Published: September 13, 2008 01:15 am      

Balanced offense keys Tipton win

TIPTON – Tipton’s Class 2A No.7-ranked Blue Devils found an aerial assault to go with their ground attack here Friday night.

The combination proved to be too much for Rensselaer as the Blue Devils stayed unbeaten, thumping the Bombers 26-7 in Hoosier Conference play.

Sophomore quarterback Ross Schulenburg completed 5-of-12 passes for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns, while senior Taylor Maxey carried 15 times for 161 yards and a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Seth Jacobs caught all five passes.

Maxey’s 48-yard touchdown capped a 4-play, 84-yard drive on the Blue Devils first possession. Maxey accounted for all 84 yards on those four plays.

Zach Spencer’s PAT kick gave Tipton a 7-0 lead at the 4:21 mark of the first quarter.

Those were Tipton’s first points scored in the first quarter this season.

“We really, really stressed that (scoring early) this week in practice,” Tipton Coach Aaron Tolle said. “We talked about getting going early and getting ahead, and the kids listened.

“It feels good to put together a nice drive and get ahead. This is the first time we’ve built any momentum in the first quarter.”

Maxey ripped off a 40-yard run on the first play of Tipton’s next possession. But the drive stalled at the Rensselaer 23 and the Blue Devils turned the ball over on downs.

Tipton’s biggest drive of the night, however, came in the final 32 seconds. The Blue Devils needed just three plays and 20 seconds to go 67 yards and did it all without any timesout left.

Maxey gained 15 yards and after Schulenburg spiked the ball to kill the clock, he hooked up with Jacobs on a hitch-and-go. The defender slipped and fell, and a wide open Jacobs caught the ball in stride and raced untouched to the end zone. A bad snap on the PAT kick resulted in the run failing but the Blue Devils led 13-0.

“Our two-minute offense was nice,” Tolle said. “The quarterback and receiver made a nice play. Seth ran an out-and-up and Ross stepped in there and hit him in stride.”

Rensselaer Coach Chris Meeks believed that was the difference in the game.

“The back-breaker was the touchdown they got at the end of the first half,” Mees said.

Tipton got the ball to start the third quarter and marched down field and scored. The Blue Devils needed just six plays and were aided by a Rensselaer penalty.

On fourth-and-2, Tipton caught Rensselaer off-balance by running out the punt team late and quickly snapping. The Bombers had too many men on the field and the 5-yard penalty gave Tipton a first down at the Rensselaer 48.

Schulenburg then sprinted out right and found Jacobs along the sideline. The Bomber defender went for the interception and missed. Jacobs caught the ball and turned up field and ran in for the TD. Spencer’s PAT made it 20-0 with 9:08 left in the third quarter.

Freshman Jake Dye set up Tipton’s next score as he intercepted a pass and returned it 27 yards. Seven plays later, sophomore Ben Harlow ran in from the 1-yard line.

Rensselaer scored its lone TD with 8:59 left to play.

Tipton (2-0 in the HC and 4-0 overall) travels to West Lafayette next Friday.