WILLIAMSTOWN — The message head coach Tim Savage sent to his Williams Valley football squad was simple.
All 11 players must execute.
“The whole theme coming into this week was to just execute the design and execute what we’re trying to accomplish,” Savage said. “All 11 guys. Not nine. Not 10. We need all 11 guys to execute their job, and it went well in the first half.”
Indeed, the first half went well and the second went well enough for the Vikings to close out a 20-13 victory over Millersburg in the Tri-Valley League opener for both at Gerry Stauffenberg Field at Viking Stadium on Friday night.
Williams Valley executed to near perfection on a pair of lengthy touchdown passes to give it the cushion it needed for the win.
Early in the second quarter, quarterback Nick Rodichock hit 6-foot-5 sophomore receiver Jake Wolfgang on a fade for a 30-yard touchdown pass to give the Vikings a 13-0 lead.
Williams Valley (1-1, 1-0 TVL) failed to execute that play in the opener against Marian.
“It was there nearly every time we ran it last week, but Jake was running it too far inside the field,” Savage said. “It looked like Nick was making bad throws, but Jake was just a little bit off on the design of the play. We worked real hard. He’s 6-5. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached. He looked like a star receiver tonight.”
Wolfgang caught four passes for 117 yards and also played a solid safety on the defensive side of the ball. Rodichock also finished his night 8-of-23 for 116 yards.
Just before the half, Williams Valley sped 72 yards in just four plays as freshman receiver Levi Engle took a pitch from Rodichock on a sweep, pulled up to pass and hit a wide open Wolfgang for a 55-yard score with 24.3 second left in the second quarter for a 20-0 advantage.
Ultimately, that touchdown just before the half turned out to be the difference.
While Dylan Rabuck put together a workmanlike performance rushing the football for Williams Valley with 122 yards on 27 totes, Millersburg (0-2, 0-1) prevented the Vikes from finding the end zone again.
Christian Wingard finished a 13-play, 68-yard march with a 19-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half to help the Indians cut the Viking lead to 20-6.
Williams Valley appeared poised to add to its lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Indians stuffed a Viking drive at the 5-yard line.
Wingard and Co. followed with a 12-play, 95-yard drive that included a conversion on fourth-and-12 from midfield to slice the deficit to 20-13 with 4:14 remaining in the game.
However, Williams Valley continued to do just enough with its limited roster.
“We couldn’t really get it going in the second half, but we have heart on defense,” Rodichok said. “We have heart.
“Moving the chains, keeping the clock running, getting first downs — that’s what we needed to do. It didn’t look pretty on paper, but we did what we needed to do. Especially moving the ball around, keeping the ball out of their hands.”
Early in the ball game, it appeared as though the Vikings would run away with the game. Millersburg did not achieve its initial first down until about 4 minutes remained in the second quarter.
Plus, the Williams Valley offense seemed to be rolling.
“They are a very talented defense,” Rodichok said. “It really all comes down to heart. When we have 18 guys showing up for practice, having to run sprints, it looks terrible, but it’s really all about heart. We want to be there. We want to participate. We want to win, and it just feels so good to win.
“We had growing pains. We are very young. That’s what I kept telling them. I told them at half against Marian, ‘Growing pains. It will get better.’ We’ll mature as a team. A lot of young kids are maturing fairly quick.”
Game Summary
Millers (0-2, 0-1) 0 0 6 7 — 13
WV (1-1, 1-0) 7 13 0 0 — 20
WV — Dy. Rabuck 1 run (Mini kick)
WV — J. Wolfgang 30 pass from Rodichok (kick failed)
WV — J. Wolfgang 55 pass from Engle (Mini kick)
M — Wingard 19 run (kick blocked)
M — Wingard 1 run (Wingard kick)
Millers WV
First Downs 15 14
Rushes-Yards 41-170 34-111
Passes 5-21-1 9-24-0
Passing Yards 83 171
Total Yards 253 282
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1
Penalties 5-58 7-40
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Millersburg — Wingard 17-88, Erdman 13-62, Shomper 7-12, Lehman 4-8. Williams Valley — Dy. Rabuck 27-122, J. Wolfgang 1-2, Savage 1-1, Engle 1-0, Team 1-(-1), Rodichok 3-(-13).
PASSING: Millersburg — Wingard 5-21-1, 83. Williams Valley — Rodichok 8-23-0, 116, Engle 1-1-0, 55.
RECEIVING: Millersburg — Hesen 1-30, Erdman 1-26, Shomper 1-15, Lehman 2-12. Williams Valley — J. Wolfgang 4-117, Hand 1-50, Dy. Rabuck 2-9, De. Rabuck 1-4, Engle 1-(-9).
INTERCEPTIONS: Millersburg — None. Williams Valley — Engle