AKRON - Former Ohio State University football coach Woody Hayes once said: "It's never an upset if the so-called underdog has all along considered itself the better team."

When Tippecanoe Valley hosts Norwell tonight at 7:30 in the semifinal round of Sectional 20, the Vikings will undoubtedly be written off as the underdogs.

And for good reason.

Norwell will bring its Class 3A No. 4 ranking, 405.2 yards per game average and 9-1 record to the table against a Viking team that averages just 254.1 yards of total offense per game.

"Obviously, we're in a situation where we have to create something," said Valley coach Scott Bibler, who in his 10th season with the Vikings owns a 56-45 record. "We've made a nice second season. The kids believe we can win, and that's half the battle."

Valley is no stranger to the underdog role.

The four losses the Vikings have suffered this year have all come to teams that, at one time during the season, were ranked in the top 10.

In the first four games of the season, a stretch where the Vikings went 1-3, Valley lost to Warsaw, a 5A team that finished with a 8-2 record and was ranked as high as No. 9; Manchester, a team that had won 12 consecutive games in the Three Rivers Conference and owned a No. 6 ranking in the Class 2A poll; and Southwood, a 7-2 regular season team that finished second in the TRC and was ranked seventh in the last Class A poll of the season.

That was Valley's first season, so to speak.

In its second season, Valley went 4-1 with its lone loss coming to TRC champion Rochester, who at the time was ranked sixth in Class 3A. Rochester topped the Vikings 49-14. Norwell beat that same Rochester team 17-14 last week in the first round of the sectional.

But the story of Valley's football team this year has been its health. And healthy is something the Vikings haven't been all year.

Senior triggerman Brandon Eaton broke the thumb on his throwing hand in the Warsaw game and missed three weeks of the season. Fullback Charles Hall, split end Josh Wagoner and split end Eric Carlin, all of whom are seniors, also spent time nursing injuries.

The aforementioned are now back and will all play in tonight's sectional semifinal game.

"First, give the kids credit for not getting discouraged," said Bibler. "Inside the potential was there. Carlin's back. Eaton's back. Wagoner's back. I could go down the list. We had more injuries than we ever have before. Obviously when you play Warsaw, Southwood and Manchester, those are tough teams to play with injuries."

And so, now Bibler says the Vikings are healthy and playing their best football of the season. Playing their best game and staying healthy is exactly what the Vikings will have to do to beat Norwell.

The Knights' high-octane offense comes in averaging 40.5 points per game, while the defense allows an average of just 13.6 points per game. Norwell has scored at least 50 points in four games this season, and two times have scored 64 or more.

Surely Bibler must know he has his hands full.

"As far as athletic talent, size and strength, they are very comparable to Warsaw," said Bibler. "With their philosophy they are very similar to Rochester. They are very big, very physical and very fast. They are an exceptional team. You play Homestead, who is right up there with the top teams in 5A, and lose 30-29, you're doing something right."

With a win last week, Homestead is among just 15 teams in the state with an unblemished record.

And there's a reason Norwell averages 40.5 points and 405.2 yards of total offense per game: The Knights have four rushers who have gained at least 450 yards this season.

Brent Schortgen has carried the ball 115 times for 929 yards, an average of over eight yards per carry. Dan Nagel has rushed for 592 yards on 88 carries. Brad Schortgen, Brent's twin brother, has gained 506 yards on the ground on 54 carries, an average of 9.4 yards per carry. And signal caller Matt Hanselman has rushed the ball 81 times for a total of 472 yards.

Valley has just one back who has put up those kind of numbers: Nathan Patterson. The six-foot, 205-pound senior has carried the ball 89 times for 537 yards. The next Viking ground gainer is Ryan Pritchett, who has rushed the ball 40 times for a total of 188 yards.

Hanselman has completed 50 of 92 passes for 887 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions, outdueling Eaton's 727 yards on 59-of-111 passing with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

What will Bibler and the Vikings have to do to overcome all this on Friday?

"To win we have to cut down on mistakes," said Bibler. "We can't give them opportunity from our mistakes. On defense, we have to bend but not break. If they have a long drive, sometime we have to believe we can get a break. I think our kids feel confident. Everyone expects them to win. We're going to play with heart, confidence and as a family and unit."

It took David only one stone to slay Goliath.

1999 SECTIONAL FOOTBALL

Norwell at Tippecanoe Valley

7:30 p.m. tonight

Tippecanoe Valley Team Stats

Points per game - Valley 26.2, Opponents 19.8

Offense per game - Valley 254.1, Opponents 248

Tippecanoe Valley Leaders

Rushing (carries-yards, per game average) - Nathan Patterson 89-537, 53.7; Ryan Pritchett 40-188, 18.8

Passing - Brandon Eaton 59-111, 727 yards, 53.2 completion percentage, 8 TD passes, 7 interceptions; Craig Kuhn 16-45, 321 yards, 35.6 completion percentage, 3 TD passes, 7 interceptions

Receiving (catches-yards, per game average) - Patterson 19-287, 28.7; Ryan Pritchett 15-140, 14.0; Dax Snyder 10-179, 17.9; Eric Carlin 10-163, 16.3

Touchdowns - Patterson 15, Eaton 9, Pritchett 4, Kuhn 3

Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Nathan Moore 15-404, 26.9; Josh Carter 7-158, 22.6; Kevin Paxton 4-117, 29.3

Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) - Derek Eby 10-86, 8.6; Patterson 8-22, 2.8; B.J. Cunningham 4-18, 4.5

Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Patterson 14-347, 24.8; Pritchett 3-35, 11.7

Tackles - Rustin Birge 97, Derek Eby 92, Derek Domenico 79, Steve Rumfelt 39

Sacks - Domenico 5, Birge 4, Chris Standeford 2, Rumfelt 2,

Interceptions - Eby 6, Cunningham 2, Snyder 2

Fumble recoveries - Domenico 5, Standeford 5

Tippecanoe Valley Scores (Home team in caps)

Regular Season (5-4)

Valley 23, NORTH JUDSON 8

Warsaw 35, VALLEY 9

MANCHESTER 27, Valley 9

Southwood 34, VALLEY 21

Valley 36, NORTHFIELD 0

VALLEY 26, Oak Hill 6

ROCHESTER 49, Valley 14

VALLEY 54, North Miami 8

Valley 35, WHITKO 10

Sectional 20

Valley 35, WESTERN 21

Norwell Team Stats

Points per game - Norwell 40.5, Opponents 13.6

Offense per game - Norwell 405.2, Opponents 237.4

Norwell Leaders

Rushing (carries-yards, per game average) - Brent Schortgen 115-929, 92.9; Dan Nagel 88-592, 59.2; Brad Schortgen 54-506, 50.6; Matt Hanselman 81-472, 47.2

Passing - Hanselman 50-92, 887 yards, 54.3 completion percentage, 12 touchdowns, 4 interceptions

Receiving (catches-yards, per game average) - Landon Heyerly 16-317, 31.7; Matt Beste 12-240, 24.0; Brad Schortgen 16-235, 23.5

Touchdowns - Brad Schortgen 14, Brent Schortgen 13, Neuenschwander 9, Nagel 9

Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Jon Neuenschwander 20-831, 41.6

Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) - Nagel 13-185, 14.2; Brent Schortgen 10-81, 8.1; Brad Schortgen 5-82, 16.4

Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Brad Schortgen 9-230, 25.6; Nagel 7-134, 19.1; Brent Schortgen 5-112, 22.4

Tackles - Darrick Hoopingarner 80, Nick Worden 57, Ryan Gerbers 50, Ryan Hartup 44

Sacks - Dan Costello 2, Zach Mapes 2, Nick Krinn 2

Interceptions - Heyerly 3, Hoopingarner 2, Ryan Carr 2

Fumble recoveries - Norwell 12 (no individual fumble recoveries listed)

Norwell Scores (Home team in caps)

Regular Season (8-1)

Norwell 40, MACONAQUAH 8

NORWELL 64, BLUFFTON 0

Norwell 67, CARROLL 14

NORWELL 55, Bellmont

Norwell 21, NEW HAVEN 14

NORWELL 28, East Noble 21 (overtime)

Norwell 51, DEKALB 7

Homestead 30, NORWELL 29

NORWELL 33, Columbia City 28

Sectional 20

NORWELL 17, Rochester 14 [[In-content Ad]]