.png)
Caston routs Culver, breaks 20-game skid; Knox beats shorthanded Pioneer; Winamac hands West Central first loss
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Football
Tippecanoe Valley 35, West Lafayette 13 (Friday): Nate Parker ran 40 times for 236 yards and three touchdowns, and he also had an interception and a fumble recovery on defense, and Dalton Alber returned a fumble for a touchdown as the Class 3A, No. 7 Vikings stayed unbeaten with a road win over No. 2 West Lafayette Friday.
Brandon Stiles added 10 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown, and Brock Derf had four carries for 33 yards.
Cody Eastgate completed eight of nine passes for 70 yards and also ran for 25 yards. Wade Jones had three receptions for 46 yards, and Landon Durkes had a 19-yard reception.
West Lafayette was held to 137 yards of total offense and one first down.
Kyler Johnson sacked West Lafayette quarterback Carson Kitchel, forcing the fumble that led to Alber’s scoop and score that gave Valley a 14-0 lead five minutes into the game.
Parker had touchdown runs of 1, 3 and 3 yards.
West Lafayette lost a regular season home game for the first time since a 49-42 loss to Lewis Cass on Oct. 18, 2019.
Valley 35, West Lafayette 13
Valley 14 7 0 14 – 35
West Lafayette 0 6 0 7 – 13
Caston 49, Culver 14 (Friday): Jabez Yarber ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns, and Grant Yadon had four carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns as the Comets snapped their 20-game losing streak by beating visiting Culver Friday.
The win was Caston’s first since a 26-10 win over North White on Sept. 24, 2021. It also marked Caston’s first win over Culver since Oct. 24, 1984. Culver had been 8-0 against Caston since the schools became Hoosier North rivals in 2015.
Caston is 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the Hoosier North.
Gavin Mollenkopf completed all three of his pass attempts for 98 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Landon Rigney caught all three of Mollenkopf’s passes and also had six carries for 49 yards and a touchdown rushing.
Yarber also starred on defense with an interception, two fumble recoveries and four tackles. He also recovered an onside kick on special teams.
Yadon also had an interception to go with his five tackles. Levi Martin had six tackles on defense, and he blocked a punt and recovered an onside kick on special teams.
Kyle Roudebush had seven tackles and forced a fumble. Gage Minniear had four tackles and a pass defended. Pete DuVall, Chase Angot and Mollenkopf had two tackles each.
Mollenkopf defended two passes, and DuVall, Rigney and Minniear defended one pass each.
Caston scored the first 28 points and never trailed. They led 34-6 at halftime.
Culver’s Anthony Sommers had a team-high 95 yards rushing, including a 52-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Jack Rodgers had 15 carries for 89 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Ryan Beem had two catches for 35 yards, and Ethan Binion had two catches for 21 yards.
Rodgers, Braiden Molebash and Logan Caudill had six tackles each on defense.
Caleb McCuen, Binion and freshman Shawn Green had five tackles each.
Culver is 0-7, 0-5 Hoosier North.
Caston 49, Culver 14
Culver 0 6 0 8 – 14
Caston 15 19 15 0 – 49
Knox 50, Pioneer 8 (Friday): Noah VanMeter ran 15 times for 78 yards and scored Pioneer’s only touchdown on a 1-yard run in the second quarter for the host Panthers in a Hoosier North loss to Class 3A, No. 12 Knox.
Cayden Hill completed two of eight passes for 34 yards and an interception. Eli Guffey had a 19-yard reception, and Tyler Zellers had a 15-yard reception.
VanMeter also led the defense with nine tackles, including one for a loss. Guffey had six tackles, and Brady Price and Hill had five tackles each.
Knox had 354 yards of total offense – 283 rushing and 71 passing.
Knox led 30-0 after one quarter and extended the lead to 43-8 at halftime. The second half was played with a running clock per the IHSAA mercy rule.
Pioneer is 7-2 against Knox since the schools became Hoosier North rivals in 2015.
Knox 50, Pioneer 8
Knox 30 13 7 0 – 50
Pioneer 0 8 0 0 – 8
Winamac 22, West Central 14 (Friday): Maddox Bucinski ran for a game-high 111 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and Jadon Jones added 15 carries for 97 yards as the visiting Warriors handed Class 1A, No. 11 West Central their first loss Friday.
Talen Garner opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Tucker Fox caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Cash Roth that gave Winamac a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, and he also had two sacks on defense.
Addison Allen had three carries for 24 yards. Jones added an 18-yard reception, and Bucinski had a 17-yard reception.
Freshman Tearson Wolford led the defense with 10 tackle points and had a sack. Jones had six tackle points including a sack.
West Central came in averaging 49 points per game but was held to 158 yards of offense.
Winamac led 14-8 at halftime.
Winamac has won 13 of the last 14 matchups in the series.
Winamac 22, West Central 14
Winamac 0 14 8 0 – 22
West Central 0 8 6 0 – 14
.png)
