The Outlook

Tipp City Tippecanoe defeated Graham 30-7 at Dallas Stadium last Friday, August 27, to avenge a 28-3 loss at the hands of the Falcons to open last season.

Just thirteen seconds into the season, Tipp already had a 7-0 lead thanks to senior running back Dylan Bourelle running through the right side for an 80-yard touchdown jaunt.
 It was clear that things weren’t going Graham’s way when Tipp City scored their second touchdown. To cap a 54-yard Tipp City drive, Graham forced a fumble in the end zone, only to be recovered by the Red Devils. The PAT was wide left so the score was 13-0.

The Red Devils scored again on a TD pass to go into the locker room holding a 20-0 lead.
It was the strong start that Tippecanoe head coach Charlie Burgbacher was most pleased about.

“It was important to start off like we did,” the coach said. “Then we got the ball again and the momentum came back. The third touchdown was huge because [Graham] got that defensive touchdown.”
The second half saw the Falcons compete much better, and they mustered their only score on the defensive side of the ball. Indiana University-bound senior RB/DB/P/K/KR Nick VanHoose intercepted a Red Devil pass and turned on the afterburners for a 76-yard touchdown to give the Falcon faithful some hope.

VanHoose capped his TD with the PAT and the score was 20-7 with 5:41 left in the third quarter.
Tipp City answered with a 22-yd FG at the 2:10 mark of the third period. Then the Red Devils capped the scoring with an interception return for a touchdown of their own from 29 yards out with 1:50 remaining in the contest.

Last season, the dazzling VanHoose rushed for over 1,700 yards. But in this game, he had 98 yards on 20 carries and a slithering 17 yard reception. Junior QB Luke Black completed eight of 19 passes for 83 yards and one interception.

Graham managed just 221 total yards with 138 of those on the ground. By contrast, Tippecanoe totaled 432 yards with 312 yards rushing.

Second-year Graham head coach Nic Black was pleased with the second half battle, but wants to eliminate the mistakes that put them in such a hole early on. “We started out poorly and didn’t tackle well. Offensively, when you have your opportunities you got to make plays.”

Graham travels to Versailles next Friday, September 3, for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off.