By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Sunday, November 22, 2009
Updated: Sunday, November 22, 2009 4:08 AM CST

TIPTON, Mo. - The Valle Catholic football team will display its explosive spread offense on the big stage at the Edward Jones Dome after moving within one victory of earning its 10th all-time state championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors forced four second-half turnovers on defense, and quickly converted two fumbles into pivotal touchdowns during a decisive third quarter while rolling past Tipton, 49-21 in a Class 1 semifinal that featured two unbeaten teams.

Valle (14-0) sustained several lengthy drives to compile over 500 yards of total offense with a balanced attack that saw both quarterback Michael Greminger and tailback Luke Uding surpass the century mark on the ground.

Greminger overcame lingering pain in his throwing arm from an injury suffered last week against Miller to continue his aerial excellence, completing nine straight pass attempts before halftime to finish 16-of-24 overall for 234 yards and two scores.

Uding totaled 112 yards on just 12 carries and Greminger gradually gained 108 on 20 attempts, while senior receivers Nick Brown and Jason Blum each tallied seven catches in the victory.

Blum keyed perhaps the pivotal play of the game with 33 seconds remaining before the intermission, making the turning pitch to a trailing and sprinting Uding on a perfect hook-and-lateral that covered 52 yards.

Valle had taken the lead for good moments earlier when Greminger capped a 6-play scoring march with a short sneak, and carried a 28-14 margin into the break.  Critical mistakes then sank the host Cardinals (13-1) in the third quarter.

Uding scored from 12 yards out on a sweep to increase the lead, as the Warriors advanced 83 yards over eight plays. Special teams standout Nolan Carrow fell upon a muffed ensuing kickoff, and Valle instantly capitalized on the turnover.

Michael Loida, who opened the scoring with a 63-yard touchdown run, added a 6-yarder to make it 42-14 midway through the third. From there, Valle would eventually induce a continuous clock for the eighth consecutive game.

Linebacker Nick Zerwig made a team-high 17 tackles, and his fumble recovery led to Greminger’s second scoring keeper of the day. Bryan Kertz added 13 tackles while Uding had 12 and Aaron Basler netted 10 for the Warriors.

After having its solid rushing attack slowed in the second half, Tipton struck back with an 18-yard halfback pass from Keil Allison to Chris Bracht with 10:06 remaining, but subsequent interceptions from Brown and Loida sealed the outcome.

Valle, which captured its last state championship in 1995, will meet Penney (13-0) next Saturday at noon for the title. Penney ripped Wellington-Napoleon 62-27 in the other semifinal matchup.

Big plays from Tipton prevented the Warriors from building the sizable first-half lead that they had become accustomed to throughout the playoffs. Dallas Peoples broke an initial hit to even the early score at 7-7 with a 28-yard scamper.

Valle regained the lead on a leaping 8-yard grab by Blum on a pinpoint pass over two defenders from Greminger to begin the second quarter, but Burt Barbour responded with a 62-yard burst that pushed Tipton inside the red zone.

The Cardinals again pulled even on one of several attempted gadget plays out of field-goal formation, as Barbour caught a short toss from holder Zach Knipp.

Tipton quarterback Marcus Brinkley rushed 13 times for 61 yards, but was replaced by Knipp down the stretch in obvious passing situations.

Sophomore kicker Kevin Abts was perfect on seven extra-point attempts, and Brown finished with two interceptions for Valle.

Valle   7  7   0   7 - 21

Tipton   7  21  21  0 - 49

First quarter:

VC (7-0) - Loida 63 run (Abts kick), 7:48

TIP (7-7) - Peoples 28 run (Bracht kick), 5:09

Second quarter:

VC (14-7) - Blum 8 pass from Greminger (Abts kick), 11:52

TIP (14-14) - Barbour 7 pass from Knipp (Bracht kick), 4:28

VC (21-14) - Greminger 1 run (Abts kick), 2:30

VC (28-14) - Uding 52 pass from Greminger with Blum lateral (Abts kick), 0:33

Third quarter:

VC (35-14) - Uding 12 run (Abts kick), 7:09

VC (42-14) - Loida 6 run (Abts kick), 6:03

VC (49-14) - Greminger 2 run (Abts kick), 3:25

Fourth quarter:

TIP (49-21) - Bracht 18 pass from Allison (Bracht kick), 10:06