CULVER — A late score by the Culver Military Academy football team was a backbreaker Friday night for the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings, while another was a killer in a 22-8 win for the host Eagles. Knotted at 8-8 for much of the season-opener for both teams at Oliver Field in Culver, CMA sophomore quarterback Hayes Barnes hooked up with senior receiver Connor Frantti for a 65-yard touchdown with 4:07 remaining, giving his team a 14-8 lead. "We were in a four-deep coverage, and they ran three receivers out and were able to complete a ball," Valley coach Jeff Shriver said about his defensive scheme on the second-and-15 play. "We should have been in the perfect coverage for it. That's something we can work on." After forcing a fumble on Valley's ensuing possession, CMA marched just 20 yards to score another touchdown, this time off a four-yard run by senior Ralph Laux, polishing off the Vikings with a converted two-point conversion. "Most the of the game was an 8-8 tie, and we really felt like their eight points came off our mistakes," Shriver said. Those points came directly off a Vikings mistake, when a first-quarter lateral pass was recovered by Eagles junior Matt Neufeldt and returned 38 yards for CMA's only points going into the fourth quarter. "Our defense didn't give up any points in the first half," Shriver said. "And really, through more than three quarters, our defense didn't give up any points." In the loss, the Vikings' defense limited CMA to 98 yards on 31 rushes, but Valley hurt itself by committing seven penalties for a total of 75 yards. "Penalties really hurt us and caused us to play way too much defense," Shriver said. "We overcame some of those, but we couldn't overcome the field position battle." In the first half, it was the Vikings who were dictating the game, controlling the ball for almost 17 of the 24 minutes. The most impressive of their four drives consisted of 16 plays, covering 74 yards in 8:18, ending in a five-yard touchdown by senior Wade Cave. Following a two-point conversion run by senior James Gregory, Valley tied the game at 8-8. However, in the second half, the tables turned as Valley had the ball for only 8:48 of the 24 minutes, which was evidenced by CMA's late-game surge. "Football is a game of emotion, and at the end, they were excited and took over," Shriver said. "Our defensive line got tired." The late 65-yard touchdown score helped pad Barnes' stats, as he finished the game with 121 yards on 7-of-14 passing. For Valley, sophomore quarterback Ben Shriver went through some growing pains in his first start. The young signal-caller opened the game by hooking up with sophomore Tanner Andrews on a 41-yard pass completion to the CMA four-yard line, but that drive ended with a missed field goal, and Shriver didn't complete another pass, going 1 for 4 with an interception. On the ground, the Vikings were led by Cave, who had 55 yards on 11 carries. Cave only rushed the ball twice in the second half after suffering leg cramps. The Vikings will look to bounce back Friday at home against Bremen, a squad they lost to 27-22 last year.
