Wawasee Falls To NorthWood
October 24, 2020 at 4:06 a.m.
By Chip Davenport-
Panther sophomore two-way starter Ethan Evers had 75 yards on the night, but most of it came from a 62-yard touchdown run with 6;33 left in the first quarter to draw first blood for NorthWood, taking a 6-0 lead. The extra point run failed.
It was another two-way starter, 5’8” 155 pound speedster, senior Kyle Sellers’ did the Warriors in with an 80-yard punt return in the first quarter (putting the hosts up 13-0), and two interceptions, The Panthers were hanging on to a 13-0 late into the fourth quarter when Sellers snagged Warrior quarterback Parker Young’s pass at the NorthWood 40 yard line and returned it 48 yards to the Warrior two-yard line at the 1:15. Six seconds later senior Nate Newcomer closed out the host’s scoring for the night, putting the victors ahead 20-0.
Wawasee head coach John Reutebuch gave his thoughts on the team’s season-ending loss saying, “We didn’t make enough plays on offense to win the game. Our defense played lights out. They got a punt return on us in the misty rain in the first half. We thought we had the guy tackled on the sideline, but it is what it is. Big improvement. Last year we came up here and did not battle, we did not fight. Tonight, we fought. Defense played really tough, really hard.”
Northwood, who defeated their guests 39-0 on September 18th in Northern Lakes Conference play, had their hands full with blustery weather and a vastly improved Wawasee defense. While their offense was stymied four times in drives on the Warriors’ side of the field, it was Wawasee had woes on offense, ending threatening drives on two interceptions, and failure to convert on fourth down. Their first three possessions were three-and-out.
Reutebuch commented, “…we still haven’t been able to score, so that’s a problem but we’re gonna fix that in the offseason.”
The Warriors did manage to get in the end zone when the game was in their host’s hands when Young found senior cam Salazar with a two-yard slant pass for paydirt. Caleb Clevenger converted the extra point kick with ease against a strong win, winding up the evenings with 9.5 seconds left in the contest.
Northwood dominated the first half in total yardage with 213 (173 running, 40 passing) to the Warriors’ 44 yards (8 on the ground, 36 in the air). Wawasee’s defense shut down the Black Crunch holding them to 49 total offensive yards, 42 rushing, 7 passing. The Panthers finished with 262 total yards.
The boys from Milford, Syracuse and North Webster rolled up 145 passing yards for the night to accompany 62 rushing yards, 207 total offensive yards altogether.
Wawasee has a fairly young team, and Reutebuch commented on the next post-season steps.
“That’s how you finish (fourth quarter scoring drive). That’s how you compete. But we’re not here to compete, we’re her to win. In the offseason these guys gotta get in the weight room, and get stronger, mor focused… we just gotta get better.”
The Warriors finished the season 3-7. The Panthers (4-3) move on to the Sectional 19 semifinal to face the Leo Lions (9-1), champions of a conference (Northeast 8) known for making deep tournament runs
W – 0 0 0 7 - 7
NW - 13 0 0 7 - 13
1ST Quarter
NW – Ethan Evers 62 run (run failed) 6:33
NW – Kyle Sellers 80 punt return (Nate Newcomer kick) 0:00
2nd Quarter (no scoring)
3rd Quarter (no scoring)
4th Quarter
NW – Newcomer 2 run (Newcomer kick) 1:09
W – Cameron Salazar 2 pass from Parker Young (Caleb Clevenger kick) 0:09.5
Panther sophomore two-way starter Ethan Evers had 75 yards on the night, but most of it came from a 62-yard touchdown run with 6;33 left in the first quarter to draw first blood for NorthWood, taking a 6-0 lead. The extra point run failed.
It was another two-way starter, 5’8” 155 pound speedster, senior Kyle Sellers’ did the Warriors in with an 80-yard punt return in the first quarter (putting the hosts up 13-0), and two interceptions, The Panthers were hanging on to a 13-0 late into the fourth quarter when Sellers snagged Warrior quarterback Parker Young’s pass at the NorthWood 40 yard line and returned it 48 yards to the Warrior two-yard line at the 1:15. Six seconds later senior Nate Newcomer closed out the host’s scoring for the night, putting the victors ahead 20-0.
Wawasee head coach John Reutebuch gave his thoughts on the team’s season-ending loss saying, “We didn’t make enough plays on offense to win the game. Our defense played lights out. They got a punt return on us in the misty rain in the first half. We thought we had the guy tackled on the sideline, but it is what it is. Big improvement. Last year we came up here and did not battle, we did not fight. Tonight, we fought. Defense played really tough, really hard.”
Northwood, who defeated their guests 39-0 on September 18th in Northern Lakes Conference play, had their hands full with blustery weather and a vastly improved Wawasee defense. While their offense was stymied four times in drives on the Warriors’ side of the field, it was Wawasee had woes on offense, ending threatening drives on two interceptions, and failure to convert on fourth down. Their first three possessions were three-and-out.
Reutebuch commented, “…we still haven’t been able to score, so that’s a problem but we’re gonna fix that in the offseason.”
The Warriors did manage to get in the end zone when the game was in their host’s hands when Young found senior cam Salazar with a two-yard slant pass for paydirt. Caleb Clevenger converted the extra point kick with ease against a strong win, winding up the evenings with 9.5 seconds left in the contest.
Northwood dominated the first half in total yardage with 213 (173 running, 40 passing) to the Warriors’ 44 yards (8 on the ground, 36 in the air). Wawasee’s defense shut down the Black Crunch holding them to 49 total offensive yards, 42 rushing, 7 passing. The Panthers finished with 262 total yards.
The boys from Milford, Syracuse and North Webster rolled up 145 passing yards for the night to accompany 62 rushing yards, 207 total offensive yards altogether.
Wawasee has a fairly young team, and Reutebuch commented on the next post-season steps.
“That’s how you finish (fourth quarter scoring drive). That’s how you compete. But we’re not here to compete, we’re her to win. In the offseason these guys gotta get in the weight room, and get stronger, mor focused… we just gotta get better.”
The Warriors finished the season 3-7. The Panthers (4-3) move on to the Sectional 19 semifinal to face the Leo Lions (9-1), champions of a conference (Northeast 8) known for making deep tournament runs
W – 0 0 0 7 - 7
NW - 13 0 0 7 - 13
1ST Quarter
NW – Ethan Evers 62 run (run failed) 6:33
NW – Kyle Sellers 80 punt return (Nate Newcomer kick) 0:00
2nd Quarter (no scoring)
3rd Quarter (no scoring)
4th Quarter
NW – Newcomer 2 run (Newcomer kick) 1:09
W – Cameron Salazar 2 pass from Parker Young (Caleb Clevenger kick) 0:09.5
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