Blue
Devils coast to first conference win
by
Mike McConnell
posted 9-3-10
OXFORD - An early press was not enough for Benton Central
to overcome the Tipton Blue Devils in their first conference
football game of the year Friday night. On a night accentuated
by a stiff breeze and penalty flags, the Blue Devils were
able to keep the air out of the Bison sails and cruise to
their first road win of the season.
Tipton struggled in the first quarter to slow down a fast
moving Bison offense. But after their first possession ended
in a touchdown, the Bison’s second possession ended in
a fumble, giving Tipton a break from Benton Central’s
quick, no-huddle offense.
A strong second quarter swung the momentum fully in the favor
of the Blue Devils. Tipton scored four times before the half
was finished and the Blue Devils entered the locker room with
a lead of 19 points that would only grow in the second half.
Benton Central was unable to hold off the attack of the Blue
Devils, who would score three more times in the second half
bringing the final score of 47-14.
The Tipton defense held the Bison to a meager two yards of
total rushing. Benton Central’s leading rusher, junior
Ty Fischbach finished the game with 19 yards.
The defensive performance by the Blue Devils was in stark
contrast to last week’s game when they were repeatedly
gouged by Elwood’s strong rushing attack.
“We don’t like to give up yards like that, so we
went back to work and improved our technique, and I think
we reaped the benefits of that today,” said Tipton coach
Aaron Tolle.
Unable to move the ball on the ground the Bison took to the
air, attempting 44 passes. Benton Central sophomore Brandon
Rooze finished the game with 216 yards and a touchdown on
17 of 41 attempts.
The Bison were repeatedly forced into fourth down situations
by a much improved Tipton defense and surrendered good field
possession to the Blue Devils on numerous occasions. Tipton
started seven of its 13 drives within the Benton Central 35
yard line.
The Blue Devils forced two fumbles and an interception in
the first half and picked up another fumble in the second
half from a Benton Central team that struggled all night to
hold on to the ball.
The Tipton offense was led again this week by freshman Austin
Hooker, who had 89 yards passing and two touchdowns, completing
on nine of 17 attempts. Hooker also added a rushing touchdown
on a four-yard run in the third quarter. Hooker’s number
one target in the game, senior Jake Dye, finished with five
catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Gunnar Norred
added 12 yards on one catch and a touchdown.
The Blue Devils scored four times on the ground and were able
to move the ball at a steady pace. Junior Kaleb Murray was
Tipton’s leading rusher, carrying the ball two times
for 61 yards and a touchdown. Senior Tanner Langley finished
the game seven carries for 16 yards and a touchdown and freshman
Jake Devendorf added to the effort with five carries for 54
yards, including a 32-yard run for the games final score.
Murray also ran back a kick off for 75 yards to score on the
opening play of the second half.
Both teams were plagued by penalties throughout the night.
Yellow flags hindered drives from both teams and prompted
many long-yardage plays on both sides of the ball.
“These are mental mistakes; jumping offsides, moving
the ball, bad snaps, those kind of things and they need to
be cleaned up and fixed if we expect to compete the next few
Friday nights,” said Tolle.
The Blue Devils improve their record to 2-1, 1-0 in conference
play, and will face Rensselaer at home next Friday.
Big
plays boost Blue Devils
by
Mike McConnell
posted 8-28-10
TIPTON - Austin Hooker showed no signs of freshman jitters
in his first career start as a Blue Devil quarterback in Tipton’s
33-12 home win over the Elwood Panthers on Friday night.
Hooker, who got the job when senior quarterback Ross Schulenburg
went down with a shoulder injury in last week’s loss
at Hamilton Heights, led an impressive air attack, completing
9 of 12 attempts for 178 yards and three touchdowns.
“He stepped in the huddle and he took charge, and with
his work ethic in the summer, the other 10 guys in the huddle
never blinked an eye,” said coach Aaron Tolle.
Hooker, who saw playing time in the second half of last week’s
game, was helped by senior receiver Jake Dye. The duo hooked
up for five completions and three touchdowns. Dye finished
the game with 157 yards.
A night of spotty offensive production by the Blue Devils
was punctuated by several big plays. The Devils scored on
a 56-yard run by senior running back Tanner Langley, a 61-yard
completion from Hooker to Dye, and a 76-yard fumble return
by junior defensive end Logan Reeves.
Tipton struggled throughout the first half to move the ball,
putting up only 147 yards of offense in the first half, 134
of those yards coming on two scoring plays.
Tipton had trouble moving the ball on the ground throughout
the game, but the Blue Devils were able to break away on a
few long runs. Langley carried the ball 14 times for 98 yards
and one touchdown and senior Ben Harlow added to the effort
with 28 yards on 4 carries.
Elwood’s Trevor Ozenbaugh repeatedly gashed a vulnerable
Tipton defense, finishing the game with 175 yards on 28 carries.
The Blue Devils were unable to stop the run attack of Elwood
but managed to hold the Panthers to just 40 yards through
the air.
The Blue Devils showed much improvement from their season-opening
loss. The offensive line, which was a question mark after
the Hamilton Heights game, showed they could protect Hooker.
“We really relied on our line this week. We really gave
it too them in practice this week and they stepped it up today,”
said Hooker.
Even with the improvements, Coach Aaron Tolle still believes
there is more room to grow.
“We have to learn to bring intensity to the table everyday,”
said Tolle. “If we can bring intensity to the table,
day in and day out, I think the other things will take care
of themselves.”
The Blue Devils play next week at Benton Central in their
first conference game of the year.
photo
by Eric Juday
Lady
Devils handle Huskies
by
Emily Wilson
posted 8-25-10
ARCADIA - They say that any win is a win, no matter how ugly.
Tipton did not play well but still managed to win 25-21, 25-21,
22-25 and 25-22 to take the victory on the road against Hamilton
Heights Tuesday evening.
Serves were missed, passes weren’t on target and unforced
errors plagued the normally sharp squad. The team did not
play close to their expected level, given the dominance displayed
the previous weeks games. Still, they were able to fight thru
neck and neck games to come out victorious.
Brook Juday lead the team in kills with 10 followed by Aubree
Elston with eight and Sydney Lee with five. Maddie Netherton
and Aubree Elston both had two blocks. Abby Neff had two aces.
Audrey Wilson had 12 service points, followed by Abby Neff
and Maddie Netherton with nine each.
Defensively, Brook Juday had 25 digs and 12 receptions. Audrey
Wilson had 20 digs and 14 receptions. Aubree Elston had seven
digs and 10 receptions. Abby Neff also had 18 assists.
The JV squad won in two games; 25-14 and 25-21. Heights rallied
to tie game two at 18-up before the Lady Devils pulled away
on fine serving run by Mariah Kesterson and kills by Kacie
Juday. Hunter Walsh served for the last point before a kill
by Kacie Juday ended the game.
Tipton will return home on Thursday to face Madison-Grant.
Lady
Devils suffer first loss amid controversy
by
Emily Wilson
posted 8-23-10
ELWOOD - Coach Missy Henry and her Lady Devil volleyball squad
went to Elwood Saturday with one goal; a tournament championship.
For a moment, the team, coach and fans thought that had happened.
Tipton was up 24-22 over Lakewood Park and had the serve.
With a kill, Tipton thought the game was over. Tipton had
already started to leave the bench to celebrate and head for
the floor. But the net referee called it differently. She
first signaled Tipton with an “over the net” violation.
In the ensuing chaos, the ref handed Head Coach Missy Henry
a yellow card.
When speaking captain, Abby Neff, approached the ref for an
explanation, she stated that the yellow card was issued because
Tipton’s Coach was jumping out of her seat to argue the
call. She then said verbally that the violation was for an
“in the net” violation; different than the signal
of “over the net” called before.
Tipton’s crowd was livid. The entire coaching staff was
then unable to leave the bench to coach due to the yellow
card being issued. Lakewood scored four of the next five points
and snatched the championship away from the Lady Devils 25-27.
Tipton started the day with a seeding match against Mississinewa.
The Indians proved to be a tough opponent and played well,
but Tipton won game one 25-22 and game two 25-23. Game one
had five missed serves by the Lady Devils and they didn’t
seem to be in their groove. Game two saw the teams neck and
neck, tied at 18, 21, 22 and 23 up before a kill by Jessi
McCullough put Tipton up 24-23. Maddie Netherton finished
with a kill for the win 25-23.
The second seeding match had Tipton versus Lewis Cass. Tipton
won easily 25-15. Game two was more of the same with Tipton
winning 25-11.
Tipton’s third match was against Seton Catholic, whom
they handled easily 25-8, with most of the starters resting
from point 14 on. Tipton’s bench played well to put the
game away. Abby Neff did the setting for Sydney Lee, Shelby
Hursh, Hannah Mahaney, Kacie Juday, Alex Cortez and Kaleigh
Duncan. Shelby Hursh had an 8 point service run. Tipton won
25-9 to remain undefeated and earn a spot in the Championship
game.
Lakewood Park, a private school from the Auburn area, won
their pool and was Tipton’s opponent in the finals. Tipton
won a tough game one 25-23. Lakewood picked up the win in
the second game 13-25 to set up the drama in game three.
The Lady Devils will travel to Hamilton Heights on Tuesday,
Aug. 24, to take on the Huskies.
Lady
Devils burn out the Comets
by
Emily Wilson
posted 8-20-10
GREENTOWN - The Tipton Lady Devils took to the road Thursday
night to defeat the Eastern Lady Comets 3-1. The Lady Devils
are looking very tough and impressive with their constant
movement, rotation, quick reactions and communication on the
floor.
Game one was owned by the Lady Devils, winning 25-6. Jessi
McCullough and Audrey Wilson accounted for 17 service points
in a game that went so quickly that the entire service rotation
wasn’t completed before the win was sealed.
Game two was a little more balanced, but Tipton still lead
the entire game and pulled out a 25-21 win.
Eastern handed the team their first single game loss of the
season in a 25-27 nail bitter. Tipton appeared to get a little
slow on their feet, allowing Eastern to take the lead at 9-10.
Tipton remained down 15-19 before Maddie Netherton served
Tipton back to a 20-19 lead. From there it was back and forth
but Eastern prevailed 25-27 to take the game.
Forcing the game four, Eastern scored first, but Tipton grabbed
the lead back and took control for a 25-11 win.
Aubree Elston had a tremendous night at the net scoring on
16 kills. Brook Juday had 11 kills. Jessi McCullough had seven
kills. Abby Neff and Maddie Netherton both had four a piece
and Sydny Lee scored on three kills.
Aubree was also the block leader with three, followed by Maddie
Netherton with two. Abby Neff, Jessi McCullough, Brook Juday
and Sydny Lee had a block a piece.
Tipton had a great serving night. Audrey Wilson connected
on 19 service points followed by Jessie McCullough, Aubree
Elston and Abby Neff with 13, 12 and 11 respectively. Maddie
Netherton owned the aces with six.
Defensively, libero Audrey Wilson had 30 digs, followed by
Brook Juday with 15. Aubree Elson and Abby Neff both had 14
digs. In receptions, Audrey led the way with 18, while Aubree
Elston had 10 serve receptions, Jessi McCullough with nine,
and Brook Juday with seven.
The Lady Devils' record now stands at 3-0 going into the Elwood
Tourney on Saturday. Tipton’s first game is at 9 a.m.
In the junior varsity action, Tipton won easily 25-11 and
25-18. The newcomers look sharp and experienced on the court,
most having participated in summer league play at Northwestern
and gaining team experience.
Lady
Devil volleyball team starts season 2-0
by Emily Wilson
posted 8-18-10
TIPTON - The Lady Devils started the season strong on Monday
night with impressive 3-0 win over the visiting Peru Tigers.
The junior varsity squad also swept the visitors in two games.
On Tuesday, they continued their winning ways with wins over
Muncie South.
Monday night, the Varsity squad won 25-11; 25-20 and 25-21.
The starters looked dominate in game one, but Peru fought
back harder with each successive game but it was not enough
to defeat the Lady Devils.
Tuesday night, Tipton entertained Muncie South. The match
started a little shaky, but Tipton finished strong with wins
of 25-20, 25-13 and 25-10. The JV also won two games to one.
They won game one soundly, lost 24-25 in game two and pulling
off the victory 15-10 in the tiebreaker.
Coach Henry has all of her varsity starters back from last
year and has great depth on the bench. Returning starters
from 2009 are Abby Neff, Audrey Wilson, Aubree Elston, Jessi
McCullough, Maddie Netherton, Brook Juday and Sydny Lee. Kayliegh
Duncan, Alex Cortez, Hannah Mahaney have been added to the
varsity squad.
Kacie Juday and Shelby Hursh will both play JV and Varsity.
The JV squad, coached by Amy Hursh, is looking very competitive.
Returning players from the 2009 season are Shelby Hursh, Heather
Peters and Hunter Walsh. Lindsay Friend is playing for the
first time this year. The freshman newcomers on the squad
are Kacie Juday, Chloe Bragg, Lauren Phifer, Mariah Kesterson,
Olivia Lee, Anna Crister and Makayla Ryan.
Leading the Varsity Lady Devils in serving Monday night was
Maddie Netherton with 10 service points, with Abby Neff and
Audrey Wilson both with eight. Brook Juday had two aces, while
Maddie, Aubree Elston and Audrey all had one.
Aubree Elston had 13 kills and two blocks. Brook Juday had
10 kills.
Audrey Wilson had 18 receptions, followed by Brook with five.
Brook had 13 Digs, followed by Audrey with 12.
Abby Neff set 23 assists.
Stat leaders for Tuesday included Aubree Elston with 15 service
points and Brook Juday with 10. Abby Neff and Aubree Elston
both had four aces followed by Brook Juday with two.
Brook Juday led the team in kills with eight, while Maddie
Netherton had six. Sydny Lee and Brook both had two blocks.
Audrey Wilson had 14 receptions and 16 digs. Abby Neff and
Brook Juday both had 10 digs. Abby Neff had 19 assists.
Tipton takes to the road with a match on Thursday against
Eastern and again on Saturday morning at Elwood for a Tournament.
