AKRON — Controlling the clock and capitalizing on Tippecanoe Valley mistakes, the Rochester football team reclaimed the Bell Trophy after a three-year hiatus. Losing the Three Rivers Conference rivalry game 35-8, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings (1-6, 1-4 TRC) were outgained 349-86 by the Rochester Zebras (6-1, 5-0 TRC) and put the ball on the ground four times, losing three fumbles. “We just made too many mistakes,” Valley head coach Scott Bibler said. “Turnovers cost us terribly. We gave them the short field, and they’re too good of a team to give a short field to.” Underdogs in the game, Valley came out strong, stopping the Zebras on a 4th-and-4 10 yards from the end zone early in the opening quarter, then marched 87 yards before their own drive was stopped at the Rochester 3. However, on Rochester’s next play, senior Jacob Howdeshell fumbled the ball at the 3, and the Vikings capitalized, as sophomore quarterback Alec Craig connected with Jonah Mikel for a 2-yard strike. Following the two-point conversion, which was ran in by Craig, Valley was up 8-0 with 7:48 remaining in the first half. That score seemed to wake the Zebras up, as they drove 57 yards in five plays to tie the game with 5:57 remaining, as senior quarterback John Hunting found junior wide receiver Gavin Bennett in the back of the end zone, and senior J. Heckathorn ran the conversion in. On Valley’s next play, Craig’s pass attempt was intercepted, and Rochester needed just five more plays to increase its lead to 16-8, ending with a 10-yard TD run by senior Wes Beck, followed by his conversion run with 3:38 left in the half. On that drive, Beck, a former Tippecanoe Valley student, ran the ball four-straight times, pounding the middle of the Vikings’ defense. He finished the game with 154 yards on 23 carries. “Wes Beck, a former player of ours, he played hard tonight,” Bibler said. “He played with some passion and desire.” Only down eight at the half, Valley had its hopes crushed on Rochester’s opening drive of the second half, which ate up 6:54 of the clock and covered 64 yards, ending with a 1-yard sneak by Hunting. The Zebras went on to score on its next two possessions, building its lead to 35-8 with 10:12 left in the game. Up by 27, Rochester didn’t need to score anymore, and ate up most of the clock with a run game, that tallied a total of 349 yards on 49 carries. Along with Beck’s 154 yards, Howdeshell had 123 yards and Heckathorn posted 72 on six carries, mostly coming on a 72-yard score. “They’ve got a real good combination with the power game and some guys that have the wheels to get on the outside and have good cutting ability and vision,” Bibler said. Valley was led by junior Garrett Bell’s 70 yards on 19 carries, while Craig completed 5 of 9 passes for 40 yards, a score and the interception. Junior Brandon Webster had four catches for 42 yards in the loss. “I thought our kids gave good effort, there were just too many mistakes that hurt us,” Bibler said. “Rochester’s a good football team and did a good job. “I’m seeing more signs of toughness,” he added. “I’m seeing more signs of character. What we need to take out of this if we want to be a good football team is cutting out the mistakes that are killing us. Once we do that, we’re going to be better.” Valley is at North Miami (0-7, 0-5 TRC) Friday, while Rochester hosts fellow 5-0 TRC foe Whitko, which defeated North Miami 28-0 Friday night. The winner between Rochester and Whitko, teams that shared the 2013 conference title, will earn at least a share of the 2014 TRC crown, as Southwood and Northfield are the closest in the standings at 3-2.
ROCHESTER 35, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 8 R 0 16 12 7 — 35 TV 0 8 0 0 — 8
R TV 1st downs 15 11 Rushing yds 349 86 Passing yds 56 55 Comp-Att-Int 4-6-0 6-10-1 Total yds 405 141 Fumbles/lost 2/1 4/3 Penalties/yds 10/81 2/13.5 Punts/avg 0/0 1/30
Second Quarter TV — Alec Craig 2 pass to Jonah Mikel (Craig conversion run) 7:48, 8-0. R — John Hunting 13 pass to Gavin Bennett (Hunting conversion pass to J. Heckathorn) 5:57, 8-8. R — Wes Beck 10 run (Beck conversion run) 3:38, 16-8. Third Quarter R — Hunting 1 run (kick blocked) 5:06, 22-8. R — Jacob Howdeshell 3 run (kick failed) 3:01, 28-8. Fourth Quarter R — J. Heckathorn 72 run (Wilson Lee kick) 10:12, 35-8.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Rochester, Beck 23-154, Howdeshell 18-123, Heckathorn 6-72, Hunting 1-1, Daniel Butler 1-(-1); Valley, Garrett Bell 19-70, Craig 5-14, Aaron Hoffman 2-11, Jarred Littlejohn 12-2, Brandon Webster 1-(-3), Brandon Murphy 1-(-8). Passing — Rochester, Hunting 4-6-56; Valley, Craig 5-9-40, Rigo Butler 1-1-15. Receiving — Rochester, Bennett 3-46, Heckathorn 1-10; Valley, Webster 4-42, Bell 1-11, Mikel 1-2.
