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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
The Tippecanoe Valley football team went 7-4 for their seventh consecutive winning season in 2024.
They won the Bell game against Rochester, and they beat a Class 5A team in Hammond Morton.
The Bell game win was their sixth in a row; they have not lost the Bell game since 2017. (The Bell game was canceled due to a COVID outbreak at Rochester in 2021.) And the win over Hammond Morton was their first win over a Class 5A team since they beat Warsaw in 1996.
The adjustment to the new Indiana Northern State Conference was not easy however. Valley went 2-3 in conference games, marking the first time since 2017 they lost as many as three conference games in a season.
The season ended with a 42-13 loss to Garrett in the sectional semifinals. Valley remains without a sectional title since 1992, and they have not made a sectional final since 1993.
The group of 14 seniors that returns includes two running backs in Wes Parker and Grady Moriarty; three mountainous offensive linemen in Kale DeWees, Carlos Gonzalez and Kolten Sisk; a speedy receiver-defensive back in Hudson Shepherd; a top kicker in Gage Overbey who also punts and plays H-back; and Blake Cooksey, a move-in from Warsaw who will fit in on the offensive line.
Junior Hunter Stage returns at quarterback. He threw for 487 yards last season with one touchdown as compared to five interceptions. Valley coach Stephen Moriarty said much of Stage’s work has revolved around improving his mechanics.
“He did a lot of work in the offseason,” Moriarty said. “He did a lot of work on his own time trying to improve himself. He has a personal coach who works with him and such, so he’s put in a lot of time to improve.”
Sophomore Ty Kiser will move into an H-back role where he could line up as a fullback, tight end or wing.
“He’ll be… like an extension of our offensive line, but the thing about Ty is he has great hands to be able to receive the ball to in the middle of nowhere,” coach Moriarty said.
Coach Moriarty said Parker will be the primary tailback. Grady Moriarty will play more wing than tailback but will see time at both spots. Hunter Paxton, a junior, will also see time in the offensive backfield.
Jamison Phillips, another senior, will line up as a slot receiver with Shepherd and junior Owen Omondi lining up wide. Shepherd is known for his blocking and using his large wingspan to grab passes away from defenders. Omondi, who led the team last year with 12 receptions and who averaged nearly 22 yards per reception, is a big-play threat, according to coach Moriarty.
“We’ve got to try to get Owen the ball somehow,” coach Moriarty said. “Grady and Wes, yes, they’ll touch the ball, but we have to find a way to make sure Owen gets involved in our offense as much as we can because he’s one of those athletes that has the potential to break it at any time. Trying to get him the ball is going to be one of our focuses.”
Carlos Gonzalez, Sisk and Parker Adamson will return at left tackle, right tackle and center, respectively. Jacob Bradley, DeWees and Cooksey will compete for time at guard.
“We’ve worked really hard in the offseason to improve our craft and to make sure our fundamentals are good,” coach Moriarty said. “I think I’ve seen our speed increase a little compared to last year and just our overall growth on who to get and who not to get. I’ve been pleased with our progression over the summer with the o-line.”
Defensively, Valley will have to find a way to replace graduated middle linebacker Brock Derf, whom coach Moriarty called a “man amongst boys” last year. Diego Gonsalez, whose older brother Johnny is a former Valley linebacker, will replace Derf.
Grady Moriarty will play the WILL, or weak side, linebacker. By playing on the weak side, this will give Grady Moriarty the opportunity to roam.
“Having Grady return at linebacker, that’s huge,” coach Moriarty said. “This will be his third year starting at linebacker, and that’s big to have that experience. But with Diego Gonsalez filling in for Brock – and he got some playing time last year – and then (we have) Ty Kiser at the other outside linebacker. (He has) the Landon Durkes body type.”
In front of Gonsalez, Grady Moriarty and Kiser will be Isaiah Ault and Overbey at defensive end with Michael Samuelson and Logan Roberts at defensive tackle.
“The defensive line this year, there will be a lot of rotation,” coach Moriarty said. “Trying to get as many people as we can breathers and making sure that our offensive line is rested but at the same time, making sure that those guys too are going to get some d-line time… Sisk and Cale will definitely be a part of that d-line. Wyatt Bradley will play some defensive tackle for us, and Zander Ioannou will play some d-end for us as well.”
In the secondary, Shepherd and Phillips will start at cornerback. Omondi and Paxton are returning starters at the safety spots, and Parker will also see time in the defensive backfield.
“We feel confident in our secondary,” coach Moriarty said.
Overbey went 28 for 28 on extra points last year, and he has also kicked 14 career field goals. He aspires to kick in college.
“I think he’s been to a lot of camps this summer,” coach Moriarty said. “Hopefully, he continues to grow. He took a few visits. We’ve been fortunate. We’ve had quite a few players this year be able to go on some visits. Hopefully, those kids can continue their careers, Gage definitely being one of them.”
The team had morning conditioning sessions in the school’s new eight room and evening offseason practices.
They scrimmaged Northwestern, Lewis Cass and North Miami in a scrimmage at North Miami. They scrimmaged Pioneer West Lafayette in a scrimmage at West Lafayette. They scrimmaged Northridge at Trine University and then finished their summer with a scrimmage against Portage, Muncie Central and Warsaw at Warsaw.
Plus, they had a home team camp.
It was all about trying to get better in a new conference and get over the sting of the Garrett game.
“The difference was too having a young team in a new conference and muddling our way through that,” coach Moriarty said. “And being on the road a lot too. But that’s kind of what we asked for is to put ourselves in difficult situations to prepare us. And I think as we went through the conference, the things that we learned is you can’t take any week for granted. Every week, you’re going to have to prepare like it’s game one of the sectional. You’ve really got to come out and focus in, and it’s going to be the same way this year. … It gave us a goal to raise our game for this year. We can see what 3A football looks like.”
Schedule
Valley replaced Wawasee with Plymouth and Hammond Morton with Hamilton Heights on the schedule. They will start with three straight road games and follow with four straight home games.
Aug. 22 – at Plymouth, 7 p.m.
Aug. 29 – at Rochester, 7 p.m.
Sept. 5 – at Hamilton Heights, 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 – vs. Knox, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19 – vs. LaVille, 7 p.m.
Sept. 26 – vs. Jimtown, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3 – vs. Western, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 – at John Glenn, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 – vs. Bremen, 7 p.m.
Oct. 24 – Class 3A, Sectional 26 quarterfinal
Class 3A, Sectional 26
Valley, Angola, Fairfield, Fort Wayne Concordia, Garrett, Lakeland, West Noble, Woodlan
