Local High School Football Previews For Week 8
October 6, 2022 at 12:05 a.m.
By Anthony Anderson & Steve Krah-
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Fisher Field, Warsaw.
Series (last 35 years): Warsaw, 22-13.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 45-3.
Last meeting: Sept. 24, 2021, Warsaw, 42-0.
About Goshen: Coach Tom Wogomon’s 5A RedHawks beat Plymouth 7-6 in Week 7 … The winning score was made on a fourth-and-goal pass with 1:08 to play … Sophomore Elliot Frey, who heaved the game-winner to senior Noah Alford, started at quarterback for Goshen, which lost starting and backup signal callers to injury and illness since Week 6 … Junior Drew Elliott and senior Adam Ellison have been the top rushers for the RedHawks in 2022 … Foes have outscored Goshen 185-92 … The RedHawks program has lost 14 straight to Warsaw.
About Warsaw: Coach Bart Curtis’ 6A Tigers beat Wawasee 36-0 in Week 7 … Warsaw has outscored opponents 224-99 with three shutouts … Junior Grady Nolin and sophomore Drew Sullivan both saw time at quarterback against Mishawaka and Wawasee … Top passers are Nolin (7-of-22 for 109 yards and two touchdowns) and Sullivan (5-of-13 for 76 yards and two TDs) … Leading the way in rushing are senior German Flores-Ortega (116 carries for 712 yards and 10 TDs), senior Bryson Brown (49 carries for 415 yards and three TDs), junior Reed Zollinger (32 carries for 252 yards and two TDs) and Nolin (53 carries for 252 yards and two TDs) … Pacing the receivers is senior Jack Murrell (three catches for 72 yards and one TD) and senior Bryce Duncan (one catch for 32 yards) … The Tigers have fumbled 19 times, losing 11. Warsaw has 14 giveaways (including three interceptions) and 17 takeaways (10 fumbles and seven interceptions) … Sophomore Mason Smythe is 19-of-21 on extra-point kicks and 1-of-4 on field goals with 18 touchbacks and 10 punts … Total tackle leaders are senior Nick Katris (43 with three sacks), senior Dimitri Chandler (35), junior Eric Pohl (33), junior Jette Woodward (30.5), senior Trey Koontz (25.5) and senior Theo Katris (25.5) … It will be Senior Night for the Tigers Friday.
Per Warsaw coach Bart Curtis:
On Goshen — We want to honor our seniors — kids who have put three and four years into our program. That’s first and foremost. We have 20 senior (players) and one senior manager … It’s a good group. I know some of them have had some very disappointing injuries. Maybe their season hasn’t gone quite as they imagined it back in the summer. The resilience the group has shown and the amount of time and effort they’ve put in needs to be recognized … We’d like to be fighting for a conference championship, but right now that’s not the case. My goal for this group — for ever how long they play — is that we focus on doing things right and we focus on doing things 100 miles a hour every given snap that we have in practice or games.
Quarterback rotation — Whatever it takes to get the ball snapped from the center into the quarterback’s and then into the fullback’s hands. It’s whoever can do that the best. It may be one kid. It may be four kids … We want to make sure we take care of the football. Ball security has been an ongoing issue. We want to be explosive when we need to be explosive.
Wawasee game — The thing I like the most is that we were able to throw a really inexperienced group of kids out there and they were able to succeed — and sometimes thrive — (including three sophomore linemen) … We were able to play sound defensively.
Wabash (2-5 overall, 2-4 TRC) at Tippecanoe Valley (7-0, 6-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Smith-Bibler Memorial Field.
Series: Valley leads 12-3.
Last meeting: Valley won 54-0, Oct. 8, 2021.
Last Wabash win: 30-29, Oct. 6, 2017.
John Harrell’s prediction: Valley, 52-10.
About Wabash: The Apaches are coming off a dramatic 33-32 win last week at North Miami, their second one-point victory of the season. The last time they won two one-point games in the same year was 1959. … Junior Trevor Daughtry’s 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown lifted Wabash to the win. The Apaches led 27-16 in the fourth quarter, then allowed 16 straight points before Daughtry’s tally. Senior Antonio Grant sealed the outcome with an end-zone interception. … On the season, junior QB Izaak Wright is 106-of-185 passing for 1,395 yards and 11 TDs against just two picks. Daughtry, Grant and Justin Booth have combined for 95 catches, 1,230 yards and nine touchdowns. … Junior Keaton Fields is coming off a 94-yard rushing effort with two TDs on 20 carries. … Defensively, Grant has team highs of 78 tackles, 48 solos and two interceptions, while sophomore Trevor Wuensch is second in both total tackles (70) and tackles for loss (3.5).
About Valley: The Vikings stormed past fellow TRC unbeaten Maconaquah 57-14 last week, overwhelming a club that had won five straight. Valley led 22-0 midway through the opening quarter, 43-7 at halftime to trigger a running clock the rest of the way and 57-7 through three periods. … While the Vikings are 6-0 in the league with two games to go, three other teams — Mac, Rochester and Southwood — are just a game back at 5-1. All of the top four clubs face one of the other contenders next week when Valley visits Southwood while Mac hosts Rochester. … The Vikings scored just 23 seconds into the game against Mac when senior Alex Bailey scooped up a blocked punt for a touchdown. Nate Parker rushed for 136 yards and four TDs on just 12 carries, while fellow junior Wade Jones had 138 and a TD on just eight. … Senior Noah Prater and junior Nate Engstrand both intercepted Mac star quarterback Braxton Birner. While Birner closed 23-of-37 for 217 yards (matching a season low) and two touchdowns (an outright season low), numbers most QBs would unflinchingly embrace, Valley became the first team to intercept him twice (he’d only thrown one in his previous 129 attempts), held him to decisively his lowest passer rating (73.8; previous low 93.0) and limited him to easily his lowest completion percentage in six weeks.
Valley coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week — “I was surprised (by the margin of victory), but we played a good game, cleaner than we have in the past. Their offense is hard to slow down. We kept them from hurting us too much with the pass and they had negative 1 yard rushing. We went to a three front to try to slow down their passing game. I was very pleased. I thought our defense communicated well, which you have to do against a passing team like that.”
On Wabash — They run a similar offense (to Maconaquah), but they run the ball a little more, and their quarterback does a great job of taking off if nothing’s open, which is a little different from Birner. They’re both ranked in state passing yards, but we gotta be ready if this one takes off running.”
On the state of the program — “I’m very happy with the program from bottom to top. The JV’s undefeated and the seventh, eighth and ninth-grade teams have one loss combined. … We’re putting time into making sure everybody’s on the same page. We try to run the same offense and use the same lingo, so when they get to high school, it’s more about fine-tuning than learning something entirely new.”
Wawasee (1-6, 1-4 Northern Lakes Conference) at NorthWood (7-0, 5-0 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Andrews Field, Nappanee.
Series (last 35 years): NorthWood, 30-9.
John Harrell’s prediction: NorthWood, 52-0.
Last meeting: Sept. 17, 2021, NorthWood, 44-14.
About Wawasee: Coach Jon Reutebuch’s 4A Warriors lost 36-0 to Warsaw in Week 7 … Junior Mason Shoemaker was 9-of-16 passing for 89 yards … Senior Cameron Zimmerman had seven carries for 28 yards … Junior Hunter Tinkey caught three passes for 32 yards and junior Brandon Kelly three for 24 … Senior David Anderson (7), junior Derek Bontrager (6), senior Nico Ramirez (5) and Zimmerman (4) led in total tackles … Foes have outscored Wawasee 211-104 … The Warriors have lost seven straight against NorthWood.
About NorthWood: Coach Nate Andrews’ Associated Press No. 3-ranked/Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 5 4A Panthers beat Mishawaka 14-6 in Week 7 … NorthWood has outscored opponents 253-68 with one shutout … The Panthers are led by junior Owen Roeder (79-of-125 for 1,236 yards and 17 touchdowns) in passing, junior Wes Yoder (71 carries for 448 yards and one TD) and senior Kaden Lone (22 carries for 134 yards and one TD) in rushing and junior NiTareon Tuggle (25 catches for 516 yards and eight TDs), Yoder (19 catches for 323 yards and three TDs), senior J.J. Payne (11 catches for 272 yards and four TDs), junior Seth Russell (12 catches for 135 yards and two TDs), Trey Woods (nine catches for 102 yards and one TD) and senior Parker Filley (eight catches for 78 yards and four TDs) in receiving … Sophomore Dominic DeFreitas 90 is 32-of-32 on extra points and 5-of-5 on field goals … Total tackle pacers are senior Ethan Evers (54), senior Luke Miller (48), Keith Miller (47), senior Ben Fattorusso (41) and Payne (35).
Per Wawasee coach Jon Reutebuch:
On NorthWood — They throw the ball a lot. They’ve got some good weapons … They’re very fast and aggressive. They’ve proven they are the best team in the conference right now. We’re going to have to come up with a great effort to compete in this game.
Tough stretch — Our schedule is such that we play the top three teams in the conference the last three games (No. 3 Warsaw, No. 1 NorthWood and No. 2 Mishawaka). That’s a pretty tough deal at the end of the season when you’ve got bumps and bruises to be going against the best of the best. We’re not where I’d like to be. We are a physical team. Everyone that plays us knows that … We are a team that doesn’t give up. We still aren’t making the plays we need to win football games. We need to concentrate on these last two games, get better execution, compete and get ready for the (IHSAA) tournament.
Warsaw game — We started the game off just the way we’d like to with the onside kick. We drove it down to the 11-yard line. The drive stalled out. We ended up missing what should have been an easy field goal … At the end of the first quarter it’s 8-0. We should have gone into halftime no worse than 16-0. We have a couple of turnovers deep in our territory and a lapse in coverage with :08 to go to make it 30-0 … I had to challenge my guys. Where we go from here is going to show our character. In the second half, we need to keep fighting and competing and I felt like we did that.
Manchester (1-6 overall, 1-5 TRC) at Maconaquah (5-2, 5-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Maconaquah HS, Bunker Hill.
Series: Manchester leads 3-1.
Last meeting: Manchester won 37-6, Oct. 8, 2021.
Last Maconaquah win: 28-27, Oct. 16, 2015.
John Harrell’s prediction: Maconaquah, 42-21.
About Manchester: The Squires topped winless Whitko 34-12 last week for their first victory of the season. … If senior wideout Memphis Wood caught it, he scored it, finishing with three receptions for 132 yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats. He’s up to 28 receptions and 553 yards on the year with eight TDs. … Senior quarterback Brock Casper closed 9-of-13 throwing for 176 yards and the three Wood tallies against two picks. … Sophomore Mason Rooney struck for a career-high 169 yards rushing and two TDs on 25 carries. … Senior Jordan Ayres and junior Preston Duffy got in on 11 tackles apiece for the Manchester defense, while senior Mavern Smith forced a pair of fumbles.
About Maconaquah: The Braves were whipped 57-14 last week at undefeated Tippecanoe Valley, but remain alive in the Three Rivers Conference race at 5-1. … Mac junior QB Braxton Birner continues to rank among the state’s passing leaders and already has multiple single-season and career school records to his credit. He’s completed 167-of-242 throws (69%) on the year for 1,929 yards (275.6 per game) and 22 touchdowns against just five interceptions. … His top targets are a pair of sophomores in Fuddy Kile (56 catches, 796 yards, nine TDs) and AJ Kelly (55, 678, seven). … On defense, the Braves’ top nine tacklers are all underclassmen. … Mac owns both a one-point win (27-26 over Northfield) and a two-point win (28-26 over North Miami) this season, while it so happens that Manchester has suffered both a one-point loss (28-27 at Wabash) and two-point loss (14-12 to North Miami).
Manchester coach Alyx Brandewie:
On last week — “I was just really happy for our kids. They worked hard, fought like crazy. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but they did a terrific job fighting. We executed really well for long stretches. (The defense) did a nice job for the most part. The two scores (allowed) were late in the game and one against the JVs, but you’re always excited to get younger kids into the game. Even when the defense gave up yards, we were able to get off the field.”
On Maconaquah — “Their quarterback’s really talented. He does a fantastic job directing their offense and Coach (Tyler) Campbell is doing a fantastic job there, especially being in his second year and with so many sophomores on the field. It’s a testament to the kids’ buy-in and a testament to what he and his staff are doing. The two sophomore receivers, I don’t know if they can score from anywhere, but it feels like it. We’ve got to keep everything in front of us as much as we can and recover quickly where we can’t.”
On closer scores vs. common foes than records suggest — “Absolutely it can be (a (source of encouragement), but it’s also not something we’ll directly talk to our kids about. Our bigger concern has to be us and how we execute, but it is the point in the year where you do some scoreboard comparing. … The kids are keenly aware of it whether we talk about it or not, but that’s for their conversations, not something from me.”
Southwood (5-2 overall, 5-1 TRC) at Whitko (0-7, 0-6)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Huff Stadium.
Series: Whitko leads 25-19.
Last meeting: Southwood won 35-0, Oct. 8, 2021.
Last Whitko win: 7-0, Sept. 6, 2014.
John Harrell’s prediction: Southwood, 66-0.
About Southwood: The surging Knights won their fifth straight last week, downing Peru 55-25. All five wins have come by at least 14 points with an average margin of 30. … Senior quarterback Cole Winer posted a video game-like 453 yards of total offense against the Tigers. He hit 15-of-22 passes for 345 yards and six touchdowns to go with 108 ground yards on 13 keepers. Since moving to QB in Week 3, Winer’s 52-of-81 throwing for 896 yards and 13 TDs against two picks. … Nathan Lehner hauled in 10 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns against Peru, while fellow senior Morgan Lloyd is at 440 yards rushing on the season with six TDs over 87 attempts. … Senior defensive tackle Jason Oprisek leads the defense at 9.5 tackles for loss and 51 overall, while Lehner’s recovered four fumbles.
About Whitko: The Wildcats finished with both their fewest points allowed and highest total scored in their 34-12 loss last week at Manchester. Their previous closest margin of defeat was 39-0 in Week 1 against Prairie Heights. Whitko trailed just 13-0 through three quarters against the Squires. The counts moved to 20-0 and 20-6 early in the fourth. … Junior Dean Boggs dazzled on both sides of the ball, running for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries to go with 15 total tackles and nine solos. Every figure mentioned was a career high. … Senior Cody Adkins intercepted two passes for the Cats and secured three receptions for 29 yards, junior Skyler Zellers made three tackles for loss among 10 tackles overall and junior Trevor Freel carried 15 times for 59 yards. … Freshman wing/corner Preston Furar suffered a first-quarter stomach-related injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Whitko coach Brad Sprunger:
On last week — “We played fairly well. We showed our youth on the offensive line, and some on the defensive line, but the kids really fought hard. Our yardage keeps going up and the defense is playing better. We just keep working on fundamentals.”
On Southwood — “Coach (Dave) Snyder does a really good job at rebooting every year. He doesn't ever seem to have a slack year. He gets kids to play hard and play well. Our defensive backs, we have some guys that might be able to hang with them, but fundamental-wise we’re still at a freshman level, so that's a worry there.”
On player optimism rising — “I’m thinking it is. We’re at a point now where we are expecting to move the ball. We’re shaky at times on defense, but they’re getting more of a concept. We’re definitely getting better.”
Knox (4-3, 3-2 Hoosier North Athletic Conference) at Triton (5-2, 3-2 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m., Trojan Field, Bourbon.
Series (last 35 years): Knox, 26-9.
John Harrell’s prediction: Knox, 38-28.
Last meeting: Oct. 8, 2021, Knox, 37-21.
About Knox: Coach Russ Radtke’s 3A Redskins beat Pioneer 53-18 in Week 7 … The Redskins rushed for 380 yards and 31 carries and passed for 30 yards on three completions … Knox has outscored opponents 274-167 … The Redskins have a three-game win streak against Triton …Radtke is 383-155 in his 46th season as a head coach and 15-15 in his third year at Knox.
About Triton: Coach Rodney Younis’ Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 11 1A Trojans lost 62-22 to AP No. 3/IFCA No. 3 1A North Judson in Week 7 … Triton has outscored opponents 259-146 with two shutouts … Leading the Trojans is junior Cole Shively (23-of-49 for 282 yards and two touchdowns) in passing, junior Anthony Schuh (114 carries for 1,276 yards and 22 TDs), Shively (73 carries for 571 yards and 10 TDs) and freshman Vincent Prater (23 carries for 238 yards and one TD) in rushing and sophomore Dante’ Workman (eight catches for 77 yards and one TD), Schuh (five catches for 59 yards and one TD) and senior Amari Snyder (two catches for 53 yards) in receiving … Cole Shively is 24-of-27 on extra points and 1-of-1 on field goals with 15 punts … Total tackles leaders are senior Reilley Wood (47), senior Brayden Cunningham (46), senior Cameron Shively (39), sophomore Esai Lemler (38) and Snyder (35) … Wood and senior Evan Briles have three sacks apiece. Cole Shively (3) and Snyder (2) pace the team in interceptions.
Per Triton coach Rodney Younis:
On Knox — They have shown that they can put some points on the board and their defense can be very stingy. It’s going to be another big challenge for us. They run their offensive very well. There’s a lot of misdirection. They’re very aggressive and they’ll come and attack you.
Season so far — It’s going well. Our kids have worked hard. We’ve had some success this year. We play a very strong schedule (led by unbeaten LaVille and North Judson and followed by four-win teams in Bremen and Culver, opponents are a combined 25-24 through seven weeks) so to be 5-2 at this point is something to be proud of. Obviously, we want to continue to work on getting better and see how high we can finish in the conference standings.
North Judson game — In the third quarter, we were still fighting. But the bottom line is North Judson is just a very quality team. They eventually wore us down and pulled away from us.
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Fisher Field, Warsaw.
Series (last 35 years): Warsaw, 22-13.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 45-3.
Last meeting: Sept. 24, 2021, Warsaw, 42-0.
About Goshen: Coach Tom Wogomon’s 5A RedHawks beat Plymouth 7-6 in Week 7 … The winning score was made on a fourth-and-goal pass with 1:08 to play … Sophomore Elliot Frey, who heaved the game-winner to senior Noah Alford, started at quarterback for Goshen, which lost starting and backup signal callers to injury and illness since Week 6 … Junior Drew Elliott and senior Adam Ellison have been the top rushers for the RedHawks in 2022 … Foes have outscored Goshen 185-92 … The RedHawks program has lost 14 straight to Warsaw.
About Warsaw: Coach Bart Curtis’ 6A Tigers beat Wawasee 36-0 in Week 7 … Warsaw has outscored opponents 224-99 with three shutouts … Junior Grady Nolin and sophomore Drew Sullivan both saw time at quarterback against Mishawaka and Wawasee … Top passers are Nolin (7-of-22 for 109 yards and two touchdowns) and Sullivan (5-of-13 for 76 yards and two TDs) … Leading the way in rushing are senior German Flores-Ortega (116 carries for 712 yards and 10 TDs), senior Bryson Brown (49 carries for 415 yards and three TDs), junior Reed Zollinger (32 carries for 252 yards and two TDs) and Nolin (53 carries for 252 yards and two TDs) … Pacing the receivers is senior Jack Murrell (three catches for 72 yards and one TD) and senior Bryce Duncan (one catch for 32 yards) … The Tigers have fumbled 19 times, losing 11. Warsaw has 14 giveaways (including three interceptions) and 17 takeaways (10 fumbles and seven interceptions) … Sophomore Mason Smythe is 19-of-21 on extra-point kicks and 1-of-4 on field goals with 18 touchbacks and 10 punts … Total tackle leaders are senior Nick Katris (43 with three sacks), senior Dimitri Chandler (35), junior Eric Pohl (33), junior Jette Woodward (30.5), senior Trey Koontz (25.5) and senior Theo Katris (25.5) … It will be Senior Night for the Tigers Friday.
Per Warsaw coach Bart Curtis:
On Goshen — We want to honor our seniors — kids who have put three and four years into our program. That’s first and foremost. We have 20 senior (players) and one senior manager … It’s a good group. I know some of them have had some very disappointing injuries. Maybe their season hasn’t gone quite as they imagined it back in the summer. The resilience the group has shown and the amount of time and effort they’ve put in needs to be recognized … We’d like to be fighting for a conference championship, but right now that’s not the case. My goal for this group — for ever how long they play — is that we focus on doing things right and we focus on doing things 100 miles a hour every given snap that we have in practice or games.
Quarterback rotation — Whatever it takes to get the ball snapped from the center into the quarterback’s and then into the fullback’s hands. It’s whoever can do that the best. It may be one kid. It may be four kids … We want to make sure we take care of the football. Ball security has been an ongoing issue. We want to be explosive when we need to be explosive.
Wawasee game — The thing I like the most is that we were able to throw a really inexperienced group of kids out there and they were able to succeed — and sometimes thrive — (including three sophomore linemen) … We were able to play sound defensively.
Wabash (2-5 overall, 2-4 TRC) at Tippecanoe Valley (7-0, 6-0)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Smith-Bibler Memorial Field.
Series: Valley leads 12-3.
Last meeting: Valley won 54-0, Oct. 8, 2021.
Last Wabash win: 30-29, Oct. 6, 2017.
John Harrell’s prediction: Valley, 52-10.
About Wabash: The Apaches are coming off a dramatic 33-32 win last week at North Miami, their second one-point victory of the season. The last time they won two one-point games in the same year was 1959. … Junior Trevor Daughtry’s 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown lifted Wabash to the win. The Apaches led 27-16 in the fourth quarter, then allowed 16 straight points before Daughtry’s tally. Senior Antonio Grant sealed the outcome with an end-zone interception. … On the season, junior QB Izaak Wright is 106-of-185 passing for 1,395 yards and 11 TDs against just two picks. Daughtry, Grant and Justin Booth have combined for 95 catches, 1,230 yards and nine touchdowns. … Junior Keaton Fields is coming off a 94-yard rushing effort with two TDs on 20 carries. … Defensively, Grant has team highs of 78 tackles, 48 solos and two interceptions, while sophomore Trevor Wuensch is second in both total tackles (70) and tackles for loss (3.5).
About Valley: The Vikings stormed past fellow TRC unbeaten Maconaquah 57-14 last week, overwhelming a club that had won five straight. Valley led 22-0 midway through the opening quarter, 43-7 at halftime to trigger a running clock the rest of the way and 57-7 through three periods. … While the Vikings are 6-0 in the league with two games to go, three other teams — Mac, Rochester and Southwood — are just a game back at 5-1. All of the top four clubs face one of the other contenders next week when Valley visits Southwood while Mac hosts Rochester. … The Vikings scored just 23 seconds into the game against Mac when senior Alex Bailey scooped up a blocked punt for a touchdown. Nate Parker rushed for 136 yards and four TDs on just 12 carries, while fellow junior Wade Jones had 138 and a TD on just eight. … Senior Noah Prater and junior Nate Engstrand both intercepted Mac star quarterback Braxton Birner. While Birner closed 23-of-37 for 217 yards (matching a season low) and two touchdowns (an outright season low), numbers most QBs would unflinchingly embrace, Valley became the first team to intercept him twice (he’d only thrown one in his previous 129 attempts), held him to decisively his lowest passer rating (73.8; previous low 93.0) and limited him to easily his lowest completion percentage in six weeks.
Valley coach Steve Moriarty:
On last week — “I was surprised (by the margin of victory), but we played a good game, cleaner than we have in the past. Their offense is hard to slow down. We kept them from hurting us too much with the pass and they had negative 1 yard rushing. We went to a three front to try to slow down their passing game. I was very pleased. I thought our defense communicated well, which you have to do against a passing team like that.”
On Wabash — They run a similar offense (to Maconaquah), but they run the ball a little more, and their quarterback does a great job of taking off if nothing’s open, which is a little different from Birner. They’re both ranked in state passing yards, but we gotta be ready if this one takes off running.”
On the state of the program — “I’m very happy with the program from bottom to top. The JV’s undefeated and the seventh, eighth and ninth-grade teams have one loss combined. … We’re putting time into making sure everybody’s on the same page. We try to run the same offense and use the same lingo, so when they get to high school, it’s more about fine-tuning than learning something entirely new.”
Wawasee (1-6, 1-4 Northern Lakes Conference) at NorthWood (7-0, 5-0 NLC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Andrews Field, Nappanee.
Series (last 35 years): NorthWood, 30-9.
John Harrell’s prediction: NorthWood, 52-0.
Last meeting: Sept. 17, 2021, NorthWood, 44-14.
About Wawasee: Coach Jon Reutebuch’s 4A Warriors lost 36-0 to Warsaw in Week 7 … Junior Mason Shoemaker was 9-of-16 passing for 89 yards … Senior Cameron Zimmerman had seven carries for 28 yards … Junior Hunter Tinkey caught three passes for 32 yards and junior Brandon Kelly three for 24 … Senior David Anderson (7), junior Derek Bontrager (6), senior Nico Ramirez (5) and Zimmerman (4) led in total tackles … Foes have outscored Wawasee 211-104 … The Warriors have lost seven straight against NorthWood.
About NorthWood: Coach Nate Andrews’ Associated Press No. 3-ranked/Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 5 4A Panthers beat Mishawaka 14-6 in Week 7 … NorthWood has outscored opponents 253-68 with one shutout … The Panthers are led by junior Owen Roeder (79-of-125 for 1,236 yards and 17 touchdowns) in passing, junior Wes Yoder (71 carries for 448 yards and one TD) and senior Kaden Lone (22 carries for 134 yards and one TD) in rushing and junior NiTareon Tuggle (25 catches for 516 yards and eight TDs), Yoder (19 catches for 323 yards and three TDs), senior J.J. Payne (11 catches for 272 yards and four TDs), junior Seth Russell (12 catches for 135 yards and two TDs), Trey Woods (nine catches for 102 yards and one TD) and senior Parker Filley (eight catches for 78 yards and four TDs) in receiving … Sophomore Dominic DeFreitas 90 is 32-of-32 on extra points and 5-of-5 on field goals … Total tackle pacers are senior Ethan Evers (54), senior Luke Miller (48), Keith Miller (47), senior Ben Fattorusso (41) and Payne (35).
Per Wawasee coach Jon Reutebuch:
On NorthWood — They throw the ball a lot. They’ve got some good weapons … They’re very fast and aggressive. They’ve proven they are the best team in the conference right now. We’re going to have to come up with a great effort to compete in this game.
Tough stretch — Our schedule is such that we play the top three teams in the conference the last three games (No. 3 Warsaw, No. 1 NorthWood and No. 2 Mishawaka). That’s a pretty tough deal at the end of the season when you’ve got bumps and bruises to be going against the best of the best. We’re not where I’d like to be. We are a physical team. Everyone that plays us knows that … We are a team that doesn’t give up. We still aren’t making the plays we need to win football games. We need to concentrate on these last two games, get better execution, compete and get ready for the (IHSAA) tournament.
Warsaw game — We started the game off just the way we’d like to with the onside kick. We drove it down to the 11-yard line. The drive stalled out. We ended up missing what should have been an easy field goal … At the end of the first quarter it’s 8-0. We should have gone into halftime no worse than 16-0. We have a couple of turnovers deep in our territory and a lapse in coverage with :08 to go to make it 30-0 … I had to challenge my guys. Where we go from here is going to show our character. In the second half, we need to keep fighting and competing and I felt like we did that.
Manchester (1-6 overall, 1-5 TRC) at Maconaquah (5-2, 5-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Maconaquah HS, Bunker Hill.
Series: Manchester leads 3-1.
Last meeting: Manchester won 37-6, Oct. 8, 2021.
Last Maconaquah win: 28-27, Oct. 16, 2015.
John Harrell’s prediction: Maconaquah, 42-21.
About Manchester: The Squires topped winless Whitko 34-12 last week for their first victory of the season. … If senior wideout Memphis Wood caught it, he scored it, finishing with three receptions for 132 yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats. He’s up to 28 receptions and 553 yards on the year with eight TDs. … Senior quarterback Brock Casper closed 9-of-13 throwing for 176 yards and the three Wood tallies against two picks. … Sophomore Mason Rooney struck for a career-high 169 yards rushing and two TDs on 25 carries. … Senior Jordan Ayres and junior Preston Duffy got in on 11 tackles apiece for the Manchester defense, while senior Mavern Smith forced a pair of fumbles.
About Maconaquah: The Braves were whipped 57-14 last week at undefeated Tippecanoe Valley, but remain alive in the Three Rivers Conference race at 5-1. … Mac junior QB Braxton Birner continues to rank among the state’s passing leaders and already has multiple single-season and career school records to his credit. He’s completed 167-of-242 throws (69%) on the year for 1,929 yards (275.6 per game) and 22 touchdowns against just five interceptions. … His top targets are a pair of sophomores in Fuddy Kile (56 catches, 796 yards, nine TDs) and AJ Kelly (55, 678, seven). … On defense, the Braves’ top nine tacklers are all underclassmen. … Mac owns both a one-point win (27-26 over Northfield) and a two-point win (28-26 over North Miami) this season, while it so happens that Manchester has suffered both a one-point loss (28-27 at Wabash) and two-point loss (14-12 to North Miami).
Manchester coach Alyx Brandewie:
On last week — “I was just really happy for our kids. They worked hard, fought like crazy. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but they did a terrific job fighting. We executed really well for long stretches. (The defense) did a nice job for the most part. The two scores (allowed) were late in the game and one against the JVs, but you’re always excited to get younger kids into the game. Even when the defense gave up yards, we were able to get off the field.”
On Maconaquah — “Their quarterback’s really talented. He does a fantastic job directing their offense and Coach (Tyler) Campbell is doing a fantastic job there, especially being in his second year and with so many sophomores on the field. It’s a testament to the kids’ buy-in and a testament to what he and his staff are doing. The two sophomore receivers, I don’t know if they can score from anywhere, but it feels like it. We’ve got to keep everything in front of us as much as we can and recover quickly where we can’t.”
On closer scores vs. common foes than records suggest — “Absolutely it can be (a (source of encouragement), but it’s also not something we’ll directly talk to our kids about. Our bigger concern has to be us and how we execute, but it is the point in the year where you do some scoreboard comparing. … The kids are keenly aware of it whether we talk about it or not, but that’s for their conversations, not something from me.”
Southwood (5-2 overall, 5-1 TRC) at Whitko (0-7, 0-6)
When: Friday, 7 p.m., Huff Stadium.
Series: Whitko leads 25-19.
Last meeting: Southwood won 35-0, Oct. 8, 2021.
Last Whitko win: 7-0, Sept. 6, 2014.
John Harrell’s prediction: Southwood, 66-0.
About Southwood: The surging Knights won their fifth straight last week, downing Peru 55-25. All five wins have come by at least 14 points with an average margin of 30. … Senior quarterback Cole Winer posted a video game-like 453 yards of total offense against the Tigers. He hit 15-of-22 passes for 345 yards and six touchdowns to go with 108 ground yards on 13 keepers. Since moving to QB in Week 3, Winer’s 52-of-81 throwing for 896 yards and 13 TDs against two picks. … Nathan Lehner hauled in 10 passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns against Peru, while fellow senior Morgan Lloyd is at 440 yards rushing on the season with six TDs over 87 attempts. … Senior defensive tackle Jason Oprisek leads the defense at 9.5 tackles for loss and 51 overall, while Lehner’s recovered four fumbles.
About Whitko: The Wildcats finished with both their fewest points allowed and highest total scored in their 34-12 loss last week at Manchester. Their previous closest margin of defeat was 39-0 in Week 1 against Prairie Heights. Whitko trailed just 13-0 through three quarters against the Squires. The counts moved to 20-0 and 20-6 early in the fourth. … Junior Dean Boggs dazzled on both sides of the ball, running for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries to go with 15 total tackles and nine solos. Every figure mentioned was a career high. … Senior Cody Adkins intercepted two passes for the Cats and secured three receptions for 29 yards, junior Skyler Zellers made three tackles for loss among 10 tackles overall and junior Trevor Freel carried 15 times for 59 yards. … Freshman wing/corner Preston Furar suffered a first-quarter stomach-related injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Whitko coach Brad Sprunger:
On last week — “We played fairly well. We showed our youth on the offensive line, and some on the defensive line, but the kids really fought hard. Our yardage keeps going up and the defense is playing better. We just keep working on fundamentals.”
On Southwood — “Coach (Dave) Snyder does a really good job at rebooting every year. He doesn't ever seem to have a slack year. He gets kids to play hard and play well. Our defensive backs, we have some guys that might be able to hang with them, but fundamental-wise we’re still at a freshman level, so that's a worry there.”
On player optimism rising — “I’m thinking it is. We’re at a point now where we are expecting to move the ball. We’re shaky at times on defense, but they’re getting more of a concept. We’re definitely getting better.”
Knox (4-3, 3-2 Hoosier North Athletic Conference) at Triton (5-2, 3-2 HNAC)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m., Trojan Field, Bourbon.
Series (last 35 years): Knox, 26-9.
John Harrell’s prediction: Knox, 38-28.
Last meeting: Oct. 8, 2021, Knox, 37-21.
About Knox: Coach Russ Radtke’s 3A Redskins beat Pioneer 53-18 in Week 7 … The Redskins rushed for 380 yards and 31 carries and passed for 30 yards on three completions … Knox has outscored opponents 274-167 … The Redskins have a three-game win streak against Triton …Radtke is 383-155 in his 46th season as a head coach and 15-15 in his third year at Knox.
About Triton: Coach Rodney Younis’ Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 11 1A Trojans lost 62-22 to AP No. 3/IFCA No. 3 1A North Judson in Week 7 … Triton has outscored opponents 259-146 with two shutouts … Leading the Trojans is junior Cole Shively (23-of-49 for 282 yards and two touchdowns) in passing, junior Anthony Schuh (114 carries for 1,276 yards and 22 TDs), Shively (73 carries for 571 yards and 10 TDs) and freshman Vincent Prater (23 carries for 238 yards and one TD) in rushing and sophomore Dante’ Workman (eight catches for 77 yards and one TD), Schuh (five catches for 59 yards and one TD) and senior Amari Snyder (two catches for 53 yards) in receiving … Cole Shively is 24-of-27 on extra points and 1-of-1 on field goals with 15 punts … Total tackles leaders are senior Reilley Wood (47), senior Brayden Cunningham (46), senior Cameron Shively (39), sophomore Esai Lemler (38) and Snyder (35) … Wood and senior Evan Briles have three sacks apiece. Cole Shively (3) and Snyder (2) pace the team in interceptions.
Per Triton coach Rodney Younis:
On Knox — They have shown that they can put some points on the board and their defense can be very stingy. It’s going to be another big challenge for us. They run their offensive very well. There’s a lot of misdirection. They’re very aggressive and they’ll come and attack you.
Season so far — It’s going well. Our kids have worked hard. We’ve had some success this year. We play a very strong schedule (led by unbeaten LaVille and North Judson and followed by four-win teams in Bremen and Culver, opponents are a combined 25-24 through seven weeks) so to be 5-2 at this point is something to be proud of. Obviously, we want to continue to work on getting better and see how high we can finish in the conference standings.
North Judson game — In the third quarter, we were still fighting. But the bottom line is North Judson is just a very quality team. They eventually wore us down and pulled away from us.
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