Photo Courtesy of Darci Walters
Week 7 Debrief: Road Wrecking Crew
By Baylen Hite | 107.3 WRSW
I know, I know. I’m a little late to the party with this one. Maybe credit that to all of the excitement from last Friday? What a night it was in West Lafayette for Death Valley Football. They went into enemy territory and defeated a top 5 opponent for the first time at their place since 2019.
It was a great win and one that will cement Valley as a state contender the rest of the season. Lets breakdown exactly how the Vikings were able to collect a 35-13 win over West Lafayette last Friday.
Game Planning and Preparation
From the jump it was evident Valley had prepared for every contingency against West Lafayette. The Vikings knew they had to slow down the vaunted Red Devil passing attack and would have to apply pressure to the quarterback and apply pressure they did.
The Vikings were able to get to the QB forcing a pair of sacks and QB hurries. This pressure only allowed West Lafayette QB Carson Kitchel to complete one pass for 72 yards on a broken play to end the half.
Once the defense was able to execute it was up to the offense. Tippecanoe Valley felt like they could control time of possession by methodically running the football. The Vikings turned that planning into 36 minutes of ball control and 371 yards on the ground!
The coaches and players prepared all week long and executed the biggest keys to perfection when it mattered most on Friday.
Seniors Stepping Up
While Friday was a complete team effort, it is hard to look at the box score and miss the impact of the seniors in this game. Nate Parker stole the show with his 40 carries, 236 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Parker was also instrumental on defense securing an interception and forcing a fumble that changed the momentum of the game.
Kyler Johnson drilled Carson Kitchel on the 2nd drive for West Lafayette and he dropped the football allowing senior Dalton Alber to score Valley’s 4th defensive touchdown of the season.
Wade Jones made a tremendous catch with one hand to get Valley in the redzone. Cody Eastgate made all the right reads and even used his legs to extend drives for the Vikings.
Bottom line is I’m not sure I’ve been around a senior class that continuously steps up and demands the best from each other week in and week out. The best part about all of it? They keep getting better each week which is even more rare for a football team.
Death Valley Road Show
The Tippecanoe Valley community was felt on Friday night. All week long the community was challenged to make the nearly 2 hour drive south to be heard against West Lafayette.
That challenge was met and expectations were blown away. The Kelly Green and Bright Gold outdrew the home team attendance and were heard during each play. It is easy to see why these guys play so hard with the type of support they have behind them each week.
My challenge moving forward? Keep it up. With one more road game on Saturday night against John Glenn and a few more potential southern road trips come sectional time come out and support these Vikings.
Next Game @ John Glenn October 7th at 7 pm
Tune in at 6:30 pm on 107.3 WRSW for pregame coverage of week 8 football from John Glenn high school. Baylen Hite, Micah Lukens, and the legendary Rita Price will be on the call!
