Valley Set To Take On NorthWood In Sectional Battle
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
AKRON -ÊTippecanoe Valley coach Scott Bibler knows that his team is considered an underdog tonight against the Class 3A powerhouse NorthWood Panthers.
However, Bibler and his Vikings refuse to be deterred by what people say. After all, the game is played on the field.
"We will have to play a nearly flawless game to beat NorthWood," said Bibler. "We can't afford to make mistakes because NorthWood will take advantage of them."
"NorthWood is a great program with great tradition that started long ago. Their coaching staff does a great job and they have been together a long time. Rich Dodson and his staff do things well. They have a great feeder program and they have their kids playing well."
The Vikings plan to play their game and see how things turn out. Valley will rely on defense and a strong running game to get the job done.
"We are trying to work on things that will make us successful this week," said Bibler. "We will need to play fundamentally strong football. For us, field position will be key. Our special teams will need to do a good job of putting us in position. Then our offense will need to make use of that field position."
Valley will rely on workhorse Jon Rice to lead that offense on the field. To date, Rice has carried the ball 153 times this season for 767 net yards to lead the Viking ground attack. Rice is Valley's leading scorer with 16 touchdowns on the season.
Kyle Burner, Matt Eby and Bryon Wong compliment Rice on the field. Bruner has rushed for 176 yards, Eby for 232 and Wong for 167 to make Valley's ground attack something to be reckoned with.
"Valley has a pretty good running game," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson. "They also do a good job getting the ball away, and we will have to watch for the play-action pass."
Junior quarterback David Beyers is looking to lead his team to the big upset. He has completed 48 of 129 passes for 616 yards and four touchdowns. He has thrown 14 interceptions so far this season.
Along with his running duties, Bruner is Beyers' favorite target, catching 22 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns.
While Bruner is the key receiver for the Vikings, Eby and Brandon Cody are important for the air attack as well. Both have caught nine passes this season, Eby for 54 yards and Cody for 171 yards.
"In order to win this game, we will need a total team effort," said Bibler. "We will definitely need to step up our level of play for this game.
"Obviously we will need to avoid giving up the big play. That will definitely be a key for us in this matchup."
NorthWood is looking to make its way into its seventh straight sectional final game with a win over Valley. The Panther list of accomplishments grows each year. They have won 13 sectionals (six in a row), seven regionals and three semistates.
The Panthers will look to a balanced offensive attack in the contest against Valley. As a team, the NorthWood squad has rushed for more than 1,700 yards and passed for nearly 1,000 yards so far this season.
A double threat for the Panthers is junior signal caller Phil BeMiller. BeMiller stepped into the position halfway through the season and has completed 20 of 57 passes for 559 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the ground, BeMiller has carried the ball 50 times for 322 yards.
BeMiller's favorite targets include Michael Ramirez, Jordan Adams, Josh Sabo, Andrew Huber, Kyle Lehman and Phil Sumpter. Ramirez leads the group with 15 catches for 172 yards, while Adams had 10 catches for 158 yards.
"Defensively, we will need to fly to the football and pursue," said Bibler. "We are starting to do a better job of containing people, and that will be important this week."
"Last week against Mishawaka Marian, Valley's defense took over in the second half," said Dodson. "They continue to improve each game."
The Vikings and Panthers face off tonight at 7:30 p.m in Akron's Death Valley. The winner of tonight's game will play against the winner of the Whitko-South Bend St. Joseph's game played tonight in South Whitley.
CLASS 3A
SECTIONAL 19
NORTHWOOD AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY
7:30 p.m. Friday in Akron
NorthWood
TEAM STATS
NW Opp.
Rushing 351-1,708 351-1,170
Passing (comp/att/yds)
64-127-975 72-185-854
Intercepted 9 15
Completion ptg 50.4 38.9
Fumbles lost 8 13
Punts/ave. 30-35.9 40-31.1
Penalties 45-346 30-264
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) -ÊMichael Ramirez 93-537, E.J. Yehl 82-439, Phil BeMiller 50-322, Kyle Lehman 56-146, Chad Davis 29-142
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊBeMiller 20-57-1, 559 yards, 10 TD; Kyle Lehman 31-64-8, 351 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊRamirez 15-172, Jordan Adams 10-158, Josh Sabo 9-159, Andrew Huber 7-128, Kyle Lehman 5-162, Phil Sumpter 5-162
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo) -ÊJason Cudd 90, Austin Perkins 70, Scott Gerber 51, Joey Beer 49, Sumpter 48, Davis 42, Jaime Garcia 42, Brandon Stutzman 41
Interceptions -ÊSumpter 4, Huber 4, Trevor Shields 2
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns -ÊRamirez 7-102, Mike Bechtel 4-117
Punts -ÊBrandon Hall 30-35.9
Punt Returns -ÊAdams 9-37, Huber 6-45
Tippecanoe Valley
TEAM STATS
TV Opp.
Rushing 387-1,505 355-1,389
Passing (comp/att/yds)
52-139-653 49-111-875
Intercepted 15 2
Completion ptg 37.4 44.1
Fumbles lost 4 1
Punts/ave. 43-27.7 41-26.9
Penalties 37-269 44-325
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) -ÊJon Rice 153-767, Matt Eby 63-232, Kyle Bruner 41-176, Bryon Wong 34-167, David Beyers 54-94
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊBeyers 48-129-14, 616 yards, 4 TDs
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊBruner 22-245, Brandon Cody 9-171, Eby 9-54, Luke Scripture 3-52
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo-assists) -ÊDarren Carnes 40-36, Kyle Howard 45-43, Rice 48-37, Casey Wise 44-21, Eby 37-25, Bruner 36-24, Oscar Ramirez 21-15, Cody 20-21
Interceptions -ÊEby 3, Bruner 2
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns -ÊEby 7-150, Bruner 4-66, Sean McCormick 2-37
Punts -ÊCurtis Barker 13-367, Beyers 9-211, Rice 20-600
Punt returns -ÊEby 3-70, Rice 3-16, Beyers 3-24, Bruner 1-55 [[In-content Ad]]
AKRON -ÊTippecanoe Valley coach Scott Bibler knows that his team is considered an underdog tonight against the Class 3A powerhouse NorthWood Panthers.
However, Bibler and his Vikings refuse to be deterred by what people say. After all, the game is played on the field.
"We will have to play a nearly flawless game to beat NorthWood," said Bibler. "We can't afford to make mistakes because NorthWood will take advantage of them."
"NorthWood is a great program with great tradition that started long ago. Their coaching staff does a great job and they have been together a long time. Rich Dodson and his staff do things well. They have a great feeder program and they have their kids playing well."
The Vikings plan to play their game and see how things turn out. Valley will rely on defense and a strong running game to get the job done.
"We are trying to work on things that will make us successful this week," said Bibler. "We will need to play fundamentally strong football. For us, field position will be key. Our special teams will need to do a good job of putting us in position. Then our offense will need to make use of that field position."
Valley will rely on workhorse Jon Rice to lead that offense on the field. To date, Rice has carried the ball 153 times this season for 767 net yards to lead the Viking ground attack. Rice is Valley's leading scorer with 16 touchdowns on the season.
Kyle Burner, Matt Eby and Bryon Wong compliment Rice on the field. Bruner has rushed for 176 yards, Eby for 232 and Wong for 167 to make Valley's ground attack something to be reckoned with.
"Valley has a pretty good running game," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson. "They also do a good job getting the ball away, and we will have to watch for the play-action pass."
Junior quarterback David Beyers is looking to lead his team to the big upset. He has completed 48 of 129 passes for 616 yards and four touchdowns. He has thrown 14 interceptions so far this season.
Along with his running duties, Bruner is Beyers' favorite target, catching 22 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns.
While Bruner is the key receiver for the Vikings, Eby and Brandon Cody are important for the air attack as well. Both have caught nine passes this season, Eby for 54 yards and Cody for 171 yards.
"In order to win this game, we will need a total team effort," said Bibler. "We will definitely need to step up our level of play for this game.
"Obviously we will need to avoid giving up the big play. That will definitely be a key for us in this matchup."
NorthWood is looking to make its way into its seventh straight sectional final game with a win over Valley. The Panther list of accomplishments grows each year. They have won 13 sectionals (six in a row), seven regionals and three semistates.
The Panthers will look to a balanced offensive attack in the contest against Valley. As a team, the NorthWood squad has rushed for more than 1,700 yards and passed for nearly 1,000 yards so far this season.
A double threat for the Panthers is junior signal caller Phil BeMiller. BeMiller stepped into the position halfway through the season and has completed 20 of 57 passes for 559 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the ground, BeMiller has carried the ball 50 times for 322 yards.
BeMiller's favorite targets include Michael Ramirez, Jordan Adams, Josh Sabo, Andrew Huber, Kyle Lehman and Phil Sumpter. Ramirez leads the group with 15 catches for 172 yards, while Adams had 10 catches for 158 yards.
"Defensively, we will need to fly to the football and pursue," said Bibler. "We are starting to do a better job of containing people, and that will be important this week."
"Last week against Mishawaka Marian, Valley's defense took over in the second half," said Dodson. "They continue to improve each game."
The Vikings and Panthers face off tonight at 7:30 p.m in Akron's Death Valley. The winner of tonight's game will play against the winner of the Whitko-South Bend St. Joseph's game played tonight in South Whitley.
CLASS 3A
SECTIONAL 19
NORTHWOOD AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY
7:30 p.m. Friday in Akron
NorthWood
TEAM STATS
NW Opp.
Rushing 351-1,708 351-1,170
Passing (comp/att/yds)
64-127-975 72-185-854
Intercepted 9 15
Completion ptg 50.4 38.9
Fumbles lost 8 13
Punts/ave. 30-35.9 40-31.1
Penalties 45-346 30-264
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) -ÊMichael Ramirez 93-537, E.J. Yehl 82-439, Phil BeMiller 50-322, Kyle Lehman 56-146, Chad Davis 29-142
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊBeMiller 20-57-1, 559 yards, 10 TD; Kyle Lehman 31-64-8, 351 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊRamirez 15-172, Jordan Adams 10-158, Josh Sabo 9-159, Andrew Huber 7-128, Kyle Lehman 5-162, Phil Sumpter 5-162
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo) -ÊJason Cudd 90, Austin Perkins 70, Scott Gerber 51, Joey Beer 49, Sumpter 48, Davis 42, Jaime Garcia 42, Brandon Stutzman 41
Interceptions -ÊSumpter 4, Huber 4, Trevor Shields 2
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns -ÊRamirez 7-102, Mike Bechtel 4-117
Punts -ÊBrandon Hall 30-35.9
Punt Returns -ÊAdams 9-37, Huber 6-45
Tippecanoe Valley
TEAM STATS
TV Opp.
Rushing 387-1,505 355-1,389
Passing (comp/att/yds)
52-139-653 49-111-875
Intercepted 15 2
Completion ptg 37.4 44.1
Fumbles lost 4 1
Punts/ave. 43-27.7 41-26.9
Penalties 37-269 44-325
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) -ÊJon Rice 153-767, Matt Eby 63-232, Kyle Bruner 41-176, Bryon Wong 34-167, David Beyers 54-94
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊBeyers 48-129-14, 616 yards, 4 TDs
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊBruner 22-245, Brandon Cody 9-171, Eby 9-54, Luke Scripture 3-52
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo-assists) -ÊDarren Carnes 40-36, Kyle Howard 45-43, Rice 48-37, Casey Wise 44-21, Eby 37-25, Bruner 36-24, Oscar Ramirez 21-15, Cody 20-21
Interceptions -ÊEby 3, Bruner 2
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns -ÊEby 7-150, Bruner 4-66, Sean McCormick 2-37
Punts -ÊCurtis Barker 13-367, Beyers 9-211, Rice 20-600
Punt returns -ÊEby 3-70, Rice 3-16, Beyers 3-24, Bruner 1-55 [[In-content Ad]]