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Faced with the opportunity to take on a great Adams Central team at home on Friday night, the Tippecanoe Valley football team battled hard for a half, settling for a tie at the break. However, it was the Jets that showed why they are one of the top programs in the state in the second 24 minutes, rolling past the Vikings and handing them their first loss of the year 33-12.
“I don’t think the score was indicative of how the game went tonight. I’m proud of how these guys fought and never gave up,” Valley head coach Steve Moriarty said. “We committed three turnovers and you can’t spot a team that good 18 points. This is a game where if you see that team again down the line, maybe it's a different result.”
It appeared as if Valley would be the side to set the tone early, forcing a three-and-out on its first defensive possession of the night to get the ball in a hurry. The offense started off by moving the ball fairly well, picking up a pair of first downs. However, an untimely fumble wiped away that hot start completely, giving the ball back to the Flying Jets in Viking territory.
Adams Central had much more success offensively their next time with the ball, holding on to it for a little over seven minutes. The visitors converted twice on third down and once on fourth as they moved down the field, but the Valley defense didn’t break. They eventually forced a field goal attempt from 27 yards out, which was sent wide left. After all of that, the game still remained scoreless.
It would be another eight minutes before the contest finally saw its first points. This was truly a smashmouth football game, as the battle in the trenches was truly a sight to behold. After the first Viking punt of the night, the Jets got the ball back and got back to work. Their third drive of the night looked a lot like the second, as the visitors methodically drove down the field, having to work for every yard. Eventually, they’d get it to the goal line, and it took three tries before Godfrey Shoaf finally punched it in. After a blocked extra point, it was now 6-0 with just five minutes before halftime.
Now it was Valley’s turn to respond. The third Viking drive of the game was their best by far, with quarterback Hunter Randall doing a large chunk of the heavy lifting. The senior dropped back a ton on the drive, especially as time started to wind down. Faced with a ton of pressure, he did a great job of escaping the pocket and making things happen, whether it was with his arms or legs. His biggest play of the possession came with less than 30 seconds left in the half, as he connected with Owen Omondi at the two-yard line. This set up a rushing touchdown for Hunter Paxton on the next play, and after a failed two-point conversion, the game was now tied heading into the break.
After both teams punted to begin the second half, the Vikings got the ball back inside of their own 10-yard line. The home side picked up a first down to give themselves a bit of breathing room, but the excitement was short-lived. A fumble by Randall on first down was disastrous for Valley, as it was recovered by the defense, giving the Jets the ball inside of the red zone. After a long run by Shoaf, quarterback Jamison Roach punched it in from a yard out to retake the lead. Adams Central faked the extra point and was unsuccessful, leaving the game at 12-6 midway through the third.
The second half onslaught by the Jets continued from there, as the Vikings went backwards on their next drive. Omondi lined up to punt on fourth down, but ended up keeping the ball himself and attempting to pick up the first on a long run. He got 10 of the 12 yards he needed, giving the ball right back to the visitors with great field position. Once again, it didn’t take them long to take advantage of it. This time, it was Shoaf finding the end zone once again on another short run, making it 19-6 with just a couple minutes until the fourth quarter began.
Now down two scores, the Vikings had a golden opportunity to show what they’re made of. Early in the fourth quarter, they showed it off in spades. The offense dialed up the perfect play, as Randall pitched it back to Paxton. Instead of taking off towards the sideline, Paxton stepped forward and unleashed a deep ball towards Omondi. The senior did the rest, catching the ball about 10 yards away from the end zone before dragging his defender all the way into it for a 43-yard score. The two-point conversion was no good for the second time, making it a 19-12 game with eleven minutes left.
Now the defense needed a stop, but the Jets had been rolling in this second half and they did not slow down at all. Shoaf continued his monster second half with a series of big first downs, burning clock away while churning down field. Eventually the visitors found themselves at the goal line again, and for the second time, it was Roach reaching paydirt.
“When you can’t get your defense off the field, bad things start to happen,” Moriarty said. “I feel like we got them to third and fourth down a ton tonight, but they converted every time.”
A long passing play to Brixen Blackburn gave the home side some more life late in the game, as the drive ended up with a goal-to-go situation with less than five minutes left. The playcall on third down was perfect, as it was a designed keeper with Randall going up the middle. He got some great blocks, but at the last possible second, it was punched out of his hands and recovered in the end zone by the defense for the third turnover of the game. This one put the final nail in the coffin, as the visitors put the exclamation point on the victory on a 32-yard keeper by Roach that ended in the end zone a few moments later.
Tippecanoe Valley (2-1) travels to Knox for its first Indiana Northern State Conference game of the year next Friday.
“We’ve sort of formed a rivalry with Knox in this new conference. It’s always a super physical game when we match up,” Moriarty said. “We won’t have trouble getting up for that game.”
