Ground game leads Wildcats to 34-21 win over Valley Vikings
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Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
SOUTH WHITLEY — A week after blowing a shot to claim at least a share of the Three Rivers Conference title, the Whitko Wildcats got their championship Friday night at home against Tippecanoe Valley. Last week at home, Whitko (6-3, 6-1 TRC) was two quarters away from getting its first TRC title since 2010, leading Rochester 9-0 at the half. However, Rochester scored 26 unanswered points, handing the Wildcats their first conference loss. Against Tippecanoe Valley (5-4, 5-2 TRC), the Wildcats fared better, winning 34-21 after racking up 400 yards of offense. “(Winning the TRC) is always one of our top goals,” first-year Whitko coach Josh Mohr said. “We want to get better each week, take care of the football and win the TRC championship. It takes an entire year. Last week, we’re up 9-0 and get beat 26-9. We could have very easily closed it in right there. But the guys came together Saturday morning during the film session. As coaches, we sat around and watched as they came around like a family.” With both squads entering the game with one TRC loss, the winner would claim a share of the conference crown with Rochester, which also went 6-1 in the TRC after defeating North Miami 43-0 Friday night. Valley was Rochester’s lone blemish in the conference, and Vikings coach Jeff Shriver had his eyes set upon a third-straight conference crown, all of which would have been shared with Rochester, but Whitko’s running game was too much. Running the ball 62 times, Whitko tallied 356 rushing yards, led by senior quarterback Ethan Nicodemus’ 137, while senior Tanner Hughes racked up 105. “Whitko’s a very physical football team,” Shriver said. “They’re a very aggressive football team.” After letting down against Rochester, Whitko’s offensive line had a mission during the week, and it accomplished it Friday night. “Our offensive linemen were very determined this week, because last week, they had a good first half, but had a let down in the second half,” Mohr said. “Those guys were determined they were going to run the ball and we were just going to run it right through them.” The mentality showed early. Opening the game with a defensive stand, Whitko’s first possession began at its own 35, and after 11-straight run plays, Hughes scored from one yard out. Valley responded to that score with one of its own, as senior Tanner Andrews took a short pass from senior Ben Shriver, and wiggled his way down the sideline for a 22-yard score. Regaining possession, Whitko again went to the ground, running on five of six plays to get from its own 32 to the Valley 22. On 4th-and-5, Mohr elected to go for it, and Nicodemus hit junior Devin Gerding on a quick slant from his slot receiver position. Upon catching the ball, Gerding broke several tackles until he crossed the goal line, putting the Wildcats on top 14-7 with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter. After recovering a Valley fumble at the Whitko 10-yard line, the Wildcats went on top 21-7, using a 90-yard drive, that ate up two-and-a-half minutes and six-straight run plays, the last being a 23-yard scamper by junior Trace Killian. Shortly before the half, Valley got a much needed score. Facing a 2nd-and-25 from the Whitko 43, Valley went to the hook-and-ladder play, in which Shriver hit sophomore Brandon Webster for a 12-yard gain to the Whitko 31. Webster then lateralled the ball to senior Nolan Sponseller, who took the ball to the end zone, cutting the lead to 21-14 at the half. On Whitko’s second possession of the second half, the most pivotal play of the game occurred. Beginning the drive at its own 44, the Wildcats drove down to the Valley 15 on 10 plays and faced a 3rd-and-12 situation. Relying on the run so much, the Valley defense concentrated on that, but Nicodemus rolled out for a pass and found a wide open freshman Garrett Elder in the end zone, putting the Wildcats in front 28-14. “It kind of kept momentum going,” Mohr said about the play. “We had a nice drive going, but it started to stall out inside the 10 a little bit. That’s a play we’ve run maybe one other time before tonight, because it hasn’t worked very well for us.” It worked well against Valley, and sent the Vikings into a bit of a tailspin. Following that score, Valley’s next three possessions went – interception, lost fumble, interception. The first interception gave Whitko the ball at the Valley 16 and ended with a 10-yard Nicodemus touchdown run, increasing the Wildcats’ lead to 34-14 with nine seconds remaining in the third quarter. In all, Valley committed five turnovers in the game, which was its most since committing the same number in a 34-33 home loss to Southwood on Sept. 13. “What it comes down to in a championship game is, we didn’t play our best football tonight,” Shriver said. “My hat’s off to Whitko,” he added. “They’re a great football team, and congratulations to coach Mohr. They got it done this year.” And all season, Whitko’s been getting it done on the ground, and Nicodemus did a great job of running the triple-option against Valley. “Nicodemus did a great job on his reads tonight,” Mohr said. “He was almost spot-on on every one of those, reading the tackle or the defensive end.” And Nicodemus’ splendid play, only made it a long night for the Valley defenders. “Up front, in the trenches, we lost the battle tonight,” Shriver said. “That’s something we said we needed to win. We didn’t do that. There were a couple upperclassmen on our sideline that were obviously upset with the loss, but were also unhappy that some of our (older) guys got pulled out and some younger guys got some opportunities. Our coaches were really just looking for something to spark a little bit of success there, stopping the rushing game.” Andrews was the highlight for Valley, catching six passes from Ben Shriver for 126 yards and a score, while also rushing for 67 yards and another touchdown. However, Andrews’ individual performance wasn’t enough to overcome Whitko’s team effort. “The kids did a great job tonight,” Mohr said. “All the credit goes to those guys. They executed the game we wanted to. The game plan went almost flawless.” Both teams open sectional play at home Friday night, as Whitko hosts Bellmont (4-5) and Valley welcomes in Jimtown (7-2).
WHITKO 34, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 21 TV 7 7 0 7 — 21 W 14 7 13 0 — 34
TV W 1st downs 14 19 Rushing yds 156 356 Passing yds 161 44 Comp-Att-Int 9-20-3 3-5-0 Total yds 317 400 Fumbles/lost 3/2 4/2 Penalties/yds 5/50 7/80 Punts/avg 2/13.5 2/32.5
First Quarter W – Tanner Hughes 1 run (Brady Herendeen kick) 4:58, 7-0 TV – Ben Shriver 22 pass to Tanner Andrews (Brandon Webster kick) 2:07, 7-7 W – Ethan Nicodemus 22 pass to Devin Gerding (Herendeen kick) 0:19, 14-7 Second Quarter W – Trace Killian 23 run (Herendeen kick) 6:01, 21-7 TV – Nolan Sponseller 31 run (Webster kick) 0:57, 21-14 Third Quarter W – Nicodemus 15 pass to Garrett Elder (Herendeen kick) 2:59, 28-14 W – Nicodemus 10 run (kick failed) 0:09, 34-14 Fourth Quarter TV – Andrews 15 run (Webster kick) 2:20, 34-21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Whitko, Nicodemus 22-137, Hughes 22-105, Gerding 10-59, Thomas Owsley 5-34, Killian 2-27, Garrett Smiley 1-(-6); Valley, Andrews 5-67, Sponseller 5-46, Garrett Bell 3-24, Shriver 9-13, Chris Torpy 7-7, Michael Thacker 1-(-1). Passing — Whitko, Nicodemus 3-5, 44 yds, 2 TDs; Valley, Shriver 9-19, 161 yds, TD, 2 INTs, Andrews 0-1, INT. Receiving — Whitko, Gerding 2-29, Elder 1-15; Valley, Andrews 6-126, Jonah Mikel 1-21, Webster 2-14.
