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With just one win in eight tries against Jimtown all time, the Tippecanoe Valley football team looked to shrink that margin on Friday night as they hosted the Jimmies in a Indiana Northern State Conference game. Despite leaving some points on the board, it was smooth sailing for the Vikings, as they cruised to a 33-0 victory.
The lopsided final score did not do this one justice. Valley outgained their opponent 522 to 91. They had 414 rushing yards and had 27 first downs to the Jimmies’ three.
“I was very pleased with our team’s performance tonight. I thought we came out and handled our business,” Tippecanoe Valley head coach Steve Moriarty said. “The defense really set the tone for us tonight, they shut down everything that was thrown at them and I think that led us to winning all three phases.”
The Viking defense began the game on fire, forcing the Jimmies to a three and out that took less than 90 seconds off of the clock. The first Valley drive was the polar opposite, as the home offense ran the ball down their opponents throats. Marching down the field in a methodical fashion, the final snap came from the 15-yard line as Grady Moriarty broke a few tackles and rumbled into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
After another three-and-out by the visitors, the Vikings wasted no time moving down the field once more. The big play on this drive was a pass from Hunter Stage to Jamison Phillips, who was downed inside the Jimtown 10. With their backs against the wall, the Jimmies’ were able to anchor down and force a field goal attempt. From 23 yards out, Gage Overbey was pure, making it a 10-0 game just 10 minutes into the contest.
Both teams punted on their next drive as the second quarter got going. After the team’s fourth drive, Jimtown still had not picked up a first down and punted yet again. The Vikings got the ball in great field position at the 50, but a block in the back put the team in a precarious position. This led to an interception thrown by Stage, giving Jimtown the ball right back.
The sudden change in possession seemed to energize the Jimmies, as following the pick, the visitors were finally able to start moving the ball offensively. Jimtown was able to get the ball just outside of the red zone, but the Valley defense was able to buck up and force a turnover on downs.
Getting the ball back with about 80 seconds before the half, the Vikings were able to move down the field with Stage getting his receivers involved. A long pass to Owen Omondi put the team in Overbey’s field goal range, but Valley was looking for more. With seven seconds left in the half, Valley had the ball at the Jimtown seven. A pass to Parker was caught right near the goal line, but was not ruled a touchdown. With no way to stop the clock, the home side had to settle for nothing on the final drive of the first 24 minutes.
Junior Owen Omondi of Valley pulls in the football for a reception near the end of the second quarter...Nieter
After being denied to end the first half, it didn’t take long for the Vikings to get those points to begin the second. On the first play from scrimmage, Wes Parker was able to break loose and did the rest. The senior took it to the house from 80 yards away to make it a 17-0 game just 15 seconds into the third quarter.
“There was definitely some disappointment heading into the locker room after not getting anything there, but I was incredibly impressed with the fact that we came out to start the second with some intensity and got that quick score.”
The home side followed it up with a big play on the defensive end, as Phillips was able to come down with an interception that gave Valley the ball in Jimtown territory. It didn’t take long for another shake up to take place, as just two plays later, the Vikings fumbled and it was recovered by the Jimmies. Just one minute into the second half, there had been two turnovers and a touchdown.
For the second straight drive, a team was unable to take advantage of a possession change, as the visitors were forced to punt after the fumble recovery. Upon getting the ball back, Valley was able to pick up a pair of first downs before being forced to punt themselves. On the final play of the drive, Stage took a big hit and did not return to the game.
After Jimtown’s sixth punt of the night, Parker went under center for the Vikings’ next drive. For a while, it looked great, as Valley was able to methodically drive down the field in a similar fashion to the first drive of the game. Once the team got into the red zone though, a poor exchange on the snap resulted in the ball ending up on the ground. It was recovered by Jimtown for the third Viking turnover of the night, exceeding the team’s total in the first five weeks.
As had been the case all night long though, the Jimmies’ offense was unable to do anything with the ball, giving it right back with yet another punt. This time, Valley was able to find the end zone once more as Moriarty was able to break a couple of tackles and find some green grass on what was a 43-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked, making it a 23-0 game.
It didn’t take long for Moriarty to make it a hat trick. After yet another Valley stop, the Vikings got the ball back and the senior was able to punch it in from three yards out to extend the lead to 30-0 with four minutes left.
With less than a minute remaining in the game, Overbey added the final three points of the night with a 44-yard field goal to give the game its final score.
Parker set a new career-high with 203 rushing yards. Moriarty added 168. Stage passed for 98 yards before exiting the game.
Tippecanoe Valley (4-2, 2-1 INSC) is at home against Western next Friday.
“They’re an incredibly tough team but I think we figured some stuff out tonight and will hopefully be able to translate that over to next week,” Moriarty said. “As we get closer and closer to tournament time, we need to be at our best and test ourselves against the best.”
