VALPARAISO -- In a defensive dogfight you hope for one good drive, a few hunks off the clock and maybe a couple of breaks. Chesterton got all three when it needed it most and snuck out of Valparaiso Friday with a 10-6 Class 5A Sectional 1 semifinal win.
Trailing 6-0 late in the third quarter, Chesterton took possession in familiar ground -- deep in its own territory. Sloane Malay had been there before with his Trojans teammates; six of their eight drives started south of the 30 to that point. Malay, though, said there was no time for panic.
"The second half has been our savior all year," the senior fullback said. "When we get down we just go back to work."
One good drive. It was palpable in Viking Stadium that whichever team could put that one drive together would win.
Quarterback Andy Miller hit Ryan Kinarian on a couple of quick option tosses for some valuable yardage and a first down. However, Valparaiso's defense dug in and forced a third-and-3.
The Vikings (9-2), though, rescued the Trojans (9-2) with a defensive holding call on an incomplete pass that gave Chesterton new life.
In fact, five plays later in a similar third-down situation at Valpo's 25-yard-line, the Vikes committed another ill-timed foul on a pass interference that gave Chesterton a first down at the 12. Two plays later Malay bulled in from 5 yards for the only touchdown of the night. Freshman kicker Kyle Schmidt drilled the PAT to put the Trojans up by one.
"That touchdown, that all goes to my linemen," Malay said. "I know you hear guys say that all the time, but I don't go anywhere without them, and tonight, it's all on them."
Valparaiso coach Mark Hoffman couldn't underestimate the price of those two third down penalties.
"Huge. Massive. We shot ourselves in the foot," he said. "But offensively, we have to score more points, it's as simple as that."
Valpo had one last shot at its own drive with 1:49 left. After Schmidt had nailed a 22-yard field goal to put the Trojans up 10-6 -- essentially making Valpo kicker Tony Hite a non-factor -- the Vikings were hoping for one big drive. Hite had kicked field goals of 27 and 21 yards in the first half, and missed a 45-yarder early in the third quarter.
A late hit personal call foul on quarterback Zach Livovich charged the Vikings and sprung them to midfield. A defensive holding call with 1:03 left put the Vikes at Chesterton's 32, and then a pass interference moved Valpo to Chesterton's 20 with under a minute left. But Livovich's corner fade pass was picked off by Phillip French at the goal line, ending Valpo's chances.
"All the credit goes to our defense, but Sloane Malay ran his butt off," Chesterton coach John Snyder said. "I can't be more proud of a group of kids than I am this one."
In a bit of a surprise move, Snyder lined Aaron Knight up at receiver near the end of the first half. The injured quarterback caught three passes, and then took the opening snaps of the second half at quarterback from the shotgun. He threw an incomplete pass, was sacked and stuffed on a run.
"Aaron came in and made a play, then made another play and gave us a lift," Snyder said. "He's a huge part of this team."
Offensive lineman Alex Boatright said Knight's appearance boosted the team, but it was Malay who sparked the Trojans.
"Sloane just kept pushing and pushing like he always does," Boatright said. "It was the kind of game linemen love."
Livovich was 15-of-25 for 177 yards with two interceptions. He also led the Vikings rushing attack with 58 yards. Malay's 100 on 16 carries led the Trojans.
Cell Phone Alerts
Facebook App
Contact Us
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Advertise With Us
About Our Ads
Close
Community Login
You've successfully logged in to the Sun-Times Media Community, click the close button to return to browsing.
Font Size
Email
Bookmark
Black Text
