AKRON – While there are plenty of new names on Tippecanoe Valley’s varsity football roster this season, there are also some very familiar ones. Head coach Jeff Shriver said this year’s team is “young at some positions, but very experienced at others.” The Vikings, who were 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the Three Rivers Conference a year ago, open the season Friday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Culver Military Academy. Among the most-experienced players returning for Valley are skill-position players Tanner Andrews, Ben Shriver and Nolan Sponseller, and linemen Nick Gamble and Cameron Castle. “Those guys all started for us as sophomores,” Jeff Shriver, now in his eighth year as head coach, said of the aforementioned seniors. “There’s a lot of experience with that group, on both sides of the ball.” Andrews, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound receiver/defensive back, and Shriver, a 6-1, 180-pound quarterback/defensive back, have garnered the majority of the headlines the past couple years. After a sophomore season in which he caught 32 passes for 821 yards and was named Class 3A All-State and the Times-Union Offensive Player of the Year, Andrews caught 37 passes for 734 yards as a junior and was again named All-State. Already the owner of nearly every receiving record in Valley history, there’s no telling what the three-sport standout might do for an encore this year, or where he’ll end up playing next year. “Tanner has a wide range of schools looking at him,” said Jeff Shriver. “He’s been offered a roster spot at Valparaiso and has been contacted by University of Indianapolis, Purdue, Indiana State and Ball State.” The younger Shriver set school records last fall with 1,606 passing yards and a 60 percent completion rate. Entering his senior season, he is just 186 yards shy of breaking the school’s record for career passing yards. While Sponseller, senior Chris Torpy and sophomore Garrett Bell are all capable running backs, and will see their fair share of carries for a program that prides itself on running the ball, the Shriver-to-Andrews touchdown pass could be a common occurence. “We want to be able to run the ball, but we also know we have big-play ability in our passing game,” said Jeff Shriver. Joining Gamble and Castle on the offensive line could be senior Brisin Kratzchmar, junior Austin French and sophomore Isaac Sponseller. Defensively, Castle, Gamble and Kratzchmar are expected to play on the line, as are French, sophomore Andrew Lee, junior Jordan Frazer and senior Jacob Jennings. Battling for time at outside linebacker are juniors Jonah Mikel, Jarred Littlejohn and Brandon Murphy. At the inside linebacker position could be Torpy, Bell and senior Daryl Wright. Andrews and Nolan Sponseller, the Times-Union Defensive Player of the Year last season, will play in the secondary. Following their season opener at CMA, the Vikings will host Bremen on Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and then travel to rival Manchester for the TRC opener on Sept. 6. “Our goal is to win the Three Rivers Conference,” said Jeff Shriver. “That’s our goal every year. We also want to advance deep into the playoffs. If we can maximize our strengthes and minimize our weaknesses through hard work and effort, I think we’ll be OK.”
