Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
AKRON - Tippecanoe Valley ran their winning streak to three games by blanking the Northfield Norsemen 35-0 Friday night.
The win makes the Vikings the only undefeated team in the Three Rivers Conference.
Coupled with Manchester's win over North Miami and Rochester's loss to Southwood, Valley took sole possession of first place in conference play.
"We control our own destiny now. We said at the beginning of the year that if we take care of business that we would not have to cheer for help," coach Jeff Shiver.
Chad Hoffer scored on two touchdown runs to lead the Vikings.
Hoffer scored his first touchdown on a fake field goal, when he picked up the ball and ran 14 yards for the score.
His second was scored on a on run from four yards out
Valley finished with 470 yards of total offense. Jerrod Parker gained 168 yards on 19 carries.
The Vikings rushed for a total of 389 yards.
Although Valley had a great night on offense and defense, it was not a perfect game.
The Vikings fumbled the ball four times and lost three of them.
Valley also was called for 13 penalties for 113 yards. One of the penalties negated a 75-yard touchdown run by Parker in the first quarter.
"We made some mistakes tonight. Football is an emotional game and we just got a little too eager at times. You have to give Northfield credit, they did a good job on long count snaps," Shriver said.
Shriver continued, "We will look at game films on the fumbles. We have to see if it was the way we carried the ball or Northfield making good strips. Either way we will improve on it and learn from our mistakes."
Steve Tillman scored the first Valley touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Hoffer. Hoffer made the pass out of the pocket from a heavy rush. Parker kicked the extra point.
The Valley defense also made a statement against Northfield.
The Norse were held to 106 yards rushing and nine yards passing.
"Our boys were eager to play tonight. We got in some pretty decent hits. I am proud of the way they played tonight," Shriver said.
Valley led at haltime 22-0.
Kyle Brady jumped into the action and ran the ball straight up the middle for his only score of the night. He ran for 39 yards on the play.
"I have to bring up the fact that as a team we ran up some good offensive numbers tonight. The fumbles will need to be worked on. But running the ball as we did the fumbles fell mute," Shriver said.
Derek Bruner scored the final touchdown of the game in the third quarter. He outran the Northfield defense and scored from 30 yards out.
"We are still a young team and continue to improve. We will just keep getting better and better. For us to be in the driver's seat is a great boost for us. I am proud of these guys," Shriver said.
Valley improves to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play. They travel to Wabash next week. This will be the team's first meeting in conference game.
VALLEY 35, NORTHFIELD O
Northfield 0 0 0 0 - 0
Valley 14 8 7 6 - 35
N V
First downs 6 16
Rushing yards 106 389
Passing yards 9 71
Comp.-Att.-Int. 2-8-1 3-10-0
Total offense 115 470
Fumbles/lost 2-1 4-3
Punts/avg. 7-28.0 2-46.0
Penalties/yards 7-45 13-113
First Quarter
V - Steven Tillman 29 pass fromChad Hoffer (Jerrod Parker kick) 7-0 4:55
V-Hoffer 7 yard run (Brunerkick) 14-0 :40
Second Quarter
V -ÊHoffer 4 yard run (Hoffer two point conversion) 22-0, 9:15
Third Quarter
V -ÊKyle Brady 40 yard run(Parker kick) 29-0, 4:10
Fourth Quarter
V - Derek Bruner 30 yard run (kick failed} 35-0 11:52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Northfield, David Thrush 25-64, T.J. Eads 2-3, Adam Shafer 2-44, Jordan Culver 6-22, Devin Carr 1--1, Nick Dunn 5- -17; Valley, Jerrod parker 19-168, Kyle Brady 5-86, Chad Hoffer 7-40, Derek Bruner 4-31, Seth Kamp 3-4, Kyle Ritchey 1- -1, Jared Baize 2--2, Derek Leckrone 6-36, Jeromy Hall 1-3.
Passing - Northfield, Dunn 2-8-9, 1 INT; Valley, Hoffer 3-8 71, 1 TD
Receiving -Northfield, Nathan Baer 1-5, Jordan Culver 1-4; Valley, Austin Prater 2-42, Steven Tillman 1-29
