Whiteland defensive coordinator John Preston voices his displeasure during Saturday’s Class 5A state final against Valparaiso.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS
All season long, Whiteland’s defense had been one of the stingiest in Class 5A — in large part due to its ability to get off of the field on third down.
For much of Saturday night — and especially on the game-winning drive — Valparaiso did what most of the Warriors’ opponents couldn’t. They kept drives alive.
The Vikings converted nine of 14 third downs during the 5A state championship game, including four of four on what proved to be the decisive drive in a 35-31 thriller.
That success was a shocking departure from the success the Warrior defense had experienced for most of the season. Take away the inexplicable 89% success rate enjoyed by Martinsville in Whiteland’s lone previous defeat, and the Warriors had allowed just 45 of 134 third downs to be converted against them. But they couldn’t get Valpo off the field when it mattered on Saturday.
On the last possession alone, the Vikings converted on third and 18, third and 6, third and 10 and third and 2. Those helped set up Rocco Micciche’s game-winning TD reception (which came on second down) with 19 seconds remaining.
It was a highly out-of-character struggle for a defensive unit that had otherwise been generally dominant in similar situations this season.
Speaking of uncharacteristic …
Flag day
The Warriors repeatedly hurt themselves with penalties on Saturday night, getting flagged 11 times for a total of 88 yards. Whiteland committed three holding penalties in the first half, had three false start flags over its first two third-quarter possessions and a critical after-the-whistle personal foul that effectively killed the latter of those two drives.
Coach Darrin Fisher often repeated the mantra that only Whiteland could beat Whiteland. While Valparaiso certainly did more than its fair share to influence the outcome, the Warriors incurred plenty of self-inflicted damage.
“Uncharacteristic of us to make mistakes like that,” Fisher said. “Live-ball fouls never bother me; you’re playing hard. Holdings and those things. That’s playing hard, that’s part of football. But it’s the dead-ball fouls that kill you, and we just had a couple too many dead-ball fouls that put us in some long-yardage situations offensively.”
Flipping the script
Through its first 13 games this season, Whiteland had — predictably — enjoyed an advantage over its opponents in rushing yardage. On Saturday night, Valparaiso beat the Warriors at their own game.
The Vikings racked up 279 yards on the ground, outgaining Whiteland in that department by 57 yards. They were the first team to outrush the Warriors all season, and their total eclipsed the previous opponent high of 205 yards, the figure put up by Martinsville in Week 6 of the regular season.
That was, of course, Whiteland’s lone defeat before Saturday.
Valpo running back Travis Davis did most of the damage, totaling 193 yards on 36 carries. Quarterback Justin Clark added 57 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Breaking new ground
Whiteland sophomore Maalik Perkins took the game’s opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, establishing a new state finals record for the longest kick return. The old record of 94 yards was held by a trio of players: Woodlan’s Barry Ehle (1981), Griffith’s Dennis Palucki (1997) and Jimtown’s Cory Wise (1998). The longest previous return in a 5A final was an 80-yarder by Carmel’s Damian Pennington in 2011.
Can I kick it?
Senior David Mathis, who doubled as a starter on Whiteland’s boys soccer team, made good on a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter to stretch the Warriors’ lead to 10-0.
Mathis came into the night having made three of his five field goal tries on the year. He had been 1 of 2 in the postseason, making a 26-yarder in the sectional final at Franklin and missing a kick in the semistate win over Castle.
Showing up, showing out
Buoyed by a massive Whiteland crowd in the 5A final, combined attendance for Saturday’s three title games was 20,004, according to the IHSAA. The six-game total for the weekend was 37,838 fans.
