By Rich Winter

605 Sports

As the weather turns colder, Todd County running back Ty Valandra just seems to find another gear. 

In his last two outings, wins over St. Francis Indian School and Standing Rock, North Dakota, Valandra has rushed for 478 yards and nine touchdowns. With last week’s 50-0 win over Standing Rock, the Falcons enter the Class A Division of the All-Nations Football Conference as the No. 1 seed with a 7-0 record.  

“Ty is one of those guys that just leads the way,” Todd County football coach Bob Kornely said. “If we aren’t having a good practice he gets on kids and he never misses a weight workout. On occasion we have to tell him to take a break and rest his body.” 

From the moment he stepped foot on a football field as a fifth grader, Valandra, the son of Sarah Valandra and Theo Gary, has wanted nothing other than to carry the rock. 

“In fifth grade I guess I tried out and was the backup running back,” he said. “The other guy got hurt and I’ve been playing the position ever since.” 

And playing it well.

Valandra played sparingly as a freshman, garnering 160 rushing yards but burst onto the scene last year, rushing for 1,188 yards and 14 touchdowns. This season, Valandra has rushed for 1,311 yards and 19 touchdowns. He’s totaled 2,659 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns during his career. 

Valandra was hobbled by a high ankle sprain in last year’s semifinal win over Winnebago and the Class A All-Nations Championship win over Red Cloud.

Kornely says Valandra is a physical back that knows when to take what the defense is giving him. 

“He knows when to put his head down and get those one to two yard runs,” Kornely said. “The last couple of weeks when he sees the hole he runs to that opening and he’s gone.” 

As the season has progressed, the Falcon running attack has flourished with fullback Drake Espinoza (487 yards and seven touchdowns) and Michael Rogers (169 yards and two touchdowns) hitting their stride. 

“We’ve been getting really good line play lately led by (lineman) Aden Good Voice,” Kornely said. 

Kornley calls Valandra an outstanding blocker and the junior lights up when an opportunity arises to find contact. 

“I like seeing my team be successful and when there are plays called for me to be the lead blocker I look to knock people back and create a lane,” Valandra said. 

A multi-sport standout Valandra is a starter on the Todd County basketball team. As a sophomore, he narrowly missed qualifying for the state track meet in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. 

Valandra says all the weights and all the sports help with his training to become a better football player.  

“I love seeing myself grow as a person and seeing the self improvement that comes from lifting weights,” he said. “I like track because I like seeing my times come down and ultimately that sport helps me with my speed in football.” 

Todd County plays the winner of Tuesday’s Standing Rock, ND game at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte/Tiospaye Topa game on Saturday, Oct. 28.