CLINTON —
In a Western Indiana Conference high school football game in which both teams were dominant at one time or another Friday night, halftime adjustments proved to be the difference as visiting West Vigo spoiled the South Vermillion homecoming with a 41-21 win.
The Vikings scored with the help of a couple of unexpected plays and thanks to a big night by running back Danny Creasey — a big night by pretty much all the Viking runners, in fact — but they still might not have won if they hadn’t found a way to slow Tanner Akers of the Wildcats.
Akers, one of the few seniors on a young South Vermillion team, had a homecoming game high school football players dream about, gouging huge chunks of yardage out of the West Vigo defense early while rushing for 178 yards and scoring three touchdowns — one of those while on defense.
But that third-quarter defensive score was the only one the home team managed in the last 34 minutes of the game, and in the second half it was West Vigo controlling the ball, the clock and the game with its ground attack.
It was undoubtedly West Vigo’s reputation as a running team that made the first play from scrimmage work — a short pass from Jimmy Maples to Creasey that the West Vigo running back turned into an 85-yard scoring play.
If the Wildcats were surprised, however, they weren’t intimidated. They forced fumbles on West Vigo’s next two possessions — Aeron Goodman and Dalton Rowe coming up with the recoveries — and turned the first of those into what should have been a scoring drive. A pass completion by Adam Crouch looked to be a touchdown, except West Vigo’s Andy Velazquez knocked the ball away at the goal line and Dakota Short recovered in the end zone.
That was the last completion for either team in the game, incidentally.
South Vermillion turned the second fumble recovery into a three-play, 36-yard drive — three runs by Akers. After a punt by the Vikings, the Wildcats marched 56 yards in five plays — three of those runs by Akers — and took a 14-7 lead with 10:37 left in the second quarter.
West Vigo tied the game in a little more than three minutes, a 61-yard, eight-play drive capped by Creasey’s 17-yard run. The next two Wildcat punts netted just six yards, and the visitors went ahead with scoring drives of 42 yards — Short scoring on a 5-yard run — and 37 yards. A fake punt on the latter drive kept the ball in West Vigo’s possession as the clock ran down before halftime, and a 9-yard run by Maples with 13.3 seconds left made it 28-14 at halftime.
“We did everything we thought we were going to do,” coach Chuck Sorrell of the Wildcats said after the game. “We made a couple of mistakes — lined up wrong, had a holding penalty, gave up that fake punt because we weren’t paying attention ... a lot of these were young mistakes. We’re still teaching the game of football.”
Akers had 125 yards on 10 carries when he scored his second touchdown early in the second quarter, and he had 146 at halftime. In the second half, however, the same holes weren’t there.
“My men up front opened some holes for me,” the Wildcat senior said after the game, “but [the Vikings] adjusted on us.”
“We were misaligning [in the first half],” coach Jeff Cobb of the Vikings explained afterward, “and [the Wildcats] were deciding where to go based on how we lined up. [Akers] ran well though.”
“[The Vikings] made adjustments at halftime and kind of shut us down,” Sorrell added. “It was a good adjustment for them ... [West Vigo] is always going to be coached really well.”
With Akers under control, the highlight back the last two quarters was Creasey. Although the fumble that Akers plucked out of the air and returned 46 yards to the end zone late in the third quarter made it a one-touchdown game, Creasey and the Vikings responded with drives of 74 yards in 12 plays, then a clinching 48-yard drive after the Wildcats were stopped on a fourth-down play.
Creasey had both the fourth-quarter touchdowns, but although his 166 yards in 22 carries was a career high, he only matched his best single-game touchdown output.
“It was my career high [in rushing] and I tied my touchdowns,” he said. “I was hoping for five [touchdowns],” he added, grinning.
“Our linemen had great push tonight,” he added, more seriously. “A lot of us pushed ourselves to the limit to win this game.”
“Give a lot of credit to South Vermillion,” Cobb said. “They were fired up and they came out and played outstanding. Give our kids credit too. They had to overcome five fumbles, three of which we lost ... the kids played hard, but we’ve got to take care of the ball.”
The Vikings, who rushed for 356 yards, are still unbeaten in WIC games and have their own homecoming next Friday against Edgewood.
South Vermillion now has two conference losses, but showed Friday they are ready to become a regular factor in the conference race.
“A break here or there, and this game could’ve gone either way,” Sorrell said.
“The future is bright,” added Akers. “If these boys keep working hard in the summer, our program can be really good.”
West Vigo 41,
South Vermillion 21
West Vigo 7 21 0 13 — 41
South Vermillion 7 7 7 0 — 21
WV — Danny Creasey 85 pass from Jimmy Maples (Hunter Voils kick), 11:38 1st
SV — Tanner Akers 6 run (Daniel Shew kick), 2:03 1st
SV — Akers 8 run (Shew kick), 10:37 2nd
WV — D.Creasey 17 run (Voils kick), 7:16 2nd
WV — Dakota Short 5 run (Voils kick), 3:56 2nd
WV — Maples 9 run (Voils kick), 0:13.3 2nd
SV — Akers 46 fumble return (Shew kick), 1:12 3rd
WV — D.Creasey 24 run (kick failed), 8:14 4th
WV — D.Creasey 9 run (Voils kick), 1:24 4th
WV SV
First downs 23 9
Rushes-yards 59-356 36-194
Passing yards 85 22
Comp-Att-Int 1-2-0 1-9-0
Return yards 20 46
Punts-avg 2-31.5 5-19
Fumbles-lost 5-3 2-2
Penalties-yards 6-63 5-46
Individual statistics
Rushing — West Vigo, D.Creasey 22-166, Short 8-64, Maples 12-64, Skyler Warnock 8-33, Jacob Creasey 6-31, Derrick 1-1, team 2-(-3). South Vermillion, Akers 25-178, Shew 3-18, Adam Crouch 8-(-2).
Passing — West Vigo, Maples 1-2-0 85. South Vermillion, Crouch 1-9-0, 22.
Receiving — West Vigo, D.Creasey 1-85. South Vermillion, Logan Waldrop 1-22.
Next — West Vigo (3-2, 2-0 WIC) hosts Edgewood next Friday. South Vermillion (2-3, 1-2) hosts Rockville that night.
High School
West Vigo adjusts for win over South Vermillion
- High School
-
-
Goatee, Bertoli ran away with Spring Athlete of the Year
When honoring athletes after a season of excellence, the phrase “what might have been” doesn’t usually come up.
But in the case of Terre Haute South’s Jackson Bertoli and Terre Haute North’s TaPring Goatee – the Tribune-Star’s Athletes of the Year for spring sports – there’s an air of unfinished business despite obvious recent successes.
-
Post 346 opens tournament with two victories
Preston Tofaute got on base enough to score three runs, Cody Thornton smashed a two-run triple in the first inning and pitcher Pete Lannoo scattered four hits over a seven-inning complete game.
All of that helped Wayne Newton Post 346 down Lafayette Post 11 by a 7-2 score in the opener of the Terre Haute Inviatational tournament for American Legion baseball Thursday afternoon at Terre Haute North High School. -
North boys move up to 13th in golf state finals
Early Wednesday morning, Terre Haute North senior Ryan Baker and coach Abe Nasser headed out to the Legends of Indiana Golf Course for a range session.
Baker wasn’t happy with the 85 he shot in Tuesday’s first round of the IHSAA boys golf state finals.
“He was frustrated,” Nasser said.
Problem solved. Baker bounced back with a 2-over 74 Wednesday, helping the Patriots improve their team score by seven strokes.
The Patriots shot 304 as a team Wednesday, giving them a two-day score of 615, good for 13th place in the 15-team field. -
Big hill to climb for North golf
Terre Haute North boys golf is 21 strokes behind leaders at IHSAA boys golf tourney.
-
Top of her game
There are a lot of surprising facts about blossoming volleyball prodigy Caitlyn Newton, including that shape-shifting thing she can apparently do, but maybe one of them stands out the most. She may only be scratching the surface.
-
Camp, Howe win, then lose in state tennis tourney
Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe of Terre Haute South won their first match of high school tennis Friday at the state individual doubles finals, then won the first set against a powerful Park Tudor team before falling in three sets.
-
Terre Haute North heading back to state finals in boys golf
Terre Haute North is going back to the state finals in boys high school golf for the first time in more than 10 years. The Patriots qualified for a trip to The Legends Course next week by tying for third in the Washington Regional at Country Oaks Golf Club and advancing with the better fifth score.
-
North, South, Sullivan to compete at golf regional
Boys high school golf teams from the Wabash Valley will compete in the Washington Regional on Thursday, seeking a spot in the state finals to be played next week.
-
Terre Haute North falls 6-1 to Brownsburg in opening game of Class 4A Regional
Terre Haute North coach Shawn Turner told the Patriots to raise their heads. He wanted to see their eyes at the close of their 24-7 high school baseball season.
-
Terre Haute North girls shine on dreary day at track state finals
Led by a record setting 3,200-meter relay team and Keirra Porter’s long jump, Terre Haute North turned in its best finish ever in the 40th annual IHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington.
-
Valley teams will have to wait until Monday for baseball regionals
Rain and the threat of more rain caused postponements of high school baseball regionals involving Terre Haute North, West Vigo and Shakamak on Saturday.
-
Rockville's season ends at Lafayette Central Catholic
Lafayette Central Catholic ended Rockville’s tourney run in high school baseball Saturday, defeating the Rox 8-0 in the first game of the LCC Class A Regional.
-
IHSAA boys state track finals: Standing alone
It hadn’t been a particularly good day for Wabash Valley track and field Friday, and it wasn’t looking like a good one for Jackson Bertoli either.
-
Terre Haute North, West Vigo return to baseball regionals
Terre Haute North’s baseball team hasn’t participated in an IHSAA regional since 2006. West Vigo’s wait hasn’t been as long, but it was 2010 when the Vikings last advanced from a sectional.
-
Patriots girls take aim at state track title
Terre Haute North’s girls have several potential state champions today at Indiana University.
-
South, North track athletes looking for big performances at state finals
Terre Haute South’s distance trio of Jackson Bertoli, Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler appear to be the favorites to crack all-state status among Wabash Valley competitors today in the IHSAA boys track and field state finals at Indiana University.
-
Internet site keeps area prep teams on airwaves
- PREP ROUNDUP: Locals to take part in Hoosiers All-Star Game
-
South Vermillion softball can't overcome errors, Tri-West
Uncharacteristic errors led to eight unearned runs and hard-luck hitting made that impossible to overcome for South Vermillion, which fell 8-0 to Tri-West in Class 3A regional play.
-
Clay City softball comes up short against Lutheran
Clay City closed its high school softball season Tuesday night with the best record ever for the program at 21-9.
The Eels wanted to add another win, the school’s first regional title, but they came up short.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: Rockville wins baseball sectional
Rockville won its own Class A sectional in high school baseball Tuesday, defeating Covington 10-4 in the rain-delayed championship game.
-
Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional:The wait is over
Three minutes into an interview with various media members, Terre Haute North baseball coach Shawn Turner couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head from behind by his giddy players. The soaking-wet Turner could shake it off with a smile, however, because his Patriots had just won the IHSAA Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional championship with a 13-3 six-inning triumph over Plainfield on Monday evening.
-
Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional: TH North, Plainfield win squeakers
The high school baseball teams of Terre Haute North and Plainfield proved Monday that what a batter does early in the game is not necessarily indicative of what he will do in the late innings.
-
Class 2A Linton Sectional: Eastern rains on Sullivan parade
Mother Nature put Sullivan’s quest for a high school baseball sectional championship on hold Monday night at Linton-Stockton High School. Sullivan (14-15) and Eastern Greene (16-7) will resume play in the Class 2A Sectional 47 championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linton’s Roy Herndon Field.
-
Opening Day: Terre Haute Rex host Quincy
In his first season at the helm, first-year Terre Haute Rex manager Ronnie Prettyman is going to be surrounded by men he knows and trusts.
-
Class A Shakamak Sectional: Stout pitching leads Union, Shakamak to final
Trey Bedwell and Patrick Green made sure their respective high school baseball teams would meet for the championship of the Class A Shakamak Sectional by pitching shutouts in semifinal contests Monday afternoon.
-
Class A Rockville Sectional: Covington, Rockville title game postponed
Rockville and Covington won semifinal high school baseball games Monday to advance to the championship game of the Rockville Class A Sectional. Due to rain, the championship game was postponed. A decision was expected this morning whether the game will be played today or Wednesday.
-
South Vermillion, Linton, Clay City look to stay alive in softball
There might have been as many reasons to think they wouldn’t be winning sectionals this spring as evidence to show they would, but high school softball teams from South Vermillion, Linton and Clay City will be playing one-game regionals Tuesday with the chance to keep defying the odds.
-
West Vigo back on top of Class 3A baseball sectional
West Vigo won its sectional with a 6-4 victory over South Vermillion on a rainy night at Dick Ballinger Field.
-
South runs into ‘buzzsaw’ at girls tennis semistate
Postmatch interviews don’t often begin with a coach and a reporter ready to blurt out the same word, but that was the case for Bill Blankenbaker and his interviewer Saturday morning after the Center Grove Semistate for girls high school tennis.
Unfortunately for Blankenbaker’s Terre Haute South team, that word was “buzzsaw.”
Greenwood’s Kawamoto twins made quick work of the top of the Braves’ singles lineup, so despite stellar efforts by both South doubles teams the Woodmen’s 3-2 victory didn’t seem all that close.
Greenwood moves on to Fishers, where it plays Floyd Central or Jasper on Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Also playing Friday, but at Park Tudor, will be South’s Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe, who reached the individual doubles finals for the second straight season by virtue of their 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greenwood team of Taylor Hudnall and Brittany Toney.
“It’s really exciting,” said Howe of the prospect of a second straight finals trip, “but I wish our team could’ve gone with us.”
- More High School Headlines
-
Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends
Fans Cheer Dramatic Heat Comeback
Car Crash in NYC's East Village Injures 8
Raw: Car Jumps Curb in NYC, Injures 8
Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive
Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On'
Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska
Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
Raw: NASCAR Driver Jason Leffler Dies in Wreck
Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse
Aug. Trial Set for Ohio Man in Triple Kidnapping
Raw: Massive Protests Fill Brazilian Streets
Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail
Robot Action Connected to Human Thought
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Failed Cuba-to-Florida Swimmer Won't Try Again
Rain Damages Brazil Soccer Stadium
Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles
Boeing, Airbus Battle for Sales Supremacy
Obama: 'Lives Have Been Saved' by NSA Programs
James Gandolfini Dies at Age 51
Paula Deen Admits to Using N Word
Rihanna Hits Fan With Microphone
Men's Wearhouse Founder Fired
Miss Utah Explains Rambling Response
Exclusive: Locklear & Seymour Lock Lips
Miami Heat Wins in Overtime
Fists, chairs fly in restaurant brawl
Journalist Michael Hastings Dies in Fiery Hollywood Crash
Hairy Leg Stockings Aim to Deflect Male Attention
Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor
Three Charged for Enslaving Mother and Daughter
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach
Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane
Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber
