AKRON – As second-year coach Steve Moriarty put it, his Tippecanoe Valley Vikings just never got anything going Friday night.
The way the Maconaquah Braves controlled the line of scrimmage and the clock, Valley didn’t really have a chance to.
In a Class 3A Sectional 27 semifinal, the Braves had possession of the football for more than 33 of the 48 minutes en route to a 24-6 win over the host Vikings.
Behind a physical offensive line, Maconaquah had two 100-yard rushers and racked up all but two of its 313 totals yards of offense via the ground game.
The Vikings, who ran 41 offensive plays to Maconaquah’s 73, finished the game with 126 yards of offense – 83 on 23 rushing attempts and 43 on 18 pass attempts.
“Their backs are physical, not just their linemen, they’re big kids,” Moriarty said of the Braves.
Six-foot, 170-pound sophomore running back Carter Little led Maconaquah’s ground game with 22 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
He scored the game’s first six points on a 2-yard plunge into the endzone with 5:01 remaining in the first quarter.
That was the opening drive of the game, as the Braves took nearly seven minutes off the clock.
Little’s second touchdown, this time from 43 yards out, put the Braves up 24-6 with 3:42 remaining in the fourth quarter and salted the game away.
Sophomore Jared Blake tallied 123 yards on 28 carries, including a 7-yard touchdown run that gave Maconaquah a 17-0 advantage with 3:56 left in the third quarter.
The Braves’ other points came on an 18-yard field goal by sophomore Richie Leary that made the score 9-0 just before halftime.
“It’s hard to simulate that offense in practice,” Moriarty said of Maconaquah’s option attack. “We can try to run through it during practice during the week, but it is hard to simulate it live.
“We did the best we could. I thought the kids played their hearts out. I was very proud of them ... we just had a lot of penalties.”
The Vikings, whose season ended with a record of 6-5, were whistled for seven penalties for 95 yards.
Maconaquah, on the other hand, had five penalties for 35 yards.
With the win, the Braves improved to 9-2 and advanced to next week’s sectional championship game against Mishawaka Marian, a 31-6 winner over Knox.
Maconaquah has never won a sectional championship in football, and next week’s appearance in the sectional final is the program’s first since 2002.
The Vikings haven’t won a sectional title since 1992, or played for one since 1993.
Moriarty said after the game he was grateful for this year’s senior class, that it was one that helped bring back some of Valley’s pride and winning tradition.
After a 1-3 start, Valley won five of its next six games, with the one loss being a 21-20 setback to 1A No. 3 Southwood in the Three Rivers Conference championship game.
Southwood beat Fremont 37-6 Friday night, improving to 11-0. Southwood has outscored its opponents 359-61.
“In the endzone after the game I thanked them,” said Moriarty. “This is a senior class that revived an old tradition, and brought back pride to Valley football. This senior class was a good cornerstone to us rebuilding, and getting us back to where we used to beat people all the time, and back to the winning tradition.
“I think that this program will always be indebted to them, because I think their leadership and their hard work will rub off on many to come.”
Senior Cameron Parker led Valley offensively Friday night, tallying 66 yards on 15 carries.
Senior classmates Wes Melanson and Alex Morrison combined for six carries and 26 yards.
Morrison scored Valley’s only touchdown, pounding his way in from a yard out with 11:38 remaining in the game, cutting Maconaquah’s advantage to 17-6 at the time.
MACONAQUAH 24, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 6
M 6 3 8 7 — 24
TV 0 0 0 6 — 6
M TV
1st downs 21 7
Rushing yds 311 83
Passing yds 2 43
Comp-Att-Int 2-9-0 6-18-1
Total yds 313 126
Fumbles/lost 1/1 0/0
Penalties/yds 5/35 7/95
Punts/Avg 3/29 5/39
First Quarter
M – Carter Little 2 run (conversion failed) 5:01, 6-0
Second Quarter
M – Richie Leary 18 FG :26, 9-0
Third Quarter
M – Jared Blake 7 run (Blake conversion catch) 3:56, 17-0
Fourth Quarter
TV – Alex Morrison 1 run (kick failed) 11:38, 17-6
M – Little 43 run (Leary kick) 3:42, 24-6
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Maconaquah, Little 22-158, Blake 28-123, Colin Silvers 6-14, Aaron McKinley 1-8, Nolan Kelly 6-4, Zack Bullock 1-4; T. Valley, Cameron Parker 15-66, Wes Melanson 4-19, Morrison 2-7, Noah Miller 2-(-9)
Passing — Maconaquah, Kelly 2-9-2, 0 TD, 0 INT; T. Valley, Miller 6-17-43, 0 TD, 1 INT, Parker 0-1-0
Receiving — Maconaquah, Little 1-5, Silvers 1-(-3); T. Valley, Parker 2-24, Morrison 2-10, Jalen Potter 1-9, Jace Potter 1-0
