Big Plays Lift Eagles Over Tippy ValleyAKRON – First-year Tippecanoe Valley High School football coach Steve Moriarty was pleased his defense held Culver Academy under 140 yards rushing Friday night.
If only the Vikings didn’t give up big plays in the passing game, on special teams, and on an interception return.
In a 33-7 win over Valley, Culver Academy’s shortest touchdown was a 29-yard run by Alec Stathakis that made it 21-0 midway through the third quarter.
The Eagles, who only tallied 236 yards of total offense despite the lopsided score, also scored on a 64-yard pass, 69-yard punt return, 54-yard run and a 61-yard interception return.
The long pass came first, as Culver senior quarterback Michael Bocker hooked up with classmate Brian Loudermilk just over two minutes into the game.
Less than two minutes later, Loudermilk took a Valley punt to the house, and sophomore Alejandro Septien’s kick gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter.
“Last week we did the same thing,” said Moriarty when asked about giving up the big plays. “Second play of the game against Bremen we got scorched for 80 yards. Same thing tonight, we came out and stopped them on defense, they couldn’t run their jet sweep, but that long ball just seemed like it hung in the air forever. And then the punt return ... you take those two plays away and it was a pretty close game.
“I think our defense did pretty well giving up under 140 yards rushing. I was pleased with that.”
CMA, now 2-0 on the season after outscoring Twin Lakes and Valley by a combined score of 52-7, rushed for 134 yards and passed for 102 more.
The Eagles, who failed on their final two extra-point kick attempts, scored twice in the third quarter, pushing their advantage to 33-0.
Senior Carson Bellman raced in from 54 yards out and classmate Jake Rodgers picked off Valley sophomore quarterback Tanner Trippiedi and returned it 61 yards to paydirt.
Trippiedi, who was sacked five times in the first half by a very aggressive and extremely physical Culver defensive front, threw three interceptions in the loss.
He finished the game 7 of 19 for 69 yards.
Because of the sacks, Trippiedi was charged with eight carries for -48 yards.
“They’re very good,” Moriarty said of the Eagles. “They are such good athletes, they’re well-coached, and they fill the gaps good. Thing of it is, you’ve got to move your feet, and you practice it and practice it, but when it comes to the game it’s a totally different speed.”
The Vikings were held to 145 yards of total offense, 97 of which came through the air.
Valley’s lone touchdown came 48 seconds remaining in the game when backup quarterback Noah Miller threw a 28-yard strike to sophomore wideout Jalen Shepherd.
“He’s an asset we didn’t have last year,” Moriarty said of Shepherd. “For him to come out this year ... you know, in the offseason he worked really hard in the weight room with (strength and conditioning) Coach (Danny) Thompson. He’d shoot hoops and then he’d come work, and you could tell by his vertical jump that he was getting better and better. His hands are phenomenal. I think he’ll be a good asset to (basketball) Coach (Chad) Patrick, but we’ll use him until then.”
Though it doesn’t count toward the conference standings because the 10-team Three Rivers Conference is divided into two divisions, Valley will travel to league foe North Miami Friday.
Culver Academy will host Indianapolis Arlington.
Notes: During halftime of Friday’s game, Tippecanoe Valley honored its 1992 sectional championship team.
A handful of the players from that team 25 years ago were introduced to the crowd.
Moriarty was a sophomore on that team, and after the game he talked about how special that team was. Valley has not won a sectional title since then.
Scott Bibler, who died in a plane crash in October of 2015, was the head coach of the Vikings in 1992.
CULVER ACADEMY 33,
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 7
CA 14 0 19 0 — 33
TV 0 0 7 0 — 7
CA TV
1st downs 4 11
Rushing yds 134 48
Passing yds 102 97
Comp-Att-Int 6-10-0 8-21-3
Total yds 236 145
Fumbles/lost 4/1 1/0
Penalties/yds 10/65 6/50
First Quarter
CA – Michael Bocker 64 pass to Brian Loudermilk (Alejandro Septien kick) 9:57, 7-0
CA – Loudermilk 69 punt return (Septien kick) 8:07, 14-0
Third Quarter
CA – Alec Stathakis 29 run (Septien kick) 7:06, 21-0
CA – Carson Bellman 54 run (kick failed) 4:31, 27-0
CA – Jake Rodgers 61 INT return (kick failed) :22, 33-0
Fourth Quarter
TV – Noah Miller 28 pass to Jalen Shepherd (Domingo Santiago kick) :48, 33-7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Culver Academy, Bellman 5-66, Stathakis 4-38, Tommy Polhamus 2-23, Trent Lipsett 3-4, Loudermilk 2-6, Bocker 5-(-3); T. Valley, Jace Potter 8-22, Tanner Trippiedi 8-(-48), Cameron Parker 5-20, Dakota Gaff 5-20, Alex Morrison 7-17, Wes Melanson 3-16
Passing — Culver Academy, Bocker 5-9-97, 1 TD, 0 INT, Chase Frantti 1-1-5, 0 TD, 0 INT; T. Valley, Trippiedi 7-19-69, 0 TD, 3 INT, Miller 1-2-28, 1 TD, 0 INT
Receiving — Culver Academy, Loudermilk 1-64, Deontae Craig 2-19; T. Valley, Melanson 3-32, Bryce Webster 3-19, Shepherd 1-28, Potter 1-0, Parker 1-10
