WEST TERRE HAUTE —
On a night West Vigo’s 2002 undefeated team was recognized prior to the game, Vikings coach Jeff Cobb thought it fitting that Mother Nature created muddy mayhem of the turf at Jay Barrett Field.
“It was very appropriate. Very smash-mouth football game. This was the type of night [coach] Dave [Cassell] used to love, these type of ball games where the weather plays a part and you get up and you wait for your break to happen and you play keep away after that,” Cobb said. “Winning 7-0 is as good as winning 70-0.”
West Vigo didn’t win 7-0 — the Vikings nearly won 6-0 — but the first score proved to be all they needed to stay in the hunt for a share of the Western Indiana Conference championship with a 12-0 win.
Vikings’ quarterback Jimmy Maples broke a scoreless tie with 7 minutes, 6 seconds left in the third quarter when he hit Tyler Gustafson streaking down the sideline for a 44-yard touchdown on third-and-25.
Gustafson added a 17-yard TD catch with 2:26 left in the game.
“On the first one, I just beat the defender and great throw by Jimmy,” Gustafson said.
The junior receiver’s second score was a bit confusing. He and teammate Skyler Warnock were in the area of Maples’ throw. Gustafson leaped and appeared to catch it and then lose control.
After a brief conversation between two officials, it was ruled Gustafson had control when he came down in the end zone.
“I jumped up, pulled it in and came down. That was it,” Gustafson said. “Now we’ve got Sullivan, who’s always been a rival, on Senior Night. We’re ready to take the championship.”
With wet footballs all night, it was a bit surprising to see two touchdown passes make up the only scoring plays.
“That’s the thing, you’ve got to be smart in games like this, knowing when to pass,” Cobb said. “Try to run as much clock as you can. Once you get the lead, it changes the dynamic of the game. You have to play keep away. We were able to play a lot of the second half on their end, which was nice in that you can take some risks that way.
Field position and ball control are obvious keys when conditions become as treacherous as they were Friday night.
West Vigo’s defense made sure the Vikings got the ball back quickly most of the night, holding the Knights to a total of 33 yards rushing and six first downs.
The West Vigo running wasn’t exactly robust, but the Vikings made enough plays.
Maples plowed straight ahead for a couple fourth-quarter runs through traffic, and Danny Creasey, Jacob Creasey and Warnock each picked up big first downs. Danny Creasey had a game-best burst of 16 yards.
Warnock extended a drive with a four-yard first-down run to the nine-yard line on fourth down, setting up first and goal for West Vigo just ticks before the fourth quarter.
That play put the Vikings in position to extend their lead. On 4th-and-goal at the Knights’ 4, Cobb opted to go for it rather than attempt a field goal.
“Kicking a field goal there, I’ve got a freshman kicker, it’s bad conditions, he’s already missed [an extra point]. You get it blocked and get a scoop and score [for Northview] and it’s a whole different ball game. I’d much rather go with my seniors and that’s what I did there. Worst-case, they’ve got 96 yards to go,” Cobb said.
Jacob Creasey lunged three yards but was stopped at the one-yard line. It was a turnover on downs, but Northview couldn’t work out of the tight space near their own goalline. West Vigo continued to win the battle for field position and time of possession.
Maples provided an interception return of 44 yards when Northview drove late in the fourth quarter with some nice passing by freshman quarterback Tucker Stewart.
The Vikings will play for a share of the WIC title next week on Senior Night.
“This is a good confidence win. Any win against Northview’s a good win,” Cobb said. “Playing Sullivan on Senior Night, there’s going to be a lot of electricity. That’s the way you want to end it for [the Vikings seniors]. Sullivan’s awfully good though.”
West Vigo 12, Northview 0
Northview 0 0 0 0 — 0
West Vigo 0 0 6 6 — 12
WV — Tyler Gustafson 44 pass from Jimmy Maples (kick failed), 7:06 3Q
WV — Gustafson 17 pass from Maples, 2:26 4Q
N WV
First downs 6 11
Rushes-yards 29-41 41-141
Passing yds. 79 73
Comp-Att-Int 5-10-1 3-5-0
Punts-avg. 4-32.3 3-30.0
Penalties-yds 2-30 10-75
Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-2
Individual statistics
Rushing — Northview, Tucker Stewart 7-22, Jesse Miller 17-18, Jacob Little 5-1. West Vigo, Danny Creasey 16-62, Jimmy Maples 13-34, Jacob Creasey 8-31, Skyler Warnock 4-12.
Passing — Northview, Stewart 5-10-1 79. West Vigo, Maples 3-5-0 73.
Receiving — Northview, Hunter Ragan 1-27, Ben Girton 1-16, Tyler Rector 3-36. West Vigo, Tyler Gustafson 2-61, Danny Creasey 1-12.
Next — West Vigo (5-3, 4-1 Western Indiana Conference) plays host to Sullivan on Friday. Northview (3-5, 3-2 WIC) plays host to Brown County on Friday.
High School
Related Photos
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Tipped: West Vigo defender #32, Andy Velazquez gets his hands on a ball intended for Northview receiver #11 Hunter Ragan. Ragan eventually caught the ball for a reception near the 50 yard line during first half action.
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Look: Northview's #38 Daniel Kimball celebrates after recovering a fumble during first half action against West Vigo Friday evening.
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Eye on the ball: Northview's #44, Jesse Miller eyes the ball on a hand-off from quarterback #6 Tucker Stewart.
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Slippery when wet: Northview's 30 Ben Girton evades the tackle of West Vigo defender #11 Chris Neidlinger during first half action at the westside school.
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Close: Northview's #38 Daniel Kimball looks to an incoming ball during game action Friday against West Vigo. The ball bounced of the fingers of Kimball for an incompletion.
Discussion
West Vigo defeats Northview in rain to keep WIC title in reach
- High School
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. -
South softball's power display earns Braves share of MIC
The fun that the Terre Haute South high school softball team had Saturday — including those five home runs — was all the result of the hard work the Braves had put in before the game, coach Dwayne Stout said after the game.
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Pirtle takes medalist, leads Sullivan to WIC title
Sullivan took team and individual honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys high school golf championships played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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Prep roundup: Patriots drop doubleheader to Carmel baseball
Host Terre Haute North saw its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball championship hopes suffer what was probably a fatal blow on Saturday as the Patriots lost a doubleheader to Carmel by scores of 8-7 and 11-8.
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Timely hits: After slow start, Terre Haute North rallies to beat Mooresville
No-hit through three innings, Terre Haute North’s bats came alive — especially Sam Wolf’s — just in time to rally for a 4-2 home victory over Mooresville in high school baseball Friday evening at Jennings Field.
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Linton’s Weber to coach at BNL
Bedford North Lawrence High School has announced that Steve Weber will be the Stars’ head coach for the 2013 season.
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Freshman group adds to Big Four teams' baseball tradition
The Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South high school baseball series wasn’t an inning old last week before T.J. Collett of the Patriots lashed a run-scoring single.
That hit helped the Patriots take a 2-0 lead, but in the top of the second inning a three-run double by Justin Jenkins sparked the visiting Braves to a four-run inning.
North tied the score in the bottom of the second inning, Collett driving in another run. And just before rain caused the game to be suspended, South called Logan Ames in from its bullpen for some solid pitching.
Not bad for a trio of freshmen. And the weekend hadn’t even started yet. -
Pairings drawn for high school softball sectionals
The IHSAA announced Thursday its pairings for the 2013 sectional softball tournament slated for May 20-25.
Regionals will take place May 28. -
North boys make it three consecutive Vigo County golf titles
Terre Haute North made it three in a row in Vigo County boys high school golf championship action Wednesday at Hulman Links.
The Patriots shot 161 to edge Terre Haute South with 165. West Vigo carded 222. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Wolf homers as North baseball wins 16th game
Terre Haute North erupted for seven runs in the third inning on its way to routing visiting White River Valley 14-1 in 41⁄2 innings of high school baseball Wednesday afternoon at Don Jennings Field.
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Northview's Carter strikes out 19 in 10-inning win against South Vermillion
Northview’s Taylor Carter and South Vermillion’s Daphne Dunegan locked into a 10-inning all-star softball pitching duel Tuesday night at Northview High School.
Unfortunately, one of them had to lose. -
PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP: South Vermillion 4-0 in WIC after 4-3 win at Northview
Jordan Branz won his ninth game of the season, scattering six hits over eight innings to lead South Vermillion to a 4-3 victory at Northview in a Western Indiana Conference battle.
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Thompson going into Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame
Former Terre Haute North High School standout Anthony Thompson is the newest member of the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.
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