AKRON -ÊWhen Whitko and Tippecanoe Valley face off on the football field everyone expects a wild game. Even the coaches.

And Friday night in Akron's Death Valley, things were no different.

"We always know that when we play Valley it's gonna be a wild game," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger. "It was a little crazy out there, but the kids hung in there and played well."

Sprunger's Wildcats downed Valley 26-23 to earn their first conference title in 12 years. The Whitko squad tied with Southwood for the top spot in the Three Rivers Conference. Both teams sport a 6-1 conference mark.

"We may have tied, but we're counting it," said Sprunger. "We are the conference champions for the first time in 12 years, and you bet we're counting it."

Whitko started the ball off on the right foot, with senior Brett Lukens recovering a Viking fumble on the first play from scrimmage.

The Wildcats turned that Valley miscue into a touchdown just three plays later when senior quarterback Brad Walpole connected with Lukens on a 56-yard touchdown pass. After the Damon Shepherd kick, Whitko held a 7-0 lead with 10:27 left in the first quarter of play.

That lead lasted until the 1:01 mark when Valley's Matt Eby connected on a 32-yard field goal and sliced the Wildcat lead to four, 7-3.

However, the Whitko squad was not satisfied with a four-point lead. Just five seconds into the second frame, Walpole connected with Jeremy Coble for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The kick failed, but Whitko held a 13-3 advantage.

Not for long.

At the 8:52 mark, Tippecanoe Valley's Bryon Wong broke several tackles and ran 15 yards for a touchdown, cutting Whitko's lead back down to four points at 13-9.

The Vikings continued to battle the Wildcats as well as the cold and the rain, and they eventually got the ball back on their own 49 yard line. Valley then started a drive that ate the clock and moved the ball to the 8-yard line with just about a minute left on the clock.

After three plays from goal, Jon Rice rumbled through the Whitko defense and scored his first touchdown of the night. Once Matt Eby's kick split the uprights, Valley held a 16-13 lead with just 20 ticks left on the clock.

That's where the score remained at the half and for much of the third quarter. On the opening drive of the second half, Whitko took the ball on its own 38 yard line.

With a patient and deliberate offense, Whitko ate nearly six minutes off the clock and regained the lead when junior Brandon Waterson burst through the defense and scored from 11 yards out. Shepherd's kick was good, putting Whitko up 20-16 going into the final quarter of play.

With a little more than 10 minutes left in regulation, Whitko faced a fourth-and-one situation. The Wildcats decided to punt the ball, but a high snap sailed over punter Kevin Feldman's head into Valley's end zone. Feldman tried to kick the ball out of the end zone for a safety, but Tippecanoe Valley's Eric Cody pounced on the ball for a Viking touchdown.

After Eby's kick was successful, Valley was in control with a 23-20 lead.

"That bad snap on the punt hurt us, but the kids never gave up," said Sprunger. "The never hung their heads. They stayed in the the game. That's the sign of true champions."

With less than three minutes left in the game, Whitko took the ball on its own 31 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Walpole connected with Lukens for another big play, this time a 60-yard gain to put the Wildcats on the Valley 9-yard line.

With a first-and-goal situation, Alan Robbins carried the ball six yards to put Whitko within three yards of the go-ahead touchdown. Two plays later, Brandon Waterson ran in from one yard out and put Whitko up 26-23 with 1:40 left on the clock.

However, 1:40 can be quite a long time in a football game.

Valley took over on its 31 yard line, but two smart passes to the sidelines put the Vikings at the 50-yard line with plenty of time still left on the clock.

However, Drew Lopshire put an abrupt end to the Viking drive by intercepting a David Beyers pass at the 44 yard line.

In all Whitko tallied 350 total yards to Valley's 235. The Wildcats fumbled the ball five times, with Valley recovering four. Valley fumbled the ball twice, but Whitko picked up one recovery.

The win improves Whitko's record to 6-3 overall. Valley finishes the regular season 4-5 overall and 3-4 in conference play.

The Vikings host the first game of the sectional Friday when Mishawaka Marian makes the trip to death Valley. Whitko will travel to Culver Military Academy for its first-round sectional game.

WHITKO 26,

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 23

Whitko 7 6 7 6 - 26

Valley 3 13 0 7 - 23

W TV

First Downs 10 13

Rushing yards 49-155 40-158

Passing yards 195 77

Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-9-0 7-15-1

Total offense 350 235

Penalties/yards 5-23 6-45

Fumbles-Lost 5-4 2-1

Punts-Avg 3-26 7-24.7

Scoring

First Quarter

W - Brett Lukens 56 pass from Brad Walpole (Damon Shepherd kick), 10:27, 7-0 W

V - Matt Eby 20 field goal, 1:01, 7-3 W

Second Quarter

W - Jeremy Coble 19 pass from Walpole (kick failed), 11:55, 13-3 W

V - Bryon Wong 15 run (kick failed), 8:52, 13-9 W

V - Jon Rice 2 run (Eby kick), 20.2, 16-13 V

Third Quarter

W - Brandon Waterson 11 run (Shepherd kick), 6:15, 20:16 W

Fourth Quarter

V - Eric Cody fumble recovery in endzone (Eby kick), 23-20 V

W - Waterson 1 run (kick failed), 1:40, 26-23 W

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing - Whitko: Brandon Waterson 22-70, Alan Robbins 20-74, Jeremy Coble 1-4, Brad Walpole 4-7; Valley: Jon Rice 19-59, Matt Eby 5-11, Kyle Bruner 6-30, Bryon Wong 4-22, David Beyers 5-32, Luke Scripture 2-7

Passing - Whitko: Walpole 6-9-195, 2 TD, 0 INT; Valley: Beyers 7-15-77, 0 TD, 1 INT

Receiving - Whitko: Brett Lukens 2-119, Alex Frantz 1-28, Coble 1-19, Robbins 2-30; Valley: Britton Burkhart 1-18, Bruner 1-11, Brandon Cody 1-14, Eby 1-6 [[In-content Ad]]