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Smith stars as Caston routs West Central; Pioneer blanked at home for first time since 2013; Winamac ends 5-game skid vs. Knox; Culver blanked at home by North Judson
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Football
Tippecanoe Valley 42, Wawasee 7 (Friday): Braden Shepherd rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown, and Dalton Alber ran for two scores as the visiting Vikings beat Wawasee in the school’s first ever meeting Friday.
The win was Valley’s first in a season opener in 11 years.
Hunter Eherenman, Nate Parker and Branson McBrier also had touchdown runs for Valley, who outrushed the Warriors 264-77 and had a 21-8 edge in first downs.
Valley went 5 for 10 in third down conversions while Wawasee went 1 for 7. That helped Valley maintain possession for over 30 minutes.
Parker had 69 yards on eight carries, and Jamasyn Virgil had 55 yards on nine carries.
Rex Kirchenstien led Valley with 45 yards receiving on two catches. Wade Jones had two catches for 18 yards.
Valley 42, Wawasee 7
Valley 14 0 22 6 – 42
Wawasee 0 0 0 7 – 7
First quarter
TV – Dalton Alber 3 run (Hunter Eherenman run)
TV – Braden Shepherd 19 run (run failed)
Second quarter
(no scoring)
Third quarter
TV – Eherenman 8 run (Jamasyn Virgil run)
TV – Nate Parker 11 run (run failed)
TV – Alber 11 run (Landon Durkes pass from Virgil)
Fourth quarter
WAW – Lucas Ringler 57 pass from Jaxon Brown (Caleb Clevenger kick)
TV – Branson McBrier 1 run (two-point conversion failed)
Caston 52, West Central 6 (Friday): Sam Smith ran 19 times for 278 yards and four touchdowns and also returned an interception 84 yards for a score for the host Comets in a win over West Central Friday.
Smith also had two two-point conversion runs.
Grant Hickle ran seven times for 44 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Roudebush ran for 62 yards and a touchdown on two carries.
Smith and Hickle also had 10 tackles each on defense. Josh Sullivan had six tackles, Garrison Hickle had six tackles, Brandon Malott had five tackles, Roudebush had four tackles, Cain Schanlaub had four tackles, Chase Angot and Levi Martin had three tackles each, Tyler Barton had two tackles, and Dylan Gearhart had one tackle.
Garrison Hickle caused two fumbles. Angot, Schanlaub and Gearhart each recovered a fumble.
Caston led 44-0 at halftime.
Caston is 5-2 against West Central since the start of the 2015 season and 3-52 against everybody else.
Caston 52, West Central 6
West Central 0 0 6 0 – 6
Caston 20 24 0 8 – 52
Winamac 35, Knox 14 (Friday): Hayden Clark had touchdown runs of 34, 38 and 64 yards, and Russell Compton also ran for two scores for the Class 1A, No. 10 Warriors in a Hoosier North road win over Knox Friday.
Compton’s 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put Winamac ahead for good at 21-14.
Compton added a 1-yard touchdown run, and Clark had his third touchdown run in the third quarter as Winamac extended their lead.
Winamac had a 284-179 advantage in rushing yards. Clark had 175 yards, and Compton added 88.
Compton completed four passes for 65 yards to four different receivers. Caleb Good had a 28-yard reception on offense and recovered two fumbles on defense, and Clark had a 21-yard catch. Remington Schwartz also recovered a fumble.
Max Murray converted all five of his extra point attempts.
Knox had 271 yards of offense but lost three fumbles, averaged just 20 yards per punt and did not score in the second half.
Winamac beat Knox for the first time since Aug. 21, 2015.
Winamac 35, Knox 14
Winamac 0 21 14 0 – 35
Knox 7 7 0 0 – 14
First quarter
KNOX – Gunnar Krause 46 pass from Cohen Watson (Bryce Yankauskas kick)
Second quarter
WIN – Hayden Clark 34 run (Max Murray kick)
WIN – Clark 38 run (Murray kick)
KNOX – Trent Messer 74 run (Yankauskas kick)
WIN – Russell Compton 2 run (Murray kick)
Third quarter
WIN – Compton 1 run (Murray kick)
WIN – Clark 64 run (Murray kick)
Fourth quarter
(no scoring)
Indianapolis Scecina 28, Pioneer 0 (Friday): Brandon Fitts-Ramsey ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the Scecina defense forced seven turnovers in a shutout win over host Pioneer at The Pit Friday.
Mason Beriault had two interceptions for the Crusaders. Aidan Ray threw a touchdown pass to Jaylen Long. Tamir Woods and Travion Woods also had touchdowns.
Scecina had 239 yards of total offense.
Pioneer was shut out for the first time since a 29-0 loss to Lewis Cass in 2013.
Pioneer quarterback Cayden Hill left with a rib injury and did not return.
Indianapolis Scecina 28, Pioneer 0
Indianapolis Scecina 0 14 0 14 – 28
Pioneer 0 0 0 0 – 0
North Judson 19, Culver 0 (Friday): Quinton Frasure ran 56 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, and the North Judson defense held Culver to just 120 yards of offense while forcing two turnovers in a Hoosier North road win Friday.
Shane Shuman ran 18 times for 78 yards to lead the Culver ground game, but the rest of the team had just 31 yards rushing. Marquez Anderson had an 11-yard reception from Tucker Fisher.
The loss was Culver’s first by shutout since a 72-0 loss to Pioneer in 2018 and their first shutout loss in a season opener since a 34-0 loss to West Central in 2014.
North Judson 19, Culver 0
North Judson 6 6 0 7 – 19
Culver 0 0 0 0 – 0
