Val T.

Aug 274 min read

Week 1 football roundup: Parker runs for 149 yards, 3 TDs in Valley rout of Wawasee

Caston falls to Carroll; Rans scores 5 TDs in Pioneer win over Lewis Cass; Culver snaps regular season losing streak vs. Attica; Winamac hangs on vs. West Central

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Football

Tippecanoe Valley 44, Wawasee 0 (Friday): Wes Parker ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns on just four carries, and Jamison Phillips threw a touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown as the host Vikings blanked Wawasee at Smith-Bibler Memorial Field: Home of Death Valley Football Friday.

Owen Omondi caught a 47-yard touchdown pass, and Brock Derf had a touchdown run for Valley.

Valley did not commit a penalty and had only 16 penalty yards.

Gage Overbey converted all six extra point tries.

Valley held Wawasee to 110 yards of offense. Derf led the defense with five tackles. Grady Moriarty had 4.5 tackles, and Diego Gonsalez had four tackles.

Valley led 28-0 at halftime.

Valley beat Wawasee for the fourth straight season opener. They have outscored the Warriors 135-19 over that time.

Valley 44, Wawasee 0

Wawasee 0 0 0 0 – 0

Valley 21 7 16 0 – 44

First quarter

TV – Wes Parker 66 run (Gage Overbey kick)

TV – Jamison Phillips 1 run (Overbey kick)

TV – Owen Omondi 47 pass from Jamison Phillips (Overbey kick)

Second quarter

TV – Brock Derf 4 run (Overbey kick)

Third quarter

TV – Parker 24 run (Overbey kick)

TV – Safety, fumbled punt snap recovered by punter in end zone

TV – Parker 52 run (Overbey kick)

Fourth quarter

(no scoring)

Carroll (Flora) 55, Caston 6 (Friday): Jabez Yarber ran for 36 yards and the lone Caston touchdown in the first quarter, but the Comets lost to three-time defending sectional champion Carroll (Flora) Friday.

Gavin Mollenkopf ran for a team-high 73 yards on 17 carries, and he also threw for 80 yards. Logan Mollenkopf had three catches for 68 yards, and Lane Halterman had a 12-yard reception.

Yarber led the defense with six tackles. Tucker Woolever, Lane Halterman, Logan Mollenkopf and Noah Herd had three tackles each. Brayden Unger, Brody Brewer and Lucius Edson had two tackles each.

Parker Zimpleman recovered a fumble. Ashtyn Peters had an interception and a 35-yard return.

Carroll led 35-6 at halftime and extended the lead to 48-6 after three quarters.

Caston has lost the last five meetings against Carroll and has not not beaten the Cougars since 2012.

Pioneer 42, Lewis Cass 14 (Friday): Micah Rans ran for 95 yards and four touchdowns, and he also returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown for the visiting Panthers in a win over Lewis Cass Friday.

Noah VanMeter ran 17 times for a team-high 117 yards and a touchdown, and he also had a 12-yard reception. Pioneer had 261 yards rushing.

Eli Guffey had 12 tackles on defense, including four for loss. He also had a sack and forced two fumbles. Liam Rouch also forced a fumble.

The Pioneer defense had 10.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Philip McFatridge, Brady Price and Mason Shaver each had a fumble recovery.

Pioneer led 28-6 at halftime and extended the lead to 35-6 after three quarters.

Pioneer moved up to No. 13 in this week’s Class 1A USA Today poll. They will travel to 3A, No. 7 Knox this Friday.

Culver 42, Attica 0 (Friday): Ethan Binion and Tony Sommers each ran for two touchdowns, and Jonas McCuen threw a pair of touchdown passes for Culver in a home rout of Attica Friday.

Culver ended their 11-game regular season losing streak while extending Attica’s losing streak to 29 games, the longest active losing streak in the state.

McCuen threw for 280 yards. David Hite had 123 yards receiving, including a 48-yard touchdown catch, and he also had an interception on defense.

Jackson caught a pop pass and took it 49 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Jackson, a freshman, had four catches for 69 yards in his high school debut. Caleb McCuen added a 52-yard reception.

Defensively, Culver held Attica to 29 yards of total offense. The shutout was their first since a 61-0 win over South Central (Union Mills) on Oct. 28, 2022, in the sectional semifinals.

Theron Carrington had four sacks and four tackles for loss. Drake Zorich and Logan Caudill had one sack each.

Carrington, Caleb McCuen and Binion each recovered a fumble.

Winamac 24, West Central 16 (Friday): Freshman quarterback Xavier Adriano threw for 74 yards and a touchdown and also had a 6-yard touchdown run for the host Warriors as they held on to beat rival West Central Friday.

Addison Allen had a team-high 65 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving, including an 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He also had two two-point conversion runs.

Ethan Burgess caught a 17-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that put Winamac ahead for good at 16-8.

Winamac won despite committing three turnovers and committing 11 penalties for 105 yards.

Talen Garner led the defense with seven tackles and three assists, including one for loss. Tearson Wolford had five tackles, including three for loss. Allen had four tackles and five assists.

Louis Rugg III and Hayden Taylor each had an interception.

Winamac held West Central to seven yards passing.

Winamac 24, West Central 16

West Central 0 8 0 8 – 16

Winamac 0 16 8 0 – 24

First quarter

(no scoring)

Second quarter

WC – Villarreal 75 run (Villarreal run)

WIN – Xavier Adriano 6 run (Addison Allen run)

WIN – Ethan Burgess 17 pass from Adriano (Allen run)

Third quarter