Tippy Valley Cruises Past Peru In Three Rivers Opener
September 3, 2022 at 3:47 a.m.
Tippy Valley Cruises Past Peru In Three Rivers Opener
By Connor McCann-
The game featured five touchdowns, three turnovers, double-digit penalties and two fourth down conversions, all in the first quarter. The fireworks started immediately when Peru’s Alex Smithers took the opening kickoff 75 yards to the house. Just fourteen seconds into the game, Valley found itself down a score.
“The guys were upset, and all of a sudden we turned the tide pretty quickly, turned it into a big first quarter,” Valley head coach Steve Moriarty said.
The team would find the end zone themselves on its first possession, but not without having to work for it. The drive was started by a nice play by junior quarterback Cody Eastgate, who spun out of pressure and made a nice throw on the run to Wade Jones for 23 yards. The Eastgate to Jones connection would pay dividends all night, as the junior receiver would finish his night with 55 yards receiving to go with two touchdowns on the ground.
The Vikings would find themselves in a fourth down situation twice on the opening drive, and twice Eastgate would convert. Jones remained a prominent part of the offense, converting one of those fourth down plays in the red zone and then reaching the end zone on the next play on a 10-yard run.
The ensuing kickoff would feature a reversal of fortune for Tippy Valley. After giving up the touchdown on the first touch of the game, Valley made sure to swarm the returner the second go around. The added effort would pay off, as the team would force a fumble which would be picked up by freshman Grady Moriarty who would take it back the other way and to the house.
After two touchdowns in 12 seconds, the Vikings would go on top, where they would stay.
With 21 points on the board before the Tiger offense even stepped on the field, the Vikings would ensure they didn’t stay on it for long. A huge hit by Jones in the secondary on a third-and-long play would fire the crowd up, but a very late flag would come in on the break-up to give Peru another attempt. It seemed as if the football gods were watching down, as the next play would be a fumble recovered by Dalton Alber to give Valley the ball. Shortly after, Jones would get his second touchdown in the first six minutes of game time.
“Our number one rule is that nobody outhits us. Wade definitely got his money’s worth on that one,” Moriarty said.
Some more defensive prowess by the Vikings would give the offense the ball back and lead to the play off the night. From his own 20, Eastgate would pass the ball to Nathan Parker, who would make a great one-handed catch on his own 27-yard line. After making the grab, Parker would break out of the arms of three Tiger defenders to find nothing but open field ahead of him. Parker would not be touched again on his 80-yard scamper to the end zone, the biggest play of the night for Eastgate, Parker and the Viking offense. It would be Eastgate’s lone touchdown of the game. He’d finish 6 of 9 for 158 yards and a score.
“I was ready to start yelling about a hit on Wade but [Nate] caught the ball and took off,” Moriarty said. “He’s just so savvy, moves so good. It’s so fun to watch him play.”
An hour after kickoff, the first quarter finally came to an end. The second period of action had far less scoring than the first, but still dragged on as both teams struggled to keep yellow flags off of the field. Peru would finish the first half with 11 penalties, Valley with seven. The lone score of the second quarter came with about a minute left, when Karl Parker would break the plane from the one-yard line. After the initial blitzkrieg, the Vikings would end the half with 35 unanswered to take a 35-7 lead into the locker room.
“We’ve got to fix a few things. Holds are going to happen. It’s the false starts that I really don’t like,” Moriarty said.”
Aside from the offense, the defense for Valley had its moments throughout the game. The front line held Peru to -4 yards on 29 carries. The secondary came up with plenty of key pass breakups.
“I’m going to have to take the defensive line to Teel’s,” Moriarty laughed. “We said if we held them to under 50 yards we’d take ‘em. We’ve got a lot of speed and when we fly to the ball we show it off.”
The second half began in the same way the first half went on. A 72-yard touchdown by Jones would be wiped off the board after another holding call on the Vikings. Compared to the first 24 minutes of play, the third quarter was relatively tame, with both teams trading nonthreatening drives.
Tippy Valley would add its sixth touchdown of the game with 22 seconds remaining in the third on a 20-yard run by Nate Engstrand. The snap would be bobbled on the ensuing PAT, keeping the Viking lead at 41-7 and preventing the running clock.
With the game out of reach by the time the fourth quarter began, both teams continued trading possessions until the clock ran out. Peru would get back on the board for the first time since the opening minute with about four and a half to go on a 21-yard touchdown pass. A fortunate bounce for the Tigers on the following kickoff would give Peru the ball back at the Valley 3-yard line just moments later. The Tigers would score on the next play to give the game a much closer scoreline than how it had played out. The Vikings set a new season-high with 21 first downs in the game.
Tippecanoe Valley travels to Manchester next week. Kickoff for the TRC matchup is slated for 7 p.m.
The game featured five touchdowns, three turnovers, double-digit penalties and two fourth down conversions, all in the first quarter. The fireworks started immediately when Peru’s Alex Smithers took the opening kickoff 75 yards to the house. Just fourteen seconds into the game, Valley found itself down a score.
“The guys were upset, and all of a sudden we turned the tide pretty quickly, turned it into a big first quarter,” Valley head coach Steve Moriarty said.
The team would find the end zone themselves on its first possession, but not without having to work for it. The drive was started by a nice play by junior quarterback Cody Eastgate, who spun out of pressure and made a nice throw on the run to Wade Jones for 23 yards. The Eastgate to Jones connection would pay dividends all night, as the junior receiver would finish his night with 55 yards receiving to go with two touchdowns on the ground.
The Vikings would find themselves in a fourth down situation twice on the opening drive, and twice Eastgate would convert. Jones remained a prominent part of the offense, converting one of those fourth down plays in the red zone and then reaching the end zone on the next play on a 10-yard run.
The ensuing kickoff would feature a reversal of fortune for Tippy Valley. After giving up the touchdown on the first touch of the game, Valley made sure to swarm the returner the second go around. The added effort would pay off, as the team would force a fumble which would be picked up by freshman Grady Moriarty who would take it back the other way and to the house.
After two touchdowns in 12 seconds, the Vikings would go on top, where they would stay.
With 21 points on the board before the Tiger offense even stepped on the field, the Vikings would ensure they didn’t stay on it for long. A huge hit by Jones in the secondary on a third-and-long play would fire the crowd up, but a very late flag would come in on the break-up to give Peru another attempt. It seemed as if the football gods were watching down, as the next play would be a fumble recovered by Dalton Alber to give Valley the ball. Shortly after, Jones would get his second touchdown in the first six minutes of game time.
“Our number one rule is that nobody outhits us. Wade definitely got his money’s worth on that one,” Moriarty said.
Some more defensive prowess by the Vikings would give the offense the ball back and lead to the play off the night. From his own 20, Eastgate would pass the ball to Nathan Parker, who would make a great one-handed catch on his own 27-yard line. After making the grab, Parker would break out of the arms of three Tiger defenders to find nothing but open field ahead of him. Parker would not be touched again on his 80-yard scamper to the end zone, the biggest play of the night for Eastgate, Parker and the Viking offense. It would be Eastgate’s lone touchdown of the game. He’d finish 6 of 9 for 158 yards and a score.
“I was ready to start yelling about a hit on Wade but [Nate] caught the ball and took off,” Moriarty said. “He’s just so savvy, moves so good. It’s so fun to watch him play.”
An hour after kickoff, the first quarter finally came to an end. The second period of action had far less scoring than the first, but still dragged on as both teams struggled to keep yellow flags off of the field. Peru would finish the first half with 11 penalties, Valley with seven. The lone score of the second quarter came with about a minute left, when Karl Parker would break the plane from the one-yard line. After the initial blitzkrieg, the Vikings would end the half with 35 unanswered to take a 35-7 lead into the locker room.
“We’ve got to fix a few things. Holds are going to happen. It’s the false starts that I really don’t like,” Moriarty said.”
Aside from the offense, the defense for Valley had its moments throughout the game. The front line held Peru to -4 yards on 29 carries. The secondary came up with plenty of key pass breakups.
“I’m going to have to take the defensive line to Teel’s,” Moriarty laughed. “We said if we held them to under 50 yards we’d take ‘em. We’ve got a lot of speed and when we fly to the ball we show it off.”
The second half began in the same way the first half went on. A 72-yard touchdown by Jones would be wiped off the board after another holding call on the Vikings. Compared to the first 24 minutes of play, the third quarter was relatively tame, with both teams trading nonthreatening drives.
Tippy Valley would add its sixth touchdown of the game with 22 seconds remaining in the third on a 20-yard run by Nate Engstrand. The snap would be bobbled on the ensuing PAT, keeping the Viking lead at 41-7 and preventing the running clock.
With the game out of reach by the time the fourth quarter began, both teams continued trading possessions until the clock ran out. Peru would get back on the board for the first time since the opening minute with about four and a half to go on a 21-yard touchdown pass. A fortunate bounce for the Tigers on the following kickoff would give Peru the ball back at the Valley 3-yard line just moments later. The Tigers would score on the next play to give the game a much closer scoreline than how it had played out. The Vikings set a new season-high with 21 first downs in the game.
Tippecanoe Valley travels to Manchester next week. Kickoff for the TRC matchup is slated for 7 p.m.
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