Culver 10/592

Pioneer eliminates Caston behind Rans; Taylor eliminates Winamac; Culver knocks S. Central out of sectionals again

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Football

Tippecanoe Valley 51, Woodlan 25 (Football): Wes Parker ran for 154 yards and a touchdown, and Brock Derf ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns as the host Vikings rolled past Woodlan in a Class 3A, Sectional 26 quarterfinal at Smith-Bibler Memorial Stadium: Home of Death Valley Football Friday.

Grady Moriarty added 71 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Hunter Stage completed all three of his passes for 54 yards. Owen Omondi, Parker and Derf had one catch each.

Hudson Shepherd added a 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Gage Overbey made all five of his extra points and averaged 50.5 yards on his two punts.

Valley had a 410-241 advantage in rushing yards, and Valley had one turnover while Woodlan had three.

Valley led 21-12 at halftime and extended the lead to 44-12 after three quarters.

Valley won a postseason home game for the first time since 2020.

Valley will play No. 4 Garrett, a 50-26 winner over Lakeland, in the semifinals at Valley at 7 p.m. this Friday.

Valley 51, Woodlan 25

Woodlan 6 6 0 13 – 25

Valley 7 14 23 7 – 51

First quarter

WOOD – Shaiden Snyder 80 run (conversion failed)

TV – Grady Moriarty 8 run (Gage Overbey kick)

Second quarter

TV – Brock Derf 12 run (Overbey kick)

WOOD – Drew Fleek 3 run (conversion failed)

TV – Hunter Stage 3 run (Overbey kick)

Third quarter

TV – Derf 59 run (Moriarty run)

TV – Derf 4 run (Overbey kick)

TV – Hudson Shepherd 30 fumble return (Wes Parker run)

Fourth quarter

WOOD – Carter Fleek 16 pass from Ty Louden (conversion failed)

TV – Parker 78 run (Overbey kick)

WOOD – D. Fleek 20 run (Evan Koch kick)

Pioneer 20, Caston 7 (Friday): Micah Rans ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns, and Noah VanMeter added 65 yards on the ground as the visiting Panthers extended their winning streak against Caston in a Class 1A, Sectional 42 quarterfinal Friday.

J.J. Solano led the defense with 13 tackles, Fletcher Smith had 12, and Eli Guffey had 11. Philip McFatridge intercepted a pass and broke up two others. Shiloh Rine had a fumble recovery.

Pioneer also had a blocked punt that set up a touchdown. Rans had a 19-yard run on fourth-and-14 from the Caston 20 and then followed it up with a quarterback sneak from the 1 as time expired.

Rans then threw a two-point conversion pass to Shiloh Rine.

Ashton Bowyer led Caston with 70 yards rushing on 23 carries, and he scored Caston’s lone touchdown in the third quarter. Jabez Yarber had 12 carries for 59 yards, and he also had a team-high 76 yards passing.

Logan Mollenkopf had two receptions for 61 yards.

Yarber had 11 tackles, Bowyer had 10, and Brody Brewer had seven. Noah Herd had five tackles and a fumble recovery.

Pioneer beat Caston for the second time this season and the 35th consecutive time dating back to 1996.

The No. 11 Panthers will travel to No. 3 Carroll (Flora) for the semifinals at 7 p.m. this Friday. Carroll handled previously unbeaten Frontier 49-21 in their quarterfinal.

Pioneer 20, Caston 7

Pioneer 6 14 0 0 – 20

Caston 0 0 7 0 – 7

First quarter

PIO – Micah Rans 55 run (run failed)

Second quarter

PIO – Rans 2 run (pass failed)

PIO – Rans 1 run (Shiloh Rine pass from Rans)

Third quarter

CAS – Ashton Bowyer 4 run (Drew McGrew kick)

Fourth quarter

(no scoring)

Taylor 35, Winamac 12 (Friday): Javionne Harris ran for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and he also threw a touchdown pass for the visiting Titans as they triumphed over Winamac in a Class 1A, Sectional 42 quarterfinal at Roudebush Field Friday.

Keyshawn Galloway added five receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Jalyn Wooten threw for 88 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 76 yards and a touchdown for Taylor, who improved to 4-5 and will play Tri-County in a semifinal at home this Friday.

Tearson Wolford ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for Winamac, who finished 4-5. Xavier Adriano completed nine of 10 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for 26 yards on four carries.

Addison Allen had four receptions for 65 yards, and Aiden Schooler had two catches for 51 yards. Louis Rugg III had a 12-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

Ethan Burgess had an interception on defense. Michael Shidler had four tackles and a sack. Hayden Taylor had a fumble recovery.

Winamac has not won a sectional game since 2021.

Taylor 35, Winamac 12

Taylor 7 14 0 14 – 35

Winamac 6 0 0 6 – 12

Culver 44, South Central (Union Mills) 15 (Friday): Jonas McCuen threw four touchdown passes – two each to David Hite and Caleb McCuen – and Anthony Sommers returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown as the host Cavaliers beat South Central Friday in a Class 1A, Sectional 41 quarterfinal Friday.

Jonas McCuen also ran for a touchdown.

Culver scored 28 unanswered points covering the second through fourth quarters to build a 44-8 lead. The final 11:55 was played with a running clock, per the IHSAA Mercy Rule, after Jonas McCuen threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Caleb McCuen on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Jonas McCuen threw two of his touchdown passes on fourth down plays, including a 43-yarder to Hite on fourth-and-13.

Culver avenged a regular season loss to South Central in the sectional for the second straight year. Culver eliminated the Satellites from the sectional for the fourth straight year.

Culver will host No. 1 North Judson in the semifinals. North Judson routed South Newton 71-20 in their quarterfinal.

North Judson beat Culver 70-0 on Sept. 20 in their regular season meeting.

Culver 44, South Central (Union Mills) 15

South Central 0 8 0 7 – 15

Culver 8 22 6 8 – 44

First quarter

CUL – Jonas McCuen 3 run (David Hite pass from J. McCuen)

Second quarter

CUL – Hite 42 pass from J. McCuen (Ethan Binion run)

SC – Brad Beschinski 7 pass from Clayten Strauch (Strauch run)

CUL – Anthony Sommers 86 kickoff return (Binion run)

CUL – Hite 43 pass from J. McCuen (pass failed)