Junior Wes Melanson will be one of the relied upon performers for the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings this season. (File photo by Mike Deak)

AKRON – The phrase, “Getting back to Valley football”, has been used a lot in recent years. Wanting to return to a mindset when Valley displayed its establish form of ball has been on the minds and tongues for a while, and new head coach Steve Moriarity is all about the idea.

“Our emphasis in the offseason was were are going to get strong,” Moriarity said ahead of his first season as head coach at Valley. “We are going to be in condition. In the past, we didn’t finish games the last couple years from what I’ve seen. We’re going to go in, we are going to outhit people, be in condition. That’s our thing. We are going to go back to Valley football, learning how to hit and be in condition, playing the old smashmouth style.”

Moriarity is in a line of former Valley players coming back to coach at his alma mater. But just simply being a Valley guy isn’t enough for a program that has made five head coaching changes since 2005, four of those since 2013. Moriarity is rigid about putting the old school values of Tippecanoe Valley days gone by into the program (Re: giant billboards on the field from vintage Valley seasons) as well as his general disposition about simplifying the offense for an otherwise young roster.

Can the rookie head coach bring the glory days back to greater Akron?

“It’s repetition,” Moriarity said. “You make things basic enough and then you master them. You don’t overdo it. You do what the kids can handle. I think we’ve done that trying to master the plays against different fronts and move from there.”

Moriarity wants to ground and pound the football, but knows in a conference where spread offenses have superceded the old school approach at traditionally run-first schools like Whitko, Southwood and Wabash, Valley will have to adjust. And after a 2016 season where some whoopins’ early in the season turned into moral and physical victories late, the thud left by West Noble in its upset win at Valley in the sectional is still a little raw.

Pinpointing specific players to guide the Viking ship this season wasn’t a priority from Moriarity as fall practices still had plenty to offer. He did note both junior Noah Miller and sophomore Tanner Trippiedi are both taking snaps at quarterback, either having to fill the shoes of Alec Craig, who combined for 975 passing and rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns. Miller has the lone varsity experience, going 3-11 for 41 yards and two picks.

Look for sophomore Jaydin Conley (185 yards rushing), junior Cameron Parker (164 yards rushing), junior Wes Melanson (6 yards rushing, 65 receiving) and senior Bryce Webster (247 yards receiving) to step in as impact players on the offensive side of the ball. Trippiedi should also see an uptick in touches after making most of his freshman impact on the defensive side of the ball.

Senior Devin Bandow, junior Alex Morrison and sophomore Jalen Potter all look to lead the Vikings defense. Morrison and Bandow both will be key to keeping some of the spread offenses in check. Being able to slow teams might be the tipping point to success or blowouts. Valley was outscored 251-47 in its first five blowout losses before rattling off three straight conference wins against Manchester, Rochester and Wabash, the middle against the Fulton County rivals especially sweet as the Bell tolled in Akron all night long. The Vikings did, however, give up 378 points last season in its 3-7 campaign, and Moriarity knows that won’t cut it in the Three Rivers Conference and against two juggernaut non-conference opponents in Bremen and Culver Academy, the Lions back on the schedule opening week after a two-year hiatus.

“We have a very athletic group, but maybe not a very big group,” Moriarity said of his defense. “We are going to put some more athletic kids out there and not see them box in, but it suits more of our team. We are just more athletic than being big up front.”

Tippecanoe Valley opens up at Bremen Friday night before hosting Culver Academy in week two.