Valley Rolls Past Wildcats, Stays Atop Three Rivers Conference
September 25, 2021 at 4:55 a.m.
Valley Rolls Past Wildcats, Stays Atop Three Rivers Conference
By Connor McCann-
Valley certainly acted like it.
The Class 3A No. 9 Vikings used a first quarter blitzkrieg to take a lead they would never look back from in a dominating 60-0 shutout over the Wildcats in Three Rivers Conference football. That was the score at halftime as well, as Tippy Valley scored on its first seven drives and added a punt return TD. The Vikings are now 6-0 this season, while Whitko falls to 1-5.
For Whitko, it was a struggle on offense all night long. The team only managed two first downs in the first half, and was only able to cross the fifty-yard-line in the second half. The Wildcats were held to under 60 total yards, and the team’s main offensive threat, running back Tyler Veach, was neutralized, picking up just 51 yards on 31 carries and a lost fumble.
“We need consistency at every position,” Whitko head coach Chip Coldiron said. “We have to block with our offensive line. We have to block with recivers. We have to handle snaps. It’s just small little things, and when a lot of people aren’t doing the small little things it turns into one big thing.”
On the other side of the ball, The Wildcats were able to offer little resistance to the Vikings high-powered attack. It didn’t matter who had the ball for Tippecanoe Valley, every player on the field was making plays. Receiver Rex Kirchenstein caught two 30-yard+ touchdowns. Braden Shepard had two 60-yard touchdowns, one a punt return and another a reception. Quarterback and homecoming king Branson McBrier was seeing everyone on the field, finishing 8/9 for 181 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dalton Alber and Jamasyn Virgil both had two touchdowns each.
And then it was halftime.
“When you have that many athletes with explosive talent, it’s hard to get them all the ball,” Viking head coach Steve Moriarty said. “You try to spread it around, but having that as a coach, how blessed are we? It’s their work ethic that’s made them like that.”
The only team that slowed down the Vikings was themselves. Despite the large margin of victory, the Vikings displayed a lack of discipline at times, committing 13 penalties in the game including four in a row on one possession.
That got Moriarty’s attention.
“We need to clean things up. We have to stop jumping offsides. We had some timing issues. But these are all things we can fix in practice, we just need to sharpen up over the next two weeks,” he said.
For Whitko, it’s been a struggle in Coldiron’s first season as head coach. But he knows to keep his eyes on the end of the tunnel.
“I was talking to Coach Moriarty before the game and he told me his first year he was 2-8. Now they’re a great team that’s going to go far. We started with 12 kids on the team when I was hired the last week of July,” Coldiron said. “Now we’re up to 40 on the roster, 30 that dress. We’re getting better, we’re moving in the right direction, it’s a process.”
The Vikings are on the road Friday where they’ll take on Maconaquah, while the Wildcats return home to take on Manchester.
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Valley certainly acted like it.
The Class 3A No. 9 Vikings used a first quarter blitzkrieg to take a lead they would never look back from in a dominating 60-0 shutout over the Wildcats in Three Rivers Conference football. That was the score at halftime as well, as Tippy Valley scored on its first seven drives and added a punt return TD. The Vikings are now 6-0 this season, while Whitko falls to 1-5.
For Whitko, it was a struggle on offense all night long. The team only managed two first downs in the first half, and was only able to cross the fifty-yard-line in the second half. The Wildcats were held to under 60 total yards, and the team’s main offensive threat, running back Tyler Veach, was neutralized, picking up just 51 yards on 31 carries and a lost fumble.
“We need consistency at every position,” Whitko head coach Chip Coldiron said. “We have to block with our offensive line. We have to block with recivers. We have to handle snaps. It’s just small little things, and when a lot of people aren’t doing the small little things it turns into one big thing.”
On the other side of the ball, The Wildcats were able to offer little resistance to the Vikings high-powered attack. It didn’t matter who had the ball for Tippecanoe Valley, every player on the field was making plays. Receiver Rex Kirchenstein caught two 30-yard+ touchdowns. Braden Shepard had two 60-yard touchdowns, one a punt return and another a reception. Quarterback and homecoming king Branson McBrier was seeing everyone on the field, finishing 8/9 for 181 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dalton Alber and Jamasyn Virgil both had two touchdowns each.
And then it was halftime.
“When you have that many athletes with explosive talent, it’s hard to get them all the ball,” Viking head coach Steve Moriarty said. “You try to spread it around, but having that as a coach, how blessed are we? It’s their work ethic that’s made them like that.”
The only team that slowed down the Vikings was themselves. Despite the large margin of victory, the Vikings displayed a lack of discipline at times, committing 13 penalties in the game including four in a row on one possession.
That got Moriarty’s attention.
“We need to clean things up. We have to stop jumping offsides. We had some timing issues. But these are all things we can fix in practice, we just need to sharpen up over the next two weeks,” he said.
For Whitko, it’s been a struggle in Coldiron’s first season as head coach. But he knows to keep his eyes on the end of the tunnel.
“I was talking to Coach Moriarty before the game and he told me his first year he was 2-8. Now they’re a great team that’s going to go far. We started with 12 kids on the team when I was hired the last week of July,” Coldiron said. “Now we’re up to 40 on the roster, 30 that dress. We’re getting better, we’re moving in the right direction, it’s a process.”
The Vikings are on the road Friday where they’ll take on Maconaquah, while the Wildcats return home to take on Manchester.
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