Late Field Goal Lifts Valpo Past Indiana Wesleyan in Home Opener
The DJ, the fireworks, the weather and the fans all played a role in making Saturday a majestic night at Brown Field, but it was the Valparaiso University football team that provided the main act and made the rare home night game a special one.
Valpo led 17-7 at halftime before Indiana Wesleyan rallied to tie the game with 9:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. Then, the Beacons took the lead for good thanks to the right leg of Ryan Hawk (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley), who sent one through the uprights from 37 yards out with 5:24 on the clock to account for the difference in a 20-17 victory over the Wildcats, who entered the game ranked fifth nationally in NAIA.
The win provided a successful ending to “Welcome Back Weekend” for Valpo Athletics, which saw tennis, volleyball, football and soccer go a combined 5-1 in six home events in a two-day span.
How It Happened
• The game’s first two drives on each side all resulted in punts, but the Valpo offense cracked the scoreboard late in the first quarter when Ryan Mann (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Vernon Illinois [Northern Illinois]) broke off a 25-yard rush and Michael Mansaray (Columbus, Ohio / Westerville South [South Dakota]) followed with a 33-yard touchdown run with 1:07 left in the opening stanza.
• The Valpo defense forced its third punt in as many possessions early in the second, then Valpo embarked on another scoring drive, this one featuring six plays and 60 yards. Quarterback Caron Tyler (Temecula, Calif. / Chaparral) started that series with an 18-yard run, then he connected with Mann for a 22-yard hookup. Tyler eventually found Chris Gundy (Smithfield, Va. / Smithfield) in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
• The Wildcats came back with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown and cut the lead to 14-7.
• Tyler started the ensuing Valpo drive with a 24-yard run, helping set up an eventual 50-yard field goal attempt from Hawk. The kick was blocked, but holder Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain [Jackson State / Alabama]) recovered the ball and completed a 25-yard pass to Mann for a first down.
• Although Valpo did not gain much more yardage on that drive, the unusual blocked field goal turned completed pass set up another field-goal attempt, this one from 24 yards out, and Hawk sent it through the uprights to extend Valpo’s lead to 17-7 with 3:40 remaining in the first half.
• Indiana Wesleyan’s next drive resulted in a missed field goal from 39 yards, and then Valpo punted on its final drive of the half and went into the break leading by 10.
• An interception by Max Franco (La Habra, Calif. / La Habra) snuffed out the first Indiana Wesleyan drive of the second half. The two teams exchanged punts, then Valpo missed a 40-yard field goal. Indiana Wesleyan went on a nine-play, 77-yard drive that finished with a 17-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Valpo lead to three at 17-14 late in the third.
• The Beacons were forced to punt early in the fourth quarter, then Indiana Wesleyan went on a 13-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a 34-yard field goal by Jacob Clifton to tie the game at 17 with 9:16 to play in the fourth.
• A 38-yard run by Tyler was the big play of the next Valpo drive, setting up a 37-yard field goal try that was drilled by Hawk, putting Valpo back on top at 20-17 with 5:05 to go.
• On the second play of the next Wildcat drive, Nic Lendino (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley) notched a diving interception to help Valpo take over at the IWU 36. The Beacons ran clock and then punted, but they forced a three-and-out on what turned out to be the final Indiana Wesleyan drive, and took back over with 2:40 to play. Valpo moved the chains on an 11-yard run by Mansaray, allowing the Beacons to set up victory formation and run out the remainder of the clock.
Inside the Game
• The game was eerily similar to the last home night game, also against Indiana Wesleyan back in 2022, which Valpo won by the identical score of 20-17 behind a late field goal. Valpo and Indiana Wesleyan have split four head-to-head matchups over the last four seasons with the home team winning each contest and each of the last three being decided by three points or fewer.
• Valpo played its 26th one-score game in Landon Fox’s 53 games as head coach. Each of Valpo’s last two home games have been three-point wins as the Beacons beat Stetson 23-20 in overtime to close the Brown Field portion of the 2023 slate.
• Gundy’s TD catch was the second of his career.
• Hawk made two field goals to boost his career total to seven. He also boomed four of five kickoffs for touchbacks, averaging 64.2 yards per kick.
• Four of Johnson’s six punts were pinned inside the 20. He had a long of 49 and averaged 42.7 yards per punt. One punt was scored as a team punt since it was tipped and partially blocked, altering the yardage.
• Franco’s interception was the second of his career and first since Nov. 22, 2022 at Marist.
• Lendino’s interception was the first of his collegiate career. It came after he had been initially disqualified from the game due to targeting in the first half, but the officials reviewed and overturned the targeting call at halftime, and Lendino was reinstated into the game.
• Mansaray’s touchdown was his second of the season. He finished the day with 16 carries for 97 yards.
• Tyler went 8-of-17 passing for 70 yards, while serving as the team’s leading rusher with 18 carries for 115 yards.
• Mann was the team’s top receiver with three catches for 50 yards.
• The defense was led by Jake Birmingham (River Forest, Ill. / Oak Park and River Forest) and Onye Nwosisi (Indianapolis, Ind. / Cardinal Ridge [Muskingum]) with eight tackles apiece. Nwosisi had five solos, a sack and two QB hurries.
• Valpo totaled 268 yards on the ground, higher than any single-game total from a year ago and the team’s highest rushing output since 280 on Nov. 12, 2022 at Marist.
• Valpo held a 363-328 advantage in yards of total offense.
• The Beacons went just 1-of-14 on third down, while the Wildcats converted eight of their 16 opportunities. Valpo did go 2-for-2 on fourth down.
• Valpo did not commit a turnover, the offense’s second turnover-free game in three contests so far.
• Valpo won its home opener for just the second time in the last eight years, joining the 2022 win over Indiana Wesleyan.
• This marked the team’s second home night game in the last decade. Prior to 2022, Valpo had not played a home night game since 2014.
