Vikings Run Wild On Squires
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
In the Three Rivers Conference showdown, Valley (2-1, 1-0 TRC) racked up 448 yards of total offense, while Manchester (1-2, 0-1 TRC) generated just 108 in a 42-0 loss.[[In-content Ad]]After defeating Culver Military Academy in the season opener, the Vikings fell in the last minute against Bremen a week ago. However, in that loss, Valley coach Jeff Shriver was impressed with his team's physicality.
That continued against Manchester.
"We came out, and defensively especially, we came out and picked up where we left off last week," Shriver said. "We made some mistakes, and we're going to watch film and correct those mistakes. But we played hard."
That physcial play helped the Vikings tally 261 rushing yards on 41 carries, 103 of which came from junior Brody Andrews.
Andrews kept getting fed the ball early, crashing into the line of scrimmage, giving the Squires defense something to think about when other Viking runnners got the ball on counter plays.
"We have an offense, in the Wing-T, that is really predicated on the beginning of a play looking the same," Shriver said. "Then, any one of three or four guys, on some of our counters, can have the ball."
Junior James Gregory benefited the most from the offense, running for 74 yards and a touchdown on just five carries, while also catching two passes for 27 yards, one of which was a 21-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
"Gregory is a phenomenal athlete," Shriver said. "One of the things that makes him such a great football player is his mental abilities. He's a very smart kid in the classroom, he's football-smart and he has a real passion for the game."
Sophomore Justin Gunter also ran for 47 yards on seven carries and scored Valley's first touchdown, while junior Wade Cave ran for 15 yards and two scores.
"We didn't do what we were supposed to do," Manchester coach Brandon Baker said about defending the Vikings' offensive scheme. "We practiced it all week, we just didn't do it for whatever reason. I wish I could figure it out. I'm happy with the scheme, we just have to execute."
While the Squires' defense was struggling to get going, the offense was doing even worse.
In the first half, the Squires actually had minus-four total yards, and benefited from junior quarterback Logan Brunn's 51 second-half rushing yards to make their offensive numbers look respectable.
Making things even tougher for the Squires offense was the loss of junior Preston Penrod, who was unavailable to Baker after suffering a concussion against Bluffton last week.
"We missed him, but he wasn't going to win the game for us," Baker said about Penrod, who ran for 220 yards in the team's opening game win over Mississinewa.
"We need guys to step up," Baker said. "They can, it's just a matter of doing it for 48 minutes. We have guys that do it here and there, but they'll get there. They want to win as much as anyone else. It's just a matter of being able to transfer what we do in practice, into what we do in the game. Once we do that, we're going to be OK."
Valley's senior quarterback Gus Lukens also had a good game, completing 5 of 7 passes for 89 yards and the touchdown pass to Gregory. Lukens also ran for a second-quarter score.
"He had some nice passes tonight, had some heads-up plays," Shriver said about Lukens. "He's another great competitor. He's a young man that works tremendously hard."
Backup quarterback Bret Cooper went 2 for 2 in the game for 31 yards, and freshman third-string quarterback Ben Shriver completed a 67-yard pass to fellow freshman Tanner Andrews, giving the Valley coach a good feeling about his team.
'Tonight was probably our best team effort," he said. "We're excited to see ourselves going in the right direction."
Valley is at Southwood Friday, while Manchester hosts Whitko .
"Our biggest opponent right now is us," Baker said.
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In the Three Rivers Conference showdown, Valley (2-1, 1-0 TRC) racked up 448 yards of total offense, while Manchester (1-2, 0-1 TRC) generated just 108 in a 42-0 loss.[[In-content Ad]]After defeating Culver Military Academy in the season opener, the Vikings fell in the last minute against Bremen a week ago. However, in that loss, Valley coach Jeff Shriver was impressed with his team's physicality.
That continued against Manchester.
"We came out, and defensively especially, we came out and picked up where we left off last week," Shriver said. "We made some mistakes, and we're going to watch film and correct those mistakes. But we played hard."
That physcial play helped the Vikings tally 261 rushing yards on 41 carries, 103 of which came from junior Brody Andrews.
Andrews kept getting fed the ball early, crashing into the line of scrimmage, giving the Squires defense something to think about when other Viking runnners got the ball on counter plays.
"We have an offense, in the Wing-T, that is really predicated on the beginning of a play looking the same," Shriver said. "Then, any one of three or four guys, on some of our counters, can have the ball."
Junior James Gregory benefited the most from the offense, running for 74 yards and a touchdown on just five carries, while also catching two passes for 27 yards, one of which was a 21-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
"Gregory is a phenomenal athlete," Shriver said. "One of the things that makes him such a great football player is his mental abilities. He's a very smart kid in the classroom, he's football-smart and he has a real passion for the game."
Sophomore Justin Gunter also ran for 47 yards on seven carries and scored Valley's first touchdown, while junior Wade Cave ran for 15 yards and two scores.
"We didn't do what we were supposed to do," Manchester coach Brandon Baker said about defending the Vikings' offensive scheme. "We practiced it all week, we just didn't do it for whatever reason. I wish I could figure it out. I'm happy with the scheme, we just have to execute."
While the Squires' defense was struggling to get going, the offense was doing even worse.
In the first half, the Squires actually had minus-four total yards, and benefited from junior quarterback Logan Brunn's 51 second-half rushing yards to make their offensive numbers look respectable.
Making things even tougher for the Squires offense was the loss of junior Preston Penrod, who was unavailable to Baker after suffering a concussion against Bluffton last week.
"We missed him, but he wasn't going to win the game for us," Baker said about Penrod, who ran for 220 yards in the team's opening game win over Mississinewa.
"We need guys to step up," Baker said. "They can, it's just a matter of doing it for 48 minutes. We have guys that do it here and there, but they'll get there. They want to win as much as anyone else. It's just a matter of being able to transfer what we do in practice, into what we do in the game. Once we do that, we're going to be OK."
Valley's senior quarterback Gus Lukens also had a good game, completing 5 of 7 passes for 89 yards and the touchdown pass to Gregory. Lukens also ran for a second-quarter score.
"He had some nice passes tonight, had some heads-up plays," Shriver said about Lukens. "He's another great competitor. He's a young man that works tremendously hard."
Backup quarterback Bret Cooper went 2 for 2 in the game for 31 yards, and freshman third-string quarterback Ben Shriver completed a 67-yard pass to fellow freshman Tanner Andrews, giving the Valley coach a good feeling about his team.
'Tonight was probably our best team effort," he said. "We're excited to see ourselves going in the right direction."
Valley is at Southwood Friday, while Manchester hosts Whitko .
"Our biggest opponent right now is us," Baker said.
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