Football season made its triumphant return to Warrior Field Friday night as the Wawasee Warriors opened up their season by hosting fellow Kosciusko County rival Tippecanoe Valley. The Vikings were able to build a big enough lead in the first half to survive a late Wawasee push and open the year with a 23-12 victory.
The Warriors began the game with the ball to kick off the season. The opening drive started well for the home side, as starting running back Brandon Kelly ripped off a couple of nice runs to move the sticks, while wingback Hunter Tinkey fooled the defense on a reverse, resulting in a 16-yard pickup. Despite the nice flow of the offense, Wawasee was unable to convert the drive into points. Junior defensive lineman Cale Dewees would get to Shoemaker for a big sack, forcing a punt.
The Viking offense didn’t share the same successes on their first possession. Bell-cow running back Nate Parker got the ball three times, was stuffed twice and couldn’t pick up the first down on his third attempt. After just three plays, Tippecanoe Valley would punt the ball right back.
On the next drive, the Warriors would make the game’s first big mistake. Forced to make a play on third and long, Shoemaker tossed the ball deep. Valley safety Wade Jones would read it perfectly, rising up for a big interception and giving momentum to the visitors.
It looked like the Vikings would capitalize, as on the second play of the ensuing drive, sophomore fullback Grady Moriarty would break free for a 55-yard gain, getting tackled just yards away from the end zone. The visitors would attempt to allow Parker to finish off the drive, but once again, the Wawasee front line gave him nothing to work with. Valley would be forced to settle for a field goal, and Gage Overbey would come in to hit a short one, putting his team up 3-0 after 10 minutes.
The Warriors would fail to get anything going once again on the following drive, going three and out. After getting the ball back and getting back on offense, Parker was finally able to break free. The senior would rip off a 41-yard carry on the first play of the drive to put the Vikings into Wawasee territory. Two plays later, fullback Brock Derf would break a tackle and rumble 27 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
After yet another three and out for the home side, Tippy Valley found itself in a desirable spot, getting the ball back inside the Warrior 40. A sack of Valley quarterback Cody Eastgate by Wawasee’s Dallas Miller would push the visitors back temporarily, but the setback was quickly erased by a 24-yard run by Wes Parker. That would be as far as the Vikings would get, but they would not leave the drive empty handed. Overbey would come in once again and hit a 45-yard field goal to extend the lead to 13-0 midway through the second quarter.
Now down by two scores, Wawasee’s offense finally started to show some signs of life. A 33-yard kickoff return by Derek Bontrager gave the home side solid starting field position, and the team would take advantage. Shoemaker began to air it out to great success. The first big play was a 31-yard completion to Bradyn Pike. Tinkey got involved again with a pair of 10+ yard catches.

    Wawasee senior Hunter Tinkey looks for running room during the second quarter of Friday night's home season opener against Tippecanoe Valley. Photo by Gary Nieter
  
Despite the successes, the Viking defense would stand strong in the red zone. Needing just five yards to get into the end zone, the Warriors took a costly delay of game penalty. The next play resulted in an incompletion and a short field goal was missed a play later on fourth down.
Both sides would touch the ball again in the final four minutes of the half, but nothing materialized from either possession. The teams headed to the halftime locker room with Tippy Valley awaiting both the ball and the chance to extend its lead in the third quarter.
This thought almost didn’t come to fruition, as the Vikings fumbled the opening kickoff of the third quarter but were able to recover. The visitors would tighten it up, though only momentarily. A few more nice runs from Parker would put the Vikings into the red zone once again and in a prime position to strike. But for the first time in the game, penalties would rear their ugly heads. Two straight calls against Valley would push them back 25 yards. It would cost the visitors, as Overbey’s following 43-yard attempt would hook wide and keep the lead at 13.
Tippy Valley wouldn’t have to wait long to get another crack at putting points on the board. For the second time in the contest, Jones would jump in front of a Shoemaker pass and pick off the senior QB. This time, the turnover would give the Vikings the ball at the opposing 30. The offense would pick up some yards and get into the red zone once again, but again were kept out of the end zone. Overbey would make up for his previous mistake, hitting a short field goal with three and a half minutes left in the third. While the visitors were able to extend their lead, it remained a two-possession deficit for the Warriors.
Still in the game, Wawasee’s offense got back to work. Shoemaker got his tight end, senior Donovan Blair, involved with a 10-yard completion. Barrett Kelly added a 10-yard run and another reverse to Tinkey worked to perfection, as the senior was able to turn it upfield for a 40-yard gain. The third quarter ended with the Warriors were outside of the red zone.
They would not get any closer. Disaster struck on the first play of the fourth quarter for Wawasee, as an unblocked defender blew up Shoemaker as he was releasing the ball, lofting it up in the air. Defensive lineman Asher McGriff would see the ball land right into his hands, and the junior did the rest. With a convoy around him, McGriff would take the ball 67-yards to the house for a defensive touchdown, extending his team’s lead to 23-0 in the process.
Looking for points and looking for them fast, Shoemaker entered hurry up mode on the ensuing possession. It would cost him, as Wes Parker would pick him off for the Vikings’ fourth forced turnover. Valley would go three and out afterwards.
The following possession, the Warriors would finally get on the board. A solid possession by Shoemaker ended with the quarterback finding Bontrager in the slot and the senior doing the rest, resulting in a 15-yard score. The two-point conversion was no good, making it a 23-6 game.
The Warriors were not done. A couple minutes and a few possessions later, Tinkey would break a sideline tackle and have nothing but green grass in front of him, resulting in a 64-yard score. The ensuing two-point conversion would be no good, making it a 23-12 game with just under four minutes left.
On the team’s final possession of the night, Valley was able to burn enough clock to put a dash in the Warrior comeback hopes. Parker finished his night with 91 yards on 20 carries. Derf had 42 yards and a touchdown. Moriarty had 72 yards on two carries.
For the Warriors, Shoemaker finished 13 of 20 for 215 yards with two touchdowns and four interception Brandon Kelly had 43 on 16 carries. Tinkey had a huge offensive night, racking up an even 100 yards receiving with a score and 45 yards rushing.
Tippecanoe Valley travels to Rochester for the Bell Game next week while Wawasee plays its first road game at West Noble.