<p>A couple of generations ago, if someone was backing away from a challenge, they were deemed a "chicken."</p><p>These days, they’ll say that person "doesn’t want that smoke."</p><p>Out on the football field, Chase Valentine wants all the smoke.</p><p>"That’s what’s great about Chase — he’s fearless," Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher said. "He runs through the smoke. When a lot of guys see hands and arms flailing around, to Chase that just means run through them. He runs through the smoke."</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>And he’s been getting plenty of opportunities to do so. A platoon back as a junior, Valentine has become the go-to guy for the Warriors this fall, averaging a shade over 20 touches a week.</p><p>He rushed for 503 yards on 77 attempts in 2019, one of four Whiteland backs to gain between 500 and 700 yards on the ground. Through just four games this season, Valentine has already eclipsed that total, going for 589 yards on 78 carries — and he’s added value as a pass receiver (5 catches for 83 yards) and a kickoff returner (2 for 72 yards against Franklin last week).</p><p>Valentine has rushed for at least 98 yards in every game this year; he’s coming off a career-best night against the Grizzly Cubs that saw him gain 205 yards on the ground and 67 more on a pair of pass receptions while scoring four touchdowns in a 45-21 Whiteland win.</p><p>"It was my junior year; I was a young guy," Valentine says of his growth into a larger role. "Now I’m a senior, and I’ve got the position to myself, and I had to go out there and do something."</p><p>Those closest to him aren’t surprised by Valentine’s growth as a player. Senior offensive lineman Ethan Myers says that the running back was regularly lifting weights with him in the offseason, preparing for the added workload he was hoping to shoulder.</p><p>"He’s really gotten after it," Myers said. "He lifts at my house, and we just do a bunch of extra stuff. That’s caused him to get to this spot in the season right now."</p><p>Valentine’s tireless work ethic has enabled him to overcome numerous other hurdles. For starters, he’s listed at only 5-foot-8 and 158 pounds, meaning he doesn’t exactly have prototypical workhorse-back size.</p><p>Though he might not be the biggest guy out there, Fisher says that Valentine makes up for it with his aggression and explosiveness.</p><p>"The thing you get from Chase is you get full speed every time," the coach said. "Chase is a one-cut downhill runner. He’s going to stick his foot in the ground and he’s going to go vertical. There isn’t any dancing or shifting with Chase. Our guys are creating those seams for him, and he’s hitting them really quickly."</p><p>Valentine is also partially deaf in his right ear, which could make it difficult to cut through the on-field noise and hear the play calls, but he and his teammates make it work. Myers says that if the ball is going to Valentine on a particular play, they’ll let him know in the huddle.</p><p>In the event that the play needs to be changed at the line, Myers said that Valentine is "a smart enough player to know; he can see it."</p><p>That combination of smarts and skill has helped the Warriors get out to a 3-1 start, with a conference championship still in play and the sectional suddenly looking a lot more winnable this fall with reigning Class 5A state champion New Palestine appearing vulnerable for the first time in a while.</p><p>Valentine certainly won’t be shying away from that smoke when it’s in front of him.</p><p>"He’s got the mentality of a senior right now that knows he can’t be denied," Fisher said. "He knows a lot of people are counting on him, and he responds. He responds on a daily basis."</p>
