MISHAWAKA — Valparaiso couldn’t stop Mishawaka when neccessary Friday night.
The Cavemen chewed up 6:13 on their final scoring drive of the fourth quarter to defeat the Vikings 29-20.
It was a pivotal moment on defense for Valparaiso (0-2), which knew what had to be done.
Stop them.
The Vikings just couldn’t do it.
The drive started with 9:33 left and ended with a 36-yard touchdown run by Chris Harness with 3:20 left. The Vikings compounded their issues, being called for offsides on the extra point.
The Cavemen (2-0), who beat Portage last week, decided to go for the 2-point conversion. Harness scored on that as well.
Harness rushed for 155 yards on 19 carries. He also scored on a 38-yard run in the the third quarter.
Jesse Harper, who caught six passes for 38 yards and rushed for 71 yards on 15 carries, said Valparaiso’s offense needs to get better.
“They are a good team,” he said of Mishawaka. “When it comes down to it, we didn’t execute on offense. We aren’t satisfied with 20 points.
“We can’t blame this on the defense. It’s a team game. We have to bounce back next week.
Mishawaka scored first on a 5-yard run by Sam Shively with 5:48 left in the first quarter. That capped an eight-play, 67-yard drive by the Cavemen. The big play was a 39-yard pass from Shively to Donovan Snyder.
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The Vikings answered with a 3-yard TD pass from CJ Opperman to Antonio Osorio with 3:34 left in the first quarter.
Shively scored again with 10:46 left in the second quarter on a 4-yard run, giving Mishawaka a 14-7 lead.
A 33-yard field goal by Elias Sewell with 6:03 left in the first half pulled the Vikings within four points.
Valparaiso took the lead after Peyton Krutz recovered a fumble at the Mishawaka 48. Reece Crossin scored on fourth-and-goal from the 2 with 59 seconds left in the first half.
A field goal by Sewell with 3:44 left in the third quarter gave the Vikings a 20-14 lead.
Harness scored on a 38-yard TD run with 41 seconds left in the quarter. That gave the Cavemen the lead for good.
Valparaiso coach Bill Marshall said the team had breakdowns at inopportune times.
“We need some leaders who are going to step up,” he said. “We had some seniors and juniors who didn’t execute when it was time to do it.”