Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The Tippecanoe Valley football team has been the most consistent in the area for quite some time now when it comes to regular season success. The Vikings have won six or more games in each season since 2019, going undefeated twice while also adding an eight-win campaign.
However, Valley has been looking for that success to translate over to the postseason, but has found no such luck. During that same stretch, the Vikings have won five sectional games, but never more than one in a single postseason. In two of the past three years, the team was bounced in the first round. With the school’s last sectional championship coming in 1992, the hunger to add to what is a historically illustrious trophy case is reaching a fever pitch.
“I was on that team, so that should tell you how long ago that was,” Valley head coach Steve Moriarty said earlier this week. “It’s been a tough run for us the last couple of years. It’s an Achilles Heel we have to figure out how to overcome. We’ve put together tougher schedules, we’ve joined a tougher conference. The pieces are there, we just need to get comfortable being uncomfortable and overcome some good teams and tough games.”
Even with those postseason woes, the amount of success the Vikings have had otherwise during this run cannot be overlooked, and for the team to sustain it for as long as they have, it showcases just how good it is at developing its players to ensure little drop off. Moriarty expects this year to be no different, as even though Valley graduated a large senior class in the spring of 2026, just as many players return with varsity experience and will look to step into those leadership roles.
“I’m very confident we can replace what we lost. It happens every year, sometimes you just happen to lose more than others. I like the balance we have this season. We’ve got a good mix of returners that contributed a large amount last year, but we also have some newcomers and it’s their time,” he said.
Among those returners are senior quarterback/safety Hunter Stage, running back/safety Hunter Paxton, full back/linebacker Parker Adamson and receiver/safety Owen Omondi, who Moriarty expects to see in the backfield quite a bit this fall.
Omondi made a name for himself in his junior season, catching balls all over the field no matter which team’s quarterback was throwing to him. With the senior expected to expand his role in order to help the team, he’s not only ready to do it, he’s ready to pave the way for those who will take over after him.
“I just want to make plays wherever I can on the field if it’s going to help my team win,” Omondi said. “It comes down to leading by example. If I want to see these younger guys do something, I want to show them it can be done first. Whatever it takes to motivate them.”
With just five Indiana Northern State Conference opponents to face off against, nearly half of Valley’s schedule is made up by nonconference foe. First up for the Vikings this Friday night is a home game against 4A Plymouth. Moriarty expects that game to be a challenge.
“They have a lot of returners, and their offensive line is massive. Normally we’re the guys playing as a bigger line but that is not going to be the case in that one,” he said. “They have size and they have speed, so we’ll have our hands full slowing down their offense. Being a bigger school, they’ll be able to platoon at some positions we won’t have the luxury of, so that’s another factor.”
Things don’t get any easier from there. Next up is the annual Bell Game against Rochester, which Moriarty refers to as “a season within a season.” Valley will have home field advantage as it tries to hold on to the Bell for the ninth straight year. The green and gold will play their final of three straight home games the following Friday, when powerhouse Adams Central, a team that has lost just two regular season games since the 2021 season, makes its way to Akron.
Then begins a stretch of three straight conference games, all of which are on the road. First up is a trip to take on defending league champions Knox, followed up by games at LaVille and at Jimtown. To wrap things up, the Vikings will play their final nonconference game against Woodlan at Smith-Bibler Memorial Field before staying home against John Glenn. The team’s final game of the season is at Bremen on October 16.
Coming off of a 4-1 record in the INSC last season, good enough for a second-place finish, Moriarty says while expects the league to once again be a difficult gauntlet, he does see it as winnable.
“All of these programs are historically good. Jimtown’s always been good, Bremen’s always been good, and they’ve got great coaches. You look at what [Russ] Radtke has been doing at Knox. He’s got the second most wins in Indiana, ever. He’s going to have a great squad again,” the coach said. “But I do think it’s going to be wide open this year. I think it’ll be a lot more even than last season. It’s going to be fun to see who rises to the top.”
