Wawasee Shuts Out SB Washington In Season Opener
August 20, 2016 at 6:59 a.m.
By Mark [email protected]
But even he was a little surprised his team was able to get a 13-0 shutout win over South Bend Washington to open the season at Warrior Field.
The win was especially nice after most of the second half was played on Wawasee’s end of the field. The Warriors lost a fumble on their first third-quarter possession, then had a punt blocked on their second possession.
Four times the visiting Panthers had the ball inside the Wawasee 20 in the second half and failed to score.
“I never thought the defense would come out the way they did,” Ekovich said. “I was confident in our scheme; don’t get me wrong. But those boys were flyin’ around, and that’s a testament to the defensive (coaching) staff.”
Washington had the first possession of the game and moved the ball well, getting three first downs before turning the ball over on downs at the Wawasee 35.
The teams traded punts, but Wawasee benefitted from a very short Panther kick that gave them the ball at the Washington 44. From there, Wawasee scored in five plays, highlighted by a 31-yard run by senior Cole Vanlue, and quarterback Tyler Smith punched it in from four yards out.
Wawasee’s next, and perhaps best, chance to score again came in the second quarter. A Panther player touched a punted ball, and Wawasee recovered at the 5-yard line. A penalty moved the ball half the distance to the 2-yard, but three rushing attempts yielded nothing, and a 4th-down touchdown play was called back by a penalty.
From there, kicker Ryan Edington pushed his field goal attempt wide left.
But Wawasee didn’t fold.
“The penalty killed us. We probably would have scored on that (possession). I think some of it is smelling the end zone; sometimes you have to be a player and get in,” said Ekovich. “But one of the plays I called the wrong play, and some other times it’s them being better than us on that (one play).
“It’s frustrating, but it’s something to build off of, and something to use as motivation. It’d be different if we came out here and just molly-whopped, and think we’ve got it all figured out. But I think it’s something to work on and say ‘hey, that’s why we finish springs, so we can finish drives.’”
Wawasee moved a lot of players in and out of the lineup, keeping legs fresh. That allowed starting running back Noah Wadkins to be at the top of his game in the fourth quarter. He took a handoff at the Wawasee 46, found a crease on the right side of the line and scampered into the end zone.
Ekovich said he’s been telling his player if they were ready, playing time would be made available.
“We told those guys back in June, ‘all you guys are going to play. If you buy in this summer, you’re going to be in a position to be playing.’ With the defense that we run and the offense that we run, we need to be able to go two and three (players) deep. That’s a testament to the players who bought in.”
Ekovich said his team was well-prepared to deal with difficulty to get more wins this season, and it begins with his upperclassmen.
“It all comes back to senior leadership. We’ve had teams jell; the 2014 team jelled, the 2015 team jelled later. Sometimes it’s a mixture of good personalities and like-minded goals, and they jelled earlier than normal.” he said.
“I thought the kids handled adversity well. There were a lot of times where we could have just folded, circled the wagons and tried to come back. But I’m awfully proud of these guys tonight.”
The win gives Wawasee six straight season-opening wins. The Warriors host West Noble Friday night.
WAWASEE 13, SB WASHINGTON 0
SBW 0 0 0 0 – 0
WAW 7 0 0 6 – 13
SBW Waw
1st downs 7 11
Rushing yds 69 261
Passing yds 99 5
Comp-Att-Int 9-29-0 1-6-0
Total yds 168 266
Fumbles/lost 4/1 1/1
Penalties/yds 3/12 5/45
Punts/avg 3/38 5/37
First Quarter
Waw – Tyler Smith 4 run (Ryan Edington kick) 2:43, 7-0
Fourth Quarter
Waw – Noah Wadkins 54 run (kick blocked) 6:26 13-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Washington, Donya Harris 12-44, Tyrese Belcher 13-26, David Pruitt 1-7, Isaiah McWilliams 1-1, Michael Bostic 1- (minus 3), Anthony Coleman 1-6; Wawasee, Tyler Smith 22-81, Cole Vanlue 3-59, Noah Wadkins 10-56, Paul Mendoza 7-44, Alec Rosbrugh 2-15, Michael Katzer 3-6,
Passing — Washington, Belcher 9-29-99 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int; Wawasee, Smith 1-5-6 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int.
Receiving — Washington, Josh Wilson 6-92, Isaiah Ross 1-5, D’Angelo Hairston 2-2; Wawasee, Rylan Kuhn 1-5.
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But even he was a little surprised his team was able to get a 13-0 shutout win over South Bend Washington to open the season at Warrior Field.
The win was especially nice after most of the second half was played on Wawasee’s end of the field. The Warriors lost a fumble on their first third-quarter possession, then had a punt blocked on their second possession.
Four times the visiting Panthers had the ball inside the Wawasee 20 in the second half and failed to score.
“I never thought the defense would come out the way they did,” Ekovich said. “I was confident in our scheme; don’t get me wrong. But those boys were flyin’ around, and that’s a testament to the defensive (coaching) staff.”
Washington had the first possession of the game and moved the ball well, getting three first downs before turning the ball over on downs at the Wawasee 35.
The teams traded punts, but Wawasee benefitted from a very short Panther kick that gave them the ball at the Washington 44. From there, Wawasee scored in five plays, highlighted by a 31-yard run by senior Cole Vanlue, and quarterback Tyler Smith punched it in from four yards out.
Wawasee’s next, and perhaps best, chance to score again came in the second quarter. A Panther player touched a punted ball, and Wawasee recovered at the 5-yard line. A penalty moved the ball half the distance to the 2-yard, but three rushing attempts yielded nothing, and a 4th-down touchdown play was called back by a penalty.
From there, kicker Ryan Edington pushed his field goal attempt wide left.
But Wawasee didn’t fold.
“The penalty killed us. We probably would have scored on that (possession). I think some of it is smelling the end zone; sometimes you have to be a player and get in,” said Ekovich. “But one of the plays I called the wrong play, and some other times it’s them being better than us on that (one play).
“It’s frustrating, but it’s something to build off of, and something to use as motivation. It’d be different if we came out here and just molly-whopped, and think we’ve got it all figured out. But I think it’s something to work on and say ‘hey, that’s why we finish springs, so we can finish drives.’”
Wawasee moved a lot of players in and out of the lineup, keeping legs fresh. That allowed starting running back Noah Wadkins to be at the top of his game in the fourth quarter. He took a handoff at the Wawasee 46, found a crease on the right side of the line and scampered into the end zone.
Ekovich said he’s been telling his player if they were ready, playing time would be made available.
“We told those guys back in June, ‘all you guys are going to play. If you buy in this summer, you’re going to be in a position to be playing.’ With the defense that we run and the offense that we run, we need to be able to go two and three (players) deep. That’s a testament to the players who bought in.”
Ekovich said his team was well-prepared to deal with difficulty to get more wins this season, and it begins with his upperclassmen.
“It all comes back to senior leadership. We’ve had teams jell; the 2014 team jelled, the 2015 team jelled later. Sometimes it’s a mixture of good personalities and like-minded goals, and they jelled earlier than normal.” he said.
“I thought the kids handled adversity well. There were a lot of times where we could have just folded, circled the wagons and tried to come back. But I’m awfully proud of these guys tonight.”
The win gives Wawasee six straight season-opening wins. The Warriors host West Noble Friday night.
WAWASEE 13, SB WASHINGTON 0
SBW 0 0 0 0 – 0
WAW 7 0 0 6 – 13
SBW Waw
1st downs 7 11
Rushing yds 69 261
Passing yds 99 5
Comp-Att-Int 9-29-0 1-6-0
Total yds 168 266
Fumbles/lost 4/1 1/1
Penalties/yds 3/12 5/45
Punts/avg 3/38 5/37
First Quarter
Waw – Tyler Smith 4 run (Ryan Edington kick) 2:43, 7-0
Fourth Quarter
Waw – Noah Wadkins 54 run (kick blocked) 6:26 13-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Washington, Donya Harris 12-44, Tyrese Belcher 13-26, David Pruitt 1-7, Isaiah McWilliams 1-1, Michael Bostic 1- (minus 3), Anthony Coleman 1-6; Wawasee, Tyler Smith 22-81, Cole Vanlue 3-59, Noah Wadkins 10-56, Paul Mendoza 7-44, Alec Rosbrugh 2-15, Michael Katzer 3-6,
Passing — Washington, Belcher 9-29-99 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int; Wawasee, Smith 1-5-6 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int.
Receiving — Washington, Josh Wilson 6-92, Isaiah Ross 1-5, D’Angelo Hairston 2-2; Wawasee, Rylan Kuhn 1-5.
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