Wildcats Rally For TRC Win Over Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Cliff Tanner-
Late in the game, Whitko stopped the Vikings at the two-yard line with under a minute to go. Then, on fourth and less than six inches to go, the Wildcat defense stopped Valley short, securing a 24-21 come-from-behind win.[[In-content Ad]]Adding insult to injury, Valley was called for a unsportsmanlike penalty on the play.
"We were six inches short and I decided to go for it instead of a field goal to tie," Valley coach Jeff Shriver said. "The way we ran against them tonight, I really thought we would get the six inches."
The Whitko win was the first over Valley since the 2002 season. The win also secured Whitko with a winning record at 6-3 going into sectional play.
William Graves kicked a 27-yard field goal with 11:19 left in the game, giving Whitko its first lead.
Early on, it was Valley that looked to be in control of the game.
Valley's Gus Lukens took the opening kickoff, dropped the ball at the 20-yard line, but had time to pick it up and run 79 yards for the first score of the game.
"We started out slow tonight," Whitko coach Wayne Swender said. "I thought we would come out strong tonight and strike early. Valley had three big plays to go up on us early."
The Valley defense dominated the Whitko offensive line most of the first half, continuously getting into the Wildcat backfield.
"We did a nice job defensively in the first half," Shriver said. "We just didn't control the game in the second like we did earlier."
The Vikings' Michael Lewis took over the game late in the second half, running for two touchdowns to give Valley a 21-0 lead. His first touchdown was a 92-yard run, helping him finish with 125 yards on 12 carries to lead the Vikings.
Lewis' second touchdown came on a five-yard run after a huge play to put them at the Whitko five-yard line. Ross Miller threw a backwards pass to Trent Swihart, who in turn, passed the ball to Devin Vogel. Vogel ran the ball 73 yards after the catch.
"Valley had three big plays that put us in the hole early," Swender said.
Whitko retaliated as time ran down in the second quarter.
Adam Jarrell ran for a 50-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 21-7 at the half. Jarrell ran the ball twice on the drive for 75 yards. He finished with 136 on 13 carries.
After receiving the second-half kickoff, Gabe Starkey woke up the offense with his passing skills.
Starkey hit Ryan Bumbaugh for a 22-yard touchdown pass to cap a nine-play drive. The score cut the lead to 21-14.
"Gabe did a nice job in the second half," Swender said.
The team, as a whole, picked it up as the Wildcat defense did to Valley what Valley did to them.
Whitko got the ball back with 7:34 left in the third. Starkey again threw a touchdown pass, this time to Cort Walter. Starkey finished completing 5 of 6 passes for 130 yards in the third quarter.
Valley assisted the Wildcats by committing 14 penalties in the game, several of which came as unsportsmanlike conduct. In all, the Viking were penalized for 116 yards.
"We had some issues tonight," Shriver said. "We have been creating problems with the penalties. The unsportsmanlike one at the end of the game killed us. We will work on that this week."
Whitko will play host to Wabash next week for their first meeting in sectional play.
Valley starts their quest in the sectional by hosting Mishawaka Marian for a 7:30 p.m. start Friday.
Valley finished the regular season at 3-6. It was the first losing season for Valley since 2002.
"We will get prepared this week," Shriver said. "We need to work hard on some things to become a better football team. We have to believe in the kids and they have to believe in us coaches."
Late in the game, Whitko stopped the Vikings at the two-yard line with under a minute to go. Then, on fourth and less than six inches to go, the Wildcat defense stopped Valley short, securing a 24-21 come-from-behind win.[[In-content Ad]]Adding insult to injury, Valley was called for a unsportsmanlike penalty on the play.
"We were six inches short and I decided to go for it instead of a field goal to tie," Valley coach Jeff Shriver said. "The way we ran against them tonight, I really thought we would get the six inches."
The Whitko win was the first over Valley since the 2002 season. The win also secured Whitko with a winning record at 6-3 going into sectional play.
William Graves kicked a 27-yard field goal with 11:19 left in the game, giving Whitko its first lead.
Early on, it was Valley that looked to be in control of the game.
Valley's Gus Lukens took the opening kickoff, dropped the ball at the 20-yard line, but had time to pick it up and run 79 yards for the first score of the game.
"We started out slow tonight," Whitko coach Wayne Swender said. "I thought we would come out strong tonight and strike early. Valley had three big plays to go up on us early."
The Valley defense dominated the Whitko offensive line most of the first half, continuously getting into the Wildcat backfield.
"We did a nice job defensively in the first half," Shriver said. "We just didn't control the game in the second like we did earlier."
The Vikings' Michael Lewis took over the game late in the second half, running for two touchdowns to give Valley a 21-0 lead. His first touchdown was a 92-yard run, helping him finish with 125 yards on 12 carries to lead the Vikings.
Lewis' second touchdown came on a five-yard run after a huge play to put them at the Whitko five-yard line. Ross Miller threw a backwards pass to Trent Swihart, who in turn, passed the ball to Devin Vogel. Vogel ran the ball 73 yards after the catch.
"Valley had three big plays that put us in the hole early," Swender said.
Whitko retaliated as time ran down in the second quarter.
Adam Jarrell ran for a 50-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 21-7 at the half. Jarrell ran the ball twice on the drive for 75 yards. He finished with 136 on 13 carries.
After receiving the second-half kickoff, Gabe Starkey woke up the offense with his passing skills.
Starkey hit Ryan Bumbaugh for a 22-yard touchdown pass to cap a nine-play drive. The score cut the lead to 21-14.
"Gabe did a nice job in the second half," Swender said.
The team, as a whole, picked it up as the Wildcat defense did to Valley what Valley did to them.
Whitko got the ball back with 7:34 left in the third. Starkey again threw a touchdown pass, this time to Cort Walter. Starkey finished completing 5 of 6 passes for 130 yards in the third quarter.
Valley assisted the Wildcats by committing 14 penalties in the game, several of which came as unsportsmanlike conduct. In all, the Viking were penalized for 116 yards.
"We had some issues tonight," Shriver said. "We have been creating problems with the penalties. The unsportsmanlike one at the end of the game killed us. We will work on that this week."
Whitko will play host to Wabash next week for their first meeting in sectional play.
Valley starts their quest in the sectional by hosting Mishawaka Marian for a 7:30 p.m. start Friday.
Valley finished the regular season at 3-6. It was the first losing season for Valley since 2002.
"We will get prepared this week," Shriver said. "We need to work hard on some things to become a better football team. We have to believe in the kids and they have to believe in us coaches."
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