Nate Parker celebrates after scoring a touchdown | Photo courtesy of Darci Walters
Week Two Debrief: Vikings Capture 5th Straight Bell Defense
By Baylen Hite | 107.3 WRSW
Coach Stephen Moriarty quoted the late great coach Jeff Shriver after winning The Bell game for the 5th straight game. “The worst part about winning the bell is having to wait another year to defend it”.
That’s what Death Valley Football will have to do after an impressive performance against rival Rochester on Friday night. The Vikings started slowly falling behind 0-8 before rattling off 39 unanswered points to retain The Bell.
Now that we’ve had a chance to take a breath let’s look back at the key moments from the Vikings week two victory.
Responding to Adversity
With the game being at Rochester, Valley already entered the game in hostile territory faced with the objective of calming the opposing crowd. After the Vikings first drive that resulted in an interception it would be even harder to do just that. Add to that a 42 yard touchdown run from senior Zebra Alex Deming the Zebra faithful were fully alive.
Enter a career performance from quarterback Cody Eastgate. Despite making an early mistake the senior responded to the tune of 4 touchdowns 256 yards on 10-16 passing. Eastgate threw for a career high in both passing yards and touchdowns.
Just like Eastgate the team would respond when needed. The defense was critical forcing momentum swinging turnovers just like they did against Wawasee. Key players on defense included Dalton Alber, Kyler Johnson, and Nate Parker who all made their presence felt.
Riding the Hot Hand
Valley’s passing attack was virtually unstoppable and that’s a big part of what Cody Eastgate was able to do but also what his skill players, Wade Jones and Nate Parker did. Parker was masterful in the 1st half. He used his feet to score from 82 yards out. He finished night with 184 yards on just 12 carries. Parker would tag on 95 yards through the air and a pair of touchdowns.
Wade Jones made the play of the night though with his legs after catching a ball from Eastgate then doing what only Wade Jones can do. Jones would make a man miss then tip-toe the sidelines before making another player miss and switching directions for the score.
The Vikings already have a tremendous offense but add to that a lethal passing attack, it could be a year of records falling through the air at TVHS.
Masterful Substitutions
Playing with 57 varsity players to Rochester’s 39 it was clear Valley would have an edge in the battle of attrition. Although they outnumbered the Zebras you need a coach who can press the right buttons. Coach Moriarty did that on Friday, despite the warmer than normal temperatures it was clear the Vikings were the more rested team at every level.
It was obvious when the Vikings were on offense. Often times the Vikings would attack the outsides of the Rochester defense where those same corners were running the football just a few plays prior.
If the Vikings can find that consistency throughout the season they will be better suited to matchup in the treacherous sectional 28 later down the line.
ICYMI: Area Results and News
Some other notes from Friday’s action you might have missed.
Future Valley Opponents
Week 3: Twin Lakes (2-0) beat Delphi (1-1) 28-7 in the battle for the oar.
Week 4: Tipton (1-1) shutout out Elwood (0-2) 38-0 for their first win of the season.
Week 5: Culver Academy (1-1) lost to Mishawaka Marian (1-1) 14-21 on the road.
Three Rivers Conference
Knox beat Maconaquah 46-36 in a shootout.
Peru took down Whitko 42-6 jumping out to a 2-0 record.
Of the 7 non-conference matchups in the TRC on Friday, the conference went (1-6) with Lewis Cass beating Northfield 34-0 to bring in the only out of conference win.
Northern Lakes Conference
Warsaw (2-0) edged out Chesterton (0-2) 8-6 in a defensive slugfest.
Wawasee (0-2) lost to West Noble (2-0) 20-12.
Northwood (2-0) scored 40+ points for the 2nd straight week winning 49-7 over Portage.
Northridge (2-0) beat Elkhart 35-29 taking down the bigger 6A school.