Will Tippecanoe Valley Be Potent Again In 2022?
August 18, 2022 at 10:21 p.m.
Will Tippecanoe Valley Be Potent Again In 2022?
By Steve Krah-
The Vikings went 10-1 overall and 7-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. It was the best record by a Valley squad since 1983 team went 10-2.
The ’21 team scored 46.6 points per game and yielded 7.7 with three shutouts during the regular season.
“We’re looking forward to the potential of this season,” said sixth-year head coach Steve Moriarty as he and his assistants prepare the team for 2022. “We’ve got a lot of players coming back.
“We’ve got a lot of the linemen back and it’ll be exciting to see how these young kids perform given the opportunity that some of them didn’t have last year. They spent their freshmen and sophomore years at (junior varsity) and now they can see what they can do at the varsity level.”
The Vikings open the season Aug. 19 at Smith-Bibler Memorial Field against Wawasee.
Valley will go with 11 or 12 personnel on offense with a tight end most of the time. It’s similar to a wing-T formation. The Vikings are apt to use a pro-wing or a run-and-shoot.
“We’re trying to make sure we’re dominant with the fullback,” said Moriarty. “It’s more of an old school offense that we run.
“We’ll motion stuff and try to get different kids the ball in space. It’s a little bit of smoke-and-mirrors sometimes.”
Graduation took the top four scorers from last season — Jamasyn Virgil (136 points), Braden Shepherd (92), Rex Kirchenstein (44) and Hunter Eherenman (38). Virgil ran for 947 yards and had 18 total touchdowns.
Junior Dalton Alber (236 yards and four TDs in 2021) is back at fullback.
In the mix at quarterback is senior Marcus Jansma and juniors Nate Parker (who was a tailback with 409 yards and four TDs in 2021) and Cody Eastgate.
Tailbacks include senior Marcus Bernicky, juniors Nate Engstrand and Wade Jones and sophomore Brandon Stiles.
The tight end crew includes juniors Landon Durkes and Kyler Johnson.
Topping the early preseason camp depth chart on the offensive line were senior Luke Parson at center, seniors Noah Prater and Jeremy Schwenk at the guard slots and seniors Alex Bailey and Evan Mash at the tackle positions.
Junior Wade Jones is back as Valley’s punter. Moriarty was planning to audition several players, including freshmen, as kickers. Long snapper was also an open competition.
“It’s going to be kind of different this season (on defense),” said Moriarty. “We’re used to running a 4-3. With some injuries and stuff we might need to switch it up a little bit.
“We’re going to have to run a couple of different packages. It just depends on who we play.”
Alber (47 total tackles in 2021) returns after an all-state season at defensive end. Senior Karl Parker (61 total tackles in 2021) is a three-year starter at outside linebacker. Durkes is also an outside linebacker.
Bailey is highly-ranked in the state as a defensive tackle.
Other returnees on that side of the football include linemen Johnson, Mash and junior Cameron Mason and Jones (44 total tackles and 11 interceptions in 2021) in the secondary.
The defensive backfield also features Nate Parker, Bernicky, Stiles and Cody Black.
Moriarty saw his squad accomplish much during the summer.
“We had quite a few good scrimmages,” said Moriarty. “We got to go against NorthWood, Bremen, Knox and Plymouth. We also got to practice and put in the majority of our offense.
Assistant coaches are the exact same as Valley has had for the past four years. They are Carl Weaver, Kyle Brown, Josh Derf, Rick Shepherd, Casey Wise, Brandon Webster and Chris Secrist. Joe Tackett and Joe Secrist are equipment managers. Joe Eastgate is team statistician.
“We’ve had that continuity in the staff,” said Moriarty. “They put in their time in the off-season and we kind of jell. We are able to know each other and what we expect.
“Overall, I think we’ve got a good scheme going. Everybody know their role and it helps the players.”
The Vikings are in an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Maconaquah, Northwestern, Oak Hill and Peru. Valley’s last sectional title came in 1992.
The Vikings went 10-1 overall and 7-0 in the Three Rivers Conference. It was the best record by a Valley squad since 1983 team went 10-2.
The ’21 team scored 46.6 points per game and yielded 7.7 with three shutouts during the regular season.
“We’re looking forward to the potential of this season,” said sixth-year head coach Steve Moriarty as he and his assistants prepare the team for 2022. “We’ve got a lot of players coming back.
“We’ve got a lot of the linemen back and it’ll be exciting to see how these young kids perform given the opportunity that some of them didn’t have last year. They spent their freshmen and sophomore years at (junior varsity) and now they can see what they can do at the varsity level.”
The Vikings open the season Aug. 19 at Smith-Bibler Memorial Field against Wawasee.
Valley will go with 11 or 12 personnel on offense with a tight end most of the time. It’s similar to a wing-T formation. The Vikings are apt to use a pro-wing or a run-and-shoot.
“We’re trying to make sure we’re dominant with the fullback,” said Moriarty. “It’s more of an old school offense that we run.
“We’ll motion stuff and try to get different kids the ball in space. It’s a little bit of smoke-and-mirrors sometimes.”
Graduation took the top four scorers from last season — Jamasyn Virgil (136 points), Braden Shepherd (92), Rex Kirchenstein (44) and Hunter Eherenman (38). Virgil ran for 947 yards and had 18 total touchdowns.
Junior Dalton Alber (236 yards and four TDs in 2021) is back at fullback.
In the mix at quarterback is senior Marcus Jansma and juniors Nate Parker (who was a tailback with 409 yards and four TDs in 2021) and Cody Eastgate.
Tailbacks include senior Marcus Bernicky, juniors Nate Engstrand and Wade Jones and sophomore Brandon Stiles.
The tight end crew includes juniors Landon Durkes and Kyler Johnson.
Topping the early preseason camp depth chart on the offensive line were senior Luke Parson at center, seniors Noah Prater and Jeremy Schwenk at the guard slots and seniors Alex Bailey and Evan Mash at the tackle positions.
Junior Wade Jones is back as Valley’s punter. Moriarty was planning to audition several players, including freshmen, as kickers. Long snapper was also an open competition.
“It’s going to be kind of different this season (on defense),” said Moriarty. “We’re used to running a 4-3. With some injuries and stuff we might need to switch it up a little bit.
“We’re going to have to run a couple of different packages. It just depends on who we play.”
Alber (47 total tackles in 2021) returns after an all-state season at defensive end. Senior Karl Parker (61 total tackles in 2021) is a three-year starter at outside linebacker. Durkes is also an outside linebacker.
Bailey is highly-ranked in the state as a defensive tackle.
Other returnees on that side of the football include linemen Johnson, Mash and junior Cameron Mason and Jones (44 total tackles and 11 interceptions in 2021) in the secondary.
The defensive backfield also features Nate Parker, Bernicky, Stiles and Cody Black.
Moriarty saw his squad accomplish much during the summer.
“We had quite a few good scrimmages,” said Moriarty. “We got to go against NorthWood, Bremen, Knox and Plymouth. We also got to practice and put in the majority of our offense.
Assistant coaches are the exact same as Valley has had for the past four years. They are Carl Weaver, Kyle Brown, Josh Derf, Rick Shepherd, Casey Wise, Brandon Webster and Chris Secrist. Joe Tackett and Joe Secrist are equipment managers. Joe Eastgate is team statistician.
“We’ve had that continuity in the staff,” said Moriarty. “They put in their time in the off-season and we kind of jell. We are able to know each other and what we expect.
“Overall, I think we’ve got a good scheme going. Everybody know their role and it helps the players.”
The Vikings are in an IHSAA Class 3A sectional grouping with Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Maconaquah, Northwestern, Oak Hill and Peru. Valley’s last sectional title came in 1992.
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