Usually, the Vikings don't have it so nicely.

Valley head coach Scott Bibler often sees a tough draw like he did last year when the Vikings drew undefeated Lakeland in the first round of the sectional. However, this year is different. This year, Tippecanoe Valley wouldn't see a team with more than one win until the sectional championship game.

"It's been great," Bibler said. "There have been years where we've been a better football team record-wise and got a tougher draw, but we're glad. It's been good for us to get a good draw and do well in the playoffs and hopefully progress to the championship game. That's always exciting."

But standing in the way of a sectional championship match-up between either NorthWood or Angola is 1-8 Northridge. As Bibler says, though, don't overlook the Raiders.

"Their record is not an indication of how good of a team they are," Bibler said. "You look at Goshen and NorthWood and Warsaw and Plymouth, and Wawasee was much improved this year. They had a very tough schedule. You can't gauge how good of a football team they are just by their record. I think they're really improved and they've had two weeks to prepare, so I think they'll be ready."

Speaking of that week off, Northridge is only helped by that according to Bibler. The Raiders have the chance to rest up and heal some injuries, and they also got a chance to personally watch Valley play last week and scout what the Vikings do. They will probably know more about Valley than Valley will know about them. And with new head coach, Frank Amato, the Raiders will definitely have a game plan capable of knocking off the Vikings.

"He brings great experience and knowledge when it comes to being a football coach," Bibler said. "Obviously, his record speaks for itself with a state championship (at South Bend St. Joe). I think he brings a lot of enthusiasm and discipline. I think he's a really great football coach, good fundamentally."

Although Amato will have a solid game plan in place, Bibler does not expect Northridge to change what they've done all year long.

"They're going to go out of the I-formation," Bibler said. "They run the cross blast up inside. They're going to run some option, they're going to counter trey, and they do a good job of play-action passing. Defensively, they're sound and big up front. Every team we've faced this year has been bigger physically than us and that's no exception with these guys. In the manner of the ball game, I'm guessing (they will pass) 10-15 times. They may air it out a little bit more, but I still think that Coach Amato wants to establish the running game and get that going."

On the Valley side of the ball, Bibler will rely on sophomore quarterback Brandon Eaton to run the offense. Usually, it's thought that seniors lead teams to victory in the tournament, but Bibler thinks that Eaton is different from a normal sophomore.

"Eaton is a kid who displays great leadership skills," Bibler said. "I know he's only a sophomore, but he's a hard worker, he's intelligent, he's not cocky or boastful, he keeps his mouth shut. He's a student of the game, he wants to learn. He works hard. I think his life off the field is exemplary. He keeps his nose clean and stays out of trouble. He's a good student. I just think he's a great leader, not so much through the vocal aspect, but by what he does through his actions. The kids have adapted over the course of the season to Brandon and it was good to hear some of the seniors really pulling for him and cheering him on over the last couple of games."

Of course, those words about being a good kid off the field are very important to Coach Bibler after this season. More than once, Bibler has had to suspend kids or kick them off the team this year or they have quit on their own.

"Anytime you have people who quit or people you have to suspend or people you've kicked off or injuries, that is a distraction to the team in some sense," Bibler said. "But I really believe the bottom line, through it all, it has made us a better team. Last night (Tuesday) it just seemed like a great night of football for us. We had an enthusiastic practice that was positive with people going hard and helping one another out and having fun.

"I've been accused, and I think rightly so, of being a guy who cares for kids and maybe gives them too many opportunities and chances," he said. "But enough's enough, and it gets to the point where something has got to be done. We're trying to tighten the screws and let kids know that we're here to have a good time, but yet we have to maintain order and discipline. Your actions speak to themselves on and off the field."

Bibler is ready to see the breakout game from his crew.

"We were on the edge last week of breaking out (a 33-22 win over West Noble)," Bibler said. "We started out slow and got behind 6-0. Then we scored the next four touchdowns and were up 27-6. At that point, instead of having that killer instinct and really putting it away, we as coaches did a lot of subbing because we were really banged up and had people injured and suspended. I probably should have waited until we had gone up another score or two because people could have walked away and said 'They really played excellent.' Instead, people walked away and said that we looked kind of sloppy and we, as coaches, kind of felt that way at the end."

At this point, the Vikings are just working on improving in a few areas. The game plan has been set and the players know what to do. But there are still a few spots for improvement.

"We're still trying to establish a running game," Bibler said. "But yet, we need to mix it up in the air too. Defensively, we're looking to tackle better and make sure we don't give up the big play. That's one thing that hurt us early in the season. Our specialty teams did an excellent job last week against West Noble with two blocked punts, a punt return for a touchdown, and a fake punt that we got a first down on."

Valley (5-5) will meet Northridge on Friday at Mentone at 7:30 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]