Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊIt was a tale of two football teams. Tippecanoe Valley was a team on the upswing, with a 4-4 record and wins in three of its last four games. Whitko, on the other hand, was a team that had won but two games all season.
In the end, Valley came out on top 35-10 over the struggling Wildcat team.
The Vikings jumped out to an early lead after moving the ball 51 yards on three plays in just 1:08. Brandon Eaton connected with Craig Kuhn for the 15-yard touchdown pass to put Valley up 7-0.
Whitko answered with a nine-play touchdown drive of its own that was capped off by a 1-yard Trent Burelison run. After Julian Thiel kicked the ball through the uprights, the score was tied at 7-7 with 6:26 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats took the lead early in the second quarter when Thiel successfully kicked a 27-yard field goal to make the score 10-7 in Whitko's favor.
However, that would be the last time Whitko would hold the lead in the game. In the second and third quarters, the Vikings exploded for 28 points to earn the 35-0 win.
Nathan Patterson earned the hat track as he scored three straight touchdowns for Valley. He ran 45 yards for a touchdown with 9:39 left in the second quarter, caught a 28-yard pass from Eaton to score with 9:20 left in the third and then ran 37 yards for yet another score with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter. Kevin Paxton scored the final touchdown of the evening on a 26-yard run.
Defense was the key in the final quarter of play as both teams remained scoreless, and Valley came out on top 35-10.
"I don't understand it," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger. "For the first 24 minutes we played pretty darn well. I don't know what happened in the second half."
"Whitko did not play like a 2-6 football team tonight," said Valley coach Scott Bibler. "I think we just wore them down in the second half. I have to give all the kids a lot of credit. They played hard."
Patterson finished the game with two receptions for 50 yards and eight carries for 104 yards rushing to lead the Vikings. Senior Seth Slater led the Wildcats with 73 yards rushing and had one catch for seven yards.
"Seth Slater is one heck of a football player," said Sprunger. "He is one of the finest players I have ever coached."
"Slater is a good kid," said Bibler. "He loves the game of football. He takes winning very seriously, and losing is very hard for him."
Both teams will now look to next week's sectional. Valley will travel to Western for its first- round sectional game, while Whitko will host West Noble.
T. VALLEY 35, WHITKO 10
Valley 7 7 21 0 - 35
Whitko 7 3 0 0 - 10
V W
First downs 9 7
Rushes-yards 26-222 39-114
Passing 112 48
Comp.-Att.-Int. 5-13-0 3-10-1
Total offense 334 161
Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-1
Punts-ave 2-16 4-34
Penalties-yards 4-30 5-25
First Quarter
10:52 -ÊCraig Kuhn 15 pass from Brandon Eaton (Derek Eby kick), 7-0 V
6:26 -ÊTrent Burelison 1 run (Julian Thiel kick), 7-7
Second Quarter
11:17 -ÊThiel 27 field goal, 10-7 W
9:39 -ÊNathan Patterson 45 run (Eby kick), 14-10 V
Third Quarter
9:20 -ÊPatterson 28 pass from Eaton (Eby kick) 21-10 V
7:09 -ÊPatterson 37 run (Eby kick), 28-10 V
2:25 -ÊKevin Paxton 26 run (Eby kick), 35-10 V
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Valley: Nathan Patterson 8-104, Kevin Paxton 5-39, Corey Smith 2-38, Josh Carter 3-20; Whitko: Seth Slater 17-73, Trent Burelison 6-36, Jeff Shepherd 3-13.
Receiving - Valley: Patterson 2-50, Ryan Pritchett 1-34, Craig Kuhn 1-15, Eric Carlin 1-12; Whitko: Adam Hall 1-26, J.R. Manuel 1-16, Seth Slater 1-7.
Passing - Valley: Brandon Eaton 5-12-112, 2 TD, 0 INT.; Whitko: James Miller 3-10-48, 0 TD, 1 INT.
