Whitko Survives Trip Into Death Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Whitko traveled to Tippecanoe's Death Valley expecting a tough football game against the Vikings.
Sometimes you get what you expect.
In a game that was not over until the final seconds had ticked away, Whitko pulled out a 29-28 win in the last minute.
Going into this TRC matchup, Valley and Whitko had identical records (4-4 overall and 3-3 TRC).
Coming out of the game, Whitko had taken the upper hand in the TRC race and gained momentum for its sectional game in two weeks, while Valley contemplated the strategy for its next game.
Whitko had first possession, but fumbled after only three plays, and Derek Domenico recovered for Valley.
Valley capitalized on Whitko's early mistake, moving the football 51 yards to score the first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead.
After Valley's defense shut down Whitko's offense, the Vikings had the ball at their own 49-yard line.
The Vikings had possession of the ball for less than one play when Whitko's Phil Chandler recovered a Valley fumble to give Whitko another chance to tie the score.
Whitko moved the ball successfully down the field and tied the score at 7 on a 2-yard Seth Slater touchdown run.
At the end of the first quarter, the score stood at 7-7 with Valley in possession of the ball on its own 39-yard line.
Valley reached the Whitko 40-yard line before it was forced to punt the ball on fourth and 15 early in the second quarter.
On the next possession, the Wildcats made their way down to the Valley 15-yard line before Ben Mohr was sacked by Valley's Rustin Birge for a 5-yard loss, putting Whitko behind fourth and 10.
On the next play, the Wildcats were called for holding, sent back 10 yards and forced to give up possession of the ball.
With 2:51 left in the first half, the VIkings took possession of the ball on their 19-yard line.
In just over two minutes, Valley's Prater had scored a 6-yard touchdown to put the Vikings up 14-7 at the half.
After the halftime break, the Vikings came out to play, and with 10:43 left in the third quarter, Nate Patterson had scored his first touchdown of the game.
"Nate Patterson had his best game of the year, especially offensively," said Valley coach Scott Bibler. "It's good to see.
"A lot of teams will key in on Prater, so it's good to have someone else to go to."
After two possession changes, Whitko was still behind 21-7 when Josh Gonzalez broke off a 46-yard run to put the Wildcats on Valley's 12-yard line.
Three plays later, Slater ran eight yards for his second touchdown of the night.
After Whitko missed the extra point, the score stood at 21-13 in Valley's favor.
On the next possession, Valley moved the ball to the Whitko 27-yard line, where Nathan Moore's 46-yard field goal attempt fell just short to give Whitko possession of the ball again.
Whitko failed to convert the opportunity, and Valley regained possession of the football.
As the fourth quarter began, Valley was on the Whitko 34-yard line on second and 20 when Whitko's Joe Potts sacked Brandon Eaton for a loss of 15.
On third and 35, Mike McNeal ran for 18 yards, but Valley was forced to punt the ball away.
With 10:56 left to play, the Wildcats regained possession of the ball on their 10-yard line, and on the first play of the drive, Mohr ran for a 35-yard gain. Again, the Wildcats were unable to convert the drive into points, and the score still remained 21-13 Valley.
Whitko punted the ball to Valley, but the Vikings fumbled on the return.
Whitko's Brock Waterson recovered the fumble on the Valley 4-yard line to put the Wildcats in prime scoring position.
Slater ran the ball four yards for the touchdown, and Mohr tossed the ball to John Wendel for the two-point conversion, bringing the score to 21-21.
"I have to give the Whitko kids credit; they played hard," said Bibler. "They were down 21-7 and battled back."
However, Valley would not be outdone.
On their next drive, the Vikings moved the ball 71 yards in 2:53 to take the lead 28-21 with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
Hoping to gain that momentum back, the Wildcats took possession of the ball on their 20-yard line and began their quest for another touchdown.
Whitko plugged away and ate five minutes off the clock as it went 80 yards down the field, and Slater scored another touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Then the WIldcats had a decision to make - or did they?
"There was not a question. We knew we were going for two," said Sprunger. "It was just a matter of which play to choose."
Whitko lined up on the 2-yard line to attempt the two-point conversion, but Mohr's count threw off the Valley defense as the Vikings jumped off-side.
With the distance between Whitko and the go-ahead points just one yard away, the Wildcats went to their go-to guy of the night - Slater.
Slater ran in for the two-point conversion, and Whitko took the lead for the first time in the game.
"It was gutsy to go for two points for the win," said Bibler.
"We took a chance and rolled the dice," said Sprunger. "Fortunately tonight they rolled in our favor."
After leading the entire game, Valley found itself in an unexpected position, behind 29-28.
The Vikings got the ball on their own 27-yard line with 1:00 left to play.
Four incomplete passes later, Valley's hopes of victory were shattered, and the players looked at the scoreboard in disbelief.
Whitko had pulled out the last-minute win.
"We moved the ball well, and our defense contained them for the most part," said Bibler. "We just made too many mistakes.
"Our mistakes killed us, and crucial penalties killed us."
Valley hosts Northridge next Friday in the sectional opener.
After darwing a sectional bye, Whitko will play the winner of next week's West Noble - Lakeland matchup.
"We're getting better slowly," said Sprunger," but we need to speed it up a little for sectionals."
WHITKO 29, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 28
Whitko 7 0 6 16- 29
Tippecanoe Valley 7 7 7 7- 28
W TV
First downs 15 15
Rushes-yards 43-289 42-394
Comp.-Att.-Int. 2-4-0 6-14-0
Passing yards 31 77
Total offense 320 471
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-2
Penalties-yds. 1-15 7-48
Punts-ave. 4-39 2-46
First Quarter
TV - Eric Prater 9 yd. run (Eby kick) 7-0 TV
W - Seth Slater 2 yd. run (Martin kick) 7-7
Second Quarter
TV - Prater 4 yd. run (Eby kick) 14-7 TV
Third Quarter
TV - Nate Patterson 69 yd. run (Eby kick) 21-7 TV
W - Slater 5 yd. run (kick failed) 21-13 TV
Fourth Quarter
W - Slater 4 yd. run (Mohr to Wendel run) 21-21
TV - Patterson 8 yd. run (Eby kick) 28-21 TV
W - Slater 1 yd. run (Slater run) 29-28 W
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Whitko: Josh Gonzalez 16-111; Seth Slater 19-97; Tippecanoe Valley: Eric Prater 130-13; Nate Patterson 126-8.
Receiving - Tippecanoe Valley: Eric Prater 5-67
Passing - Tippecanoe Valley: Brandon Eaton 6-14-77 [[In-content Ad]]
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Whitko traveled to Tippecanoe's Death Valley expecting a tough football game against the Vikings.
Sometimes you get what you expect.
In a game that was not over until the final seconds had ticked away, Whitko pulled out a 29-28 win in the last minute.
Going into this TRC matchup, Valley and Whitko had identical records (4-4 overall and 3-3 TRC).
Coming out of the game, Whitko had taken the upper hand in the TRC race and gained momentum for its sectional game in two weeks, while Valley contemplated the strategy for its next game.
Whitko had first possession, but fumbled after only three plays, and Derek Domenico recovered for Valley.
Valley capitalized on Whitko's early mistake, moving the football 51 yards to score the first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead.
After Valley's defense shut down Whitko's offense, the Vikings had the ball at their own 49-yard line.
The Vikings had possession of the ball for less than one play when Whitko's Phil Chandler recovered a Valley fumble to give Whitko another chance to tie the score.
Whitko moved the ball successfully down the field and tied the score at 7 on a 2-yard Seth Slater touchdown run.
At the end of the first quarter, the score stood at 7-7 with Valley in possession of the ball on its own 39-yard line.
Valley reached the Whitko 40-yard line before it was forced to punt the ball on fourth and 15 early in the second quarter.
On the next possession, the Wildcats made their way down to the Valley 15-yard line before Ben Mohr was sacked by Valley's Rustin Birge for a 5-yard loss, putting Whitko behind fourth and 10.
On the next play, the Wildcats were called for holding, sent back 10 yards and forced to give up possession of the ball.
With 2:51 left in the first half, the VIkings took possession of the ball on their 19-yard line.
In just over two minutes, Valley's Prater had scored a 6-yard touchdown to put the Vikings up 14-7 at the half.
After the halftime break, the Vikings came out to play, and with 10:43 left in the third quarter, Nate Patterson had scored his first touchdown of the game.
"Nate Patterson had his best game of the year, especially offensively," said Valley coach Scott Bibler. "It's good to see.
"A lot of teams will key in on Prater, so it's good to have someone else to go to."
After two possession changes, Whitko was still behind 21-7 when Josh Gonzalez broke off a 46-yard run to put the Wildcats on Valley's 12-yard line.
Three plays later, Slater ran eight yards for his second touchdown of the night.
After Whitko missed the extra point, the score stood at 21-13 in Valley's favor.
On the next possession, Valley moved the ball to the Whitko 27-yard line, where Nathan Moore's 46-yard field goal attempt fell just short to give Whitko possession of the ball again.
Whitko failed to convert the opportunity, and Valley regained possession of the football.
As the fourth quarter began, Valley was on the Whitko 34-yard line on second and 20 when Whitko's Joe Potts sacked Brandon Eaton for a loss of 15.
On third and 35, Mike McNeal ran for 18 yards, but Valley was forced to punt the ball away.
With 10:56 left to play, the Wildcats regained possession of the ball on their 10-yard line, and on the first play of the drive, Mohr ran for a 35-yard gain. Again, the Wildcats were unable to convert the drive into points, and the score still remained 21-13 Valley.
Whitko punted the ball to Valley, but the Vikings fumbled on the return.
Whitko's Brock Waterson recovered the fumble on the Valley 4-yard line to put the Wildcats in prime scoring position.
Slater ran the ball four yards for the touchdown, and Mohr tossed the ball to John Wendel for the two-point conversion, bringing the score to 21-21.
"I have to give the Whitko kids credit; they played hard," said Bibler. "They were down 21-7 and battled back."
However, Valley would not be outdone.
On their next drive, the Vikings moved the ball 71 yards in 2:53 to take the lead 28-21 with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
Hoping to gain that momentum back, the Wildcats took possession of the ball on their 20-yard line and began their quest for another touchdown.
Whitko plugged away and ate five minutes off the clock as it went 80 yards down the field, and Slater scored another touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Then the WIldcats had a decision to make - or did they?
"There was not a question. We knew we were going for two," said Sprunger. "It was just a matter of which play to choose."
Whitko lined up on the 2-yard line to attempt the two-point conversion, but Mohr's count threw off the Valley defense as the Vikings jumped off-side.
With the distance between Whitko and the go-ahead points just one yard away, the Wildcats went to their go-to guy of the night - Slater.
Slater ran in for the two-point conversion, and Whitko took the lead for the first time in the game.
"It was gutsy to go for two points for the win," said Bibler.
"We took a chance and rolled the dice," said Sprunger. "Fortunately tonight they rolled in our favor."
After leading the entire game, Valley found itself in an unexpected position, behind 29-28.
The Vikings got the ball on their own 27-yard line with 1:00 left to play.
Four incomplete passes later, Valley's hopes of victory were shattered, and the players looked at the scoreboard in disbelief.
Whitko had pulled out the last-minute win.
"We moved the ball well, and our defense contained them for the most part," said Bibler. "We just made too many mistakes.
"Our mistakes killed us, and crucial penalties killed us."
Valley hosts Northridge next Friday in the sectional opener.
After darwing a sectional bye, Whitko will play the winner of next week's West Noble - Lakeland matchup.
"We're getting better slowly," said Sprunger," but we need to speed it up a little for sectionals."
WHITKO 29, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 28
Whitko 7 0 6 16- 29
Tippecanoe Valley 7 7 7 7- 28
W TV
First downs 15 15
Rushes-yards 43-289 42-394
Comp.-Att.-Int. 2-4-0 6-14-0
Passing yards 31 77
Total offense 320 471
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-2
Penalties-yds. 1-15 7-48
Punts-ave. 4-39 2-46
First Quarter
TV - Eric Prater 9 yd. run (Eby kick) 7-0 TV
W - Seth Slater 2 yd. run (Martin kick) 7-7
Second Quarter
TV - Prater 4 yd. run (Eby kick) 14-7 TV
Third Quarter
TV - Nate Patterson 69 yd. run (Eby kick) 21-7 TV
W - Slater 5 yd. run (kick failed) 21-13 TV
Fourth Quarter
W - Slater 4 yd. run (Mohr to Wendel run) 21-21
TV - Patterson 8 yd. run (Eby kick) 28-21 TV
W - Slater 1 yd. run (Slater run) 29-28 W
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Whitko: Josh Gonzalez 16-111; Seth Slater 19-97; Tippecanoe Valley: Eric Prater 130-13; Nate Patterson 126-8.
Receiving - Tippecanoe Valley: Eric Prater 5-67
Passing - Tippecanoe Valley: Brandon Eaton 6-14-77 [[In-content Ad]]