AKRON – Heritage quarterback Conner Sheehan threw four touchdown passes in the first half as the visiting Patriots steamrolled the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings 49-8 Friday in second-round action of Class 3A Sectional 18. “It was a situation where we came out and there were some glimmers where we did some things well,” said Tippecanoe Valley head coach Jeff Shriver. “The passing game is what we couldn’t defend, and that’s really where they had the upper hand.” The Patriots had control of everything from the get-go. Sheehan completed 11 of 14 passes for 278 yards with four touchdowns. Heritage’s defense suffocated Valley’s passing game, minimizing Ben Shriver to two completions and 37 yards. Sheehan finished with 376 yards and added a fifth touchdown pass in the third quarter. By night’s end, Heritage amassed 545 yards of total offense. “We just did not handle them well up front,” said Shriver. “You have to control the line of scrimmage to win the game and we didn’t do that on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, they had some rushing yards, but a lot of those came in the fourth quarter with some younger guys in there.” Valley showed signs of life in the second quarter, after senior halfback Justin Gunter burst through the Patriot defense for a 28-yard touchdown run. Gunter led all rushers with 142 yards on 19 carries. Heritage was quick to respond. Just 23 seconds later, Sheehan found Wil Knapke wide open for a 61-yard touchdown catch and run. Knapke caught six of Sheehan’s passes for 177 yards, including a touchdown earlier in the second quarter. “Their speed and their athleticism just really got us in the open field and we couldn’t make tackles,” said Shriver. The Vikings finish the 2012 season with an 8-3 overall record. At the conclusion of the game, a handful of the team’s seniors stayed on the field to reflect on their time spent with each other and the football program. “We had guys that left it all on the field,” said Shriver. “The one thing that will especially be difficult is saying goodbye to our seniors and our senior line. It’s especially difficult for the seniors to go out on a night like this where we didn’t play our best football game.” The Patriots will host No. 1 Jimtown in Friday’s sectional final. Jimtown beat Whitko 55-7 in Friday’s other semifinal.
HERITAGE 49, T. VALLEY 8 H 14 28 7 0 — 49 TV 0 8 0 0 — 8
H TV Rushing yds 154 150 Passing yds 391 79 Comp-Att-Int 17-27-0 5-13-0 Total yds 545 229 Fumbles/lost 0/0 1/1
First Quarter H – Sheehan 1 yd rush, White kick (9:02) H - Toles 15 pass from Sheehan, White kick (4:24) Second Quarter H – J. Roop 2 run, White kick (11:57) H – Knapke 44 pass from Sheehan, White kick (7:53) TV – Gunter 28 run, Ritchey kick (5:51) H – Knapke 61 pass from Sheehan, White kick (5:28) H – Gibson 50 pass from Sheehan, White kick (2:56) Third Quarter H – Lockett 23 pass from Sheehan, White kick (4:03) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Heritage, Lockett 12-56, Conrad 4-50, Snider 6-19, J. Roop 5-8, Knapke 4-21, N. Roop 2-5, Sheehan 2-(-5) T. Valley, Gunter 19-142, Torpy 3-3, Littlejohn 2-20, Sponseller 3-(-5), Shriver 5-(-10). Passing — Heritage, Sheehan 16-23-376, 5 TD, 0 INT; Dossen 1-4-15 T. Valley, Shriver 5-13-79, 0 TD, 0 INT. Receiving — Heritage, Knapke 6-177, Lockett 3-43, B. Gibson 3-98, Toles 3-37, M. Gibson 1-15 T. Valley, Gunter 1-5, Cohagen 3-79.
