Big-Play Panthers Slash Wildcats
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - When the Whitko Wildcats and the NorthWood Panthers stepped on Andrews Field for the sectional final game Friday night, both teams had something to prove.
Whitko had never beaten NorthWood. But the Panthers had no intentions of letting the Wildcats win the sectional championship on their turf.
In the end, NorthWood (9-3) came out on top, beating Whitko (6-5) 49-14.
The Panthers started the game with Corey Brown returning the initial kickoff 23 yards to give NorthWood good field position to begin the first drive of the night.
With 8:24 left in the first quarter, Charlie Roeder conected with Ian Reed for 10 yards for the first Panther touchdown.
Whitko was unable to capitalize on its first drive, and NorthWood regained control of the ball with just under five minutes left in the quarter.
On the first play of the drive, Roeder broke off a 53-yard run to score the next Panther touchdown and put NorthWood up 14-0.
Early in the second quarter, Aaron Huber returned a Whitko fumble 70 yards for yet another NorthWood score, putting the Panthers up 21-0 with 10:52 left in the first half.
However, Whitko was not ready to admit defeat.
With 4:13 left in the second quarter, Ben Mohr completed a 4-yard pass to Adam Goble to score the first Wildcat touchdown. After the successful two-point conversion by Josh Gonzalez, the score stood 21-8 in NorthWood's favor.
"Whitko is a good offensive football team," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson, who earned his fourth sectional championship in seven years. "They have two 1,000-yard rushers, and they did a good job of controlling the ball."
After another 56-yard Roeder run less than a minute after Whitko's touchdown, NorthWood had a 20-point lead.
NorthWood went into the lockers at halftime holding on to that 20-point lead. The score was 28-8.
"Going into halftime with a 28-8 score was definitely an advantage," said Dodson.
Whitko started the third quarter on the 50-yard line after NorthWood's kick went out of bounds and the Panthers were called for a holding penalty.
After eating more than five minutes off the clock, Whitko scored the first touchdown of the second half with 7:47 left to play in the third quarter.
Whitko missed the two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score 28-14.
"Whitko kept us off-balance," said Dodson. "They surprised us a little with their passing game. Maybe we put them in a position where they felt they had to throw, but we hung in there and our offense was able to score quickly a couple of times."
NorthWood then answered Whitko's touchdown with a score of its own.
Huber caught a 4-yard pass from Roeder for the Panthers, and after Andy Mitschelen's kick, the score stood at 35-14.
In the fourth quarter, Huber scored yet another touchdown on a 6-yard run to put the Panthers up 42-14.
With 2:42 left in the game, NorthWood's second string scored a touchdown as Jason Brenneman ran seven yards for the final Panther touchdown, bringing the final score to 49-14.
As the Panthers celebrated their 10th sectional title in school history, the Whitko Wildcats quietly left the field.
"I'm proud of our kids," said Whitko Coach Bryan Sprunger. "We started the season 1-3, and I have to give them credit for sticking with it.
"This has been an exciting season. As a coach it has been fun to watch the kids develop and improve.
"It would have been nice to leave here sectional champions, but we had a good season.
"We'll continue to work hard and hopefully make it back next year."
NorthWood hosts face Harding next week at Andrews Field in Nappanee.
NorthWood 49 Whitko 14
NorthWood 14 14 7 14 - 49
Whitko 0 8 6 0 - 14
NW W
First downs 13 18
Rushes-yards 35-439 57-274
Passing 41 101
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-5-0 10-19-0 Total offense 480 375
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Punts-ave. 0-0 2-48.5
Penalties-yards 4-40 6-36
Kickoff returns-yards 2-41 6-90
First Quarter
NW - 8:24 Ian Reed 10 pass from Roeder (Andy Mitschelen kick) 7-0 NW
NW - 4:30 Charlie Roeder 53 run (Mitschelen kick) 14-0 NW
Second Quarter
NW - 10:52 Aaron Huber 70 yard fumble recovery (Mitschelen kick) 21-0 NW
W - 4:13 Adam Goble 4 pass from Ben Mohr (Gonzalez run) 21-8 NW
NW - 3:36 Roeder 56 run (Mitschelen kick) 28-8 NW
Third Quarter
W - 7:47 Gonzalez 1 run (run failed) 28-14 NW
NW - Huber 4 pass from Roeder (Mitschelen kick) 35-14 NW
Fourth Quarter
NW - 9:06 Huber 6 run (Mitschelen kick) 42-14 NW
NW - 2:42 Jason Brenneman 7 run (Mitschelen kick) 49-14 NW
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - NorthWood: Huber 12-161, Roeder 8-176, Knisley 5-34, Brown 5-46; Whitko: Slater 29-128, Gonzalez 20-94, Goble 2-33
Receiving - NorthWood: Reed 2-22, Baumgartner 1-15; Whitko: Goble 4-56, Wendel 3-24
Passing - NorthWood: Roeder 4-5, 41 yards 0 INT 2 TD; Whitko: Mohr 10-19, 101 yards 0 INT 1 TD [[In-content Ad]]
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NAPPANEE - When the Whitko Wildcats and the NorthWood Panthers stepped on Andrews Field for the sectional final game Friday night, both teams had something to prove.
Whitko had never beaten NorthWood. But the Panthers had no intentions of letting the Wildcats win the sectional championship on their turf.
In the end, NorthWood (9-3) came out on top, beating Whitko (6-5) 49-14.
The Panthers started the game with Corey Brown returning the initial kickoff 23 yards to give NorthWood good field position to begin the first drive of the night.
With 8:24 left in the first quarter, Charlie Roeder conected with Ian Reed for 10 yards for the first Panther touchdown.
Whitko was unable to capitalize on its first drive, and NorthWood regained control of the ball with just under five minutes left in the quarter.
On the first play of the drive, Roeder broke off a 53-yard run to score the next Panther touchdown and put NorthWood up 14-0.
Early in the second quarter, Aaron Huber returned a Whitko fumble 70 yards for yet another NorthWood score, putting the Panthers up 21-0 with 10:52 left in the first half.
However, Whitko was not ready to admit defeat.
With 4:13 left in the second quarter, Ben Mohr completed a 4-yard pass to Adam Goble to score the first Wildcat touchdown. After the successful two-point conversion by Josh Gonzalez, the score stood 21-8 in NorthWood's favor.
"Whitko is a good offensive football team," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson, who earned his fourth sectional championship in seven years. "They have two 1,000-yard rushers, and they did a good job of controlling the ball."
After another 56-yard Roeder run less than a minute after Whitko's touchdown, NorthWood had a 20-point lead.
NorthWood went into the lockers at halftime holding on to that 20-point lead. The score was 28-8.
"Going into halftime with a 28-8 score was definitely an advantage," said Dodson.
Whitko started the third quarter on the 50-yard line after NorthWood's kick went out of bounds and the Panthers were called for a holding penalty.
After eating more than five minutes off the clock, Whitko scored the first touchdown of the second half with 7:47 left to play in the third quarter.
Whitko missed the two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score 28-14.
"Whitko kept us off-balance," said Dodson. "They surprised us a little with their passing game. Maybe we put them in a position where they felt they had to throw, but we hung in there and our offense was able to score quickly a couple of times."
NorthWood then answered Whitko's touchdown with a score of its own.
Huber caught a 4-yard pass from Roeder for the Panthers, and after Andy Mitschelen's kick, the score stood at 35-14.
In the fourth quarter, Huber scored yet another touchdown on a 6-yard run to put the Panthers up 42-14.
With 2:42 left in the game, NorthWood's second string scored a touchdown as Jason Brenneman ran seven yards for the final Panther touchdown, bringing the final score to 49-14.
As the Panthers celebrated their 10th sectional title in school history, the Whitko Wildcats quietly left the field.
"I'm proud of our kids," said Whitko Coach Bryan Sprunger. "We started the season 1-3, and I have to give them credit for sticking with it.
"This has been an exciting season. As a coach it has been fun to watch the kids develop and improve.
"It would have been nice to leave here sectional champions, but we had a good season.
"We'll continue to work hard and hopefully make it back next year."
NorthWood hosts face Harding next week at Andrews Field in Nappanee.
NorthWood 49 Whitko 14
NorthWood 14 14 7 14 - 49
Whitko 0 8 6 0 - 14
NW W
First downs 13 18
Rushes-yards 35-439 57-274
Passing 41 101
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-5-0 10-19-0 Total offense 480 375
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Punts-ave. 0-0 2-48.5
Penalties-yards 4-40 6-36
Kickoff returns-yards 2-41 6-90
First Quarter
NW - 8:24 Ian Reed 10 pass from Roeder (Andy Mitschelen kick) 7-0 NW
NW - 4:30 Charlie Roeder 53 run (Mitschelen kick) 14-0 NW
Second Quarter
NW - 10:52 Aaron Huber 70 yard fumble recovery (Mitschelen kick) 21-0 NW
W - 4:13 Adam Goble 4 pass from Ben Mohr (Gonzalez run) 21-8 NW
NW - 3:36 Roeder 56 run (Mitschelen kick) 28-8 NW
Third Quarter
W - 7:47 Gonzalez 1 run (run failed) 28-14 NW
NW - Huber 4 pass from Roeder (Mitschelen kick) 35-14 NW
Fourth Quarter
NW - 9:06 Huber 6 run (Mitschelen kick) 42-14 NW
NW - 2:42 Jason Brenneman 7 run (Mitschelen kick) 49-14 NW
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - NorthWood: Huber 12-161, Roeder 8-176, Knisley 5-34, Brown 5-46; Whitko: Slater 29-128, Gonzalez 20-94, Goble 2-33
Receiving - NorthWood: Reed 2-22, Baumgartner 1-15; Whitko: Goble 4-56, Wendel 3-24
Passing - NorthWood: Roeder 4-5, 41 yards 0 INT 2 TD; Whitko: Mohr 10-19, 101 yards 0 INT 1 TD [[In-content Ad]]