AKRON - A matchup featuring two of the best offenses and defenses in the Three Rivers Conference, Friday's battle between backyard rivals Rochester and Tippecanoe Valley was clinched with a special teams play.
A 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by backup quarterback Evan Downs with 4:38 remaining in the game led Rochester to a 24-13 win over the host Vikings.As a result of their win, the Zebras improved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the TRC, and claimed the bell trophy for the fourth consecutive year.
"Evan is a track kid, if he gets around the corner, you're probably not going to catch him," said Rochester coach Mark Miller, who won his 200th game with the Zebras and 213th overall. "He's a backup quarterback, but we use him a lot on special teams, and he came up with a big, big play tonight."
Down's score came right after the host Vikings cut the Zebras' lead to 17-13 with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Gus Lukens to James Gregory, capping off an eight-play drive that covered 90 yards in 1:41.
Valley's coaching staff contemplated an onside kick but decided to take a chance and pin them deep and let the defense try and play for a three-and-out.
Instead, Downs made arguably the biggest play of the game.
"The special teams play was a the dagger," said Jeff Shriver, whose Vikings fell to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the TRC. "There was still four and a half minutes left, and we're hoping our defense can come up big and get us the ball back. I really felt like we were in a good position and we were gonna have a chance to win."
Rochester has now won 25 of its last 26 conference games and joins Whitko as the only two teams still unbeated in TRC play.
The Zebras host Whitko Friday.
"This is a huge win for our kids," said Miller. "I'm so happy for our seniors. You hear coaches say that in big games a special teams play can be the difference, and that was the case tonight. I'm proud of our kids."
Valley and North Miami, which fell 21-13 at Whitko Friday night, are in second place in the TRC with 4-1 records. No other team in the TRC has more than one conference victory.
Rochester entered Friday's game at Valley having won its four conference games by a combined score of 165-7. The Vikings had won their four TRC games by a combined score of 158-7.
Outside of the special teams touchdown and a fumble in the end zone on their first drive, the Vikings played well against the Zebras.
"The scoreboard doesn't tell the story of how we moved the ball up and down the field," said Shriver, whose team 260 yards on the ground and 381 total yards of offense. "Unfortunately, the scoreboard says we lost. Physically, we played a solid football game, we just didn't get points when we needed to. We really hung in there, and we felt like things were gonna happen for us. That special teams play was huge."
Rochester finished the game with 257 yards of total offense - 189 on the ground and 68 through the air.
Friday's game at Death Valley featured four of the top five rushers in the TRC, and both teams proved they could move the ball up and down the field via the running game.
The Zebras took the opening kickoff and drove 77 yards in six plays, capping off a 2:14 second drive with a one-yard plunge by Nate Basham.
Valley started its first drive at its own 21 and marched down the field, but a fumble in the endzone on what looked like a five-yard touchdwon run by Brody Andrews gave the ball back to the Zebras.
"We didn't finish drives," said Shriver. "The word for us this week is going to be finish. We have to finish plays. We have to finish drives. We have to finish games. Our kids are taking this hard. Our coaches are taking this hard. The kids at school are gonna take this hard and the community is gonna take this hard. But we can't let this game define our season."
The Vikings tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter after Andrews scored on a one-yard run.
The Zebras responded with a one-yard touchdown plunge from Schults and a 35-yard field goal from Jonathon O'Dell, giving them a 17-7 lead with 1:31 to play in the third quarter.
Basham finished the game with 113 yards on 14 carries, while Schultz added 17 carries for 77 yards.
Rochester quarterback Cahner Thompson completed 4 of 8 passes for 68 yards, with Chad Scobie catching two passes for 42 yards.
For Valley, Gregory carried the ball 12 times for 95 yards, while Andrews added 92 yards on 18 attempts.
Lukens was 9 of 16 through the air for 121 yards.
Tanner Andrews caught four passes for 43 yards for Valley, while teammate Kaleb Baize hauled in three passes for 68 yards.
"We had some kids make some plays and do some good things," said Shriver. "We just didn't score points when we needed to and Rochester did."
