first touchdown with just 2:48 to play in the second quarter when Simpson ran in from five yards out. The kick was wide, and Valley led 6-0.
A Dawson fumble recovery at the Oak Hill 29-yard line set up score No. 2 of the day, with senior Jason Parker getting the honors five plays later.
Parker's 3-yard run with 54 seconds left in the first half put the Vikings up 12-0, but the two-point conversion run failed.
Oak Hill came out gunning in the third stanza before Wert was knocked out of the game, but Simpson's long fumble recovery for another Valley touchdown with 8:52 left in the quarter basically shut the door on the Eagles. Parker ran in the two-point conversion, and Tippecanoe Valley led 20-0.
The second defensive touchdown of the day came courtesy of Young's pickoff and 45-yard return with 5:55 left in the game, and a two-point conversion run by Simpson put the Vikings on top 28-0.
Bibler and his staff used the Viking reserves most of the fourth quarter, allowing as many players as possible an opportunity to play in the dome.
Sophomore Charles Hall rolled up 31 yards on four carries, and fellow sophomore Nathan Patterson garnered 39 yards on two attempts. Patterson's last carry resulted in a 15-yard touchdown jaunt with 16 seconds left to play, and with a Nathan Moore PAT kick, Valley accounted for the 35-0 final.
Thirteen Vikings ran the ball, rolling up 231 yards on 36 total carries.
Junior Eric Prater led the way with 61 yards on 11 carries, and Simpson got 28 yards on four attempts. Matt Baker carried the ball twice for 24 yards. Three Vikings - junior R.J. Hutchinson and sophomores Brandon Eaton and Craig Kuhn - threw the ball, but without much success. Valley was limited to 29 yards on 5 of 15 passing with three interceptions.
Bibler was pleased overall with the RCA Dome experience
"I think it's absolutely wonderful to play in the dome," Bibler said. "The kids have a great experience - it's a great atmosphere, and these are memories for the kids to talk about all those years down the road. It's a great situation for the TRC to be able to play in the dome."
Tippecanoe Valley will try to keep its conference hopes alive when it travels to Rochester Friday. The Vikings are tied for second in the TRC with Southwood behind Rochester. [[In-content Ad]]
INDIANAPOLIS - The Tippecanoe Valley defense must like the conditions of the RCA Dome.
Three years ago, the Vikings toppled (then No. 1) North Miami by two and won the Three Rivers Conference championship outright, snubbing three first-and-goals in the fourth quarter.
This year, the defense scored almost as much as the offense, knocked the Oak Hill quarterback out of the game in the third quarter, and shut down the high-flying Eagle passing attack in a 35-0 win.
The win was the second in a row for Tippecanoe Valley and third in four outings, and the first shutout victory since a 12-0 decision over Warsaw in the 1996 season opener. Tippecanoe Valley has allowed fewer points each game this season, from a high of 29 in the season opener to the goose egg this week. The Vikings have outscored their opponents 87-7 the past two games.
Valley is now 3-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play, good enough for second place behind front-runner Rochester, who the Vikings play Friday. Oak Hill dropped to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in TRC play.
One week after the offense showed its strength with a 52-point outing at Northfield, it was the defense that flexed its muscle for Tippecanoe Valley.
Leading 12-0 early in the third quarter and with Oak Hill threatening from the Valley 29-yard line, senior Vikings James Dawson and Anthony Simpson put a hit on Oak Hill quarterback Kyle Wert that basically sealed the win for Tippecanoe Valley.
Wert fell back in his pocket on 2nd-and-9 looking for an open receiver with nine minutes to play in the third quarter, only to be hit by Dawson first from behind and then Simpson from the front. The impact resulted in a fumble, which Simpson took 71 yards to paydirt and a three-touchdown Valley advantage.
More importantly, Wert had to be taken out of the game after a 15-minute injury timeout, and with the loss of its quarterback, Oak Hill never really threatened again. The Eagles got just one first down and less than 30 yards of offense after Wert exited the game.
Dawson played a part in three Oak Hill fumbles, forcing two on the day and recovering another one. The Vikings blocked an Oak Hill field goal in the first quarter, allowed just two Eagle passes of more than seven yards and none more than 16, and senior Andy Young picked off an errant Oak Hill pass midway through the fourth quarter for another defensive touchdown. Oak Hill, after throwing for 200-plus yards in an upset win over Whitko last week, was held to 65 yards through the air Saturday.
Simply put, the Viking defense was everywhere, and head coach Scott Bibler liked it.
"It was difficult, but I thought that the coaching staff did a nice job getting these guys ready and the kids executed the gameplan pretty well," Bibler said. "(The score) is not an indication of what our offense did, it's an indication of what our defense did.
"The main concern I had was giving up the big play, because that has really been one of our downfalls all season long - our pass coverage," Bibler said.
"We haven't shown the ability at times to get a good pass rush in. I was pleased that our coverage was good, and our pass rush was good today - we had some heat on the quarterback. We keep getting better each week."
It took a while for the Valley offense to warm up, scoring the first touchdown with just 2:48 to play in the second quarter when Simpson ran in from five yards out. The kick was wide, and Valley led 6-0.
A Dawson fumble recovery at the Oak Hill 29-yard line set up score No. 2 of the day, with senior Jason Parker getting the honors five plays later.
Parker's 3-yard run with 54 seconds left in the first half put the Vikings up 12-0, but the two-point conversion run failed.
Oak Hill came out gunning in the third stanza before Wert was knocked out of the game, but Simpson's long fumble recovery for another Valley touchdown with 8:52 left in the quarter basically shut the door on the Eagles. Parker ran in the two-point conversion, and Tippecanoe Valley led 20-0.
The second defensive touchdown of the day came courtesy of Young's pickoff and 45-yard return with 5:55 left in the game, and a two-point conversion run by Simpson put the Vikings on top 28-0.
Bibler and his staff used the Viking reserves most of the fourth quarter, allowing as many players as possible an opportunity to play in the dome.
Sophomore Charles Hall rolled up 31 yards on four carries, and fellow sophomore Nathan Patterson garnered 39 yards on two attempts. Patterson's last carry resulted in a 15-yard touchdown jaunt with 16 seconds left to play, and with a Nathan Moore PAT kick, Valley accounted for the 35-0 final.
Thirteen Vikings ran the ball, rolling up 231 yards on 36 total carries.
Junior Eric Prater led the way with 61 yards on 11 carries, and Simpson got 28 yards on four attempts. Matt Baker carried the ball twice for 24 yards. Three Vikings - junior R.J. Hutchinson and sophomores Brandon Eaton and Craig Kuhn - threw the ball, but without much success. Valley was limited to 29 yards on 5 of 15 passing with three interceptions.
Bibler was pleased overall with the RCA Dome experience
"I think it's absolutely wonderful to play in the dome," Bibler said. "The kids have a great experience - it's a great atmosphere, and these are memories for the kids to talk about all those years down the road. It's a great situation for the TRC to be able to play in the dome."
Tippecanoe Valley will try to keep its conference hopes alive when it travels to Rochester Friday. The Vikings are tied for second in the TRC with Southwood behind Rochester. [[In-content Ad]]