Valley Celebrates Title Team; Beats North MiamiAKRON — On a night that celebrated their 1979 State Championship football team along with distinguished alumni, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings faced the North Miami Warriors at Death Valley in a Three Rivers Conference matchup.
The Vikings would flex their muscles on both sides of the ball as they were able to hold down the Warriors with a 21-7 victory.
As a team, Valley rushed for 203 yards while the Warriors were held to less than 100 yards on the ground. North Miami held a 229 yard team average through their first three games.
“(Darian) Hanley is a heck of an athlete and so is (Tristan) Working, and once they spread us out, they were very difficult to shut down,” said Tippecanoe Valley head football coach Stephen Moriarty. “I was a little upset that we could not adjust. It took a little bit (for us) to get rolling.”
Tippecanoe Valley opened the scoring with touchdowns through the air and on the ground from senior quarterback Tanner Trippiedi. Junior wideout Jacob Davis hauled in a 39-yard pass from Trippiedi late in the first quarter, and senior halfback Jaydin Conley scored a touchdown in the third quarter.
North Miami would get on the board late as senior quarterback Tristan Working found junior wideout Lincoln Wildermuth for a 46-yard pass play.
Defensively, Wade Melanson registered a sack and Conley intercepted a Working pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Next week will be a big one for Valley, as they head to Rochester to take on their long-time rival, as the annual “Battle For The Bell” looms. The Vikes look to retain the Bell after a 13-7 win against the Zebras a year ago. Both teams will go into the game with a share of first place in the conference, along with Southwood. Rochester beat Manchester and Southwood downed Northfield Friday night, leaving all three squads at 3-0 in the TRC.
“Being 3-1 is a great honor, and it doesn’t take away our goals,” said Moriarty. “We are still on top of the TRC and we just have to go week-by-week and make sure we keep winning to get that TRC championship. That’s the kids’ goal and I think they are working pretty hard for it.
North Miami will next travel to South Whitley next Friday to face the Whitko Wildcats in TRC play.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 21
NORTH MIAMI 7
NM 0 0 7 0 – 7
TV 7 7 7 0 – 21
TV – Tanner Trippiedi 39 pass to Jacob Davis (Domingo Santiago kick)
TV – Trippiedi 1 run (Santiago kick)
TV – Jaydin Conley 6 run (Santiago kick)
NM – Tristan Working 46 pass to Lincoln Wildermuth (Carson Rexroad kick)
