Big Plays Lead To Wawasee Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark Howe-
The Wawasee Warriors did just that en route to a 23-0 win over the Whitko Wildcats in Syracuse Friday night.
After the teams exchanged a pair of three-and-outs to open the game, Wawasee senior Zac Patrick intercepted an Alex Stoddard pass and ran it back 27 yards for a touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Stoddard attempted to pitch the ball to a running back, but the ball got away and was recovered by the Warriors’ Demitri Kaplanis at the Wildcat 25-yard line. Four plays later, Wawasee junior D.J. Semon scored on a 14-yard run to extend the lead.
Wawasee’s Andrew Hepler scored the first of the special teams points when he ran the second-half kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown. On Whitko’s next possession, a penalty and a sack left the Wildcats punting out of their own end zone. Jake Clark blocked the kick for the Warriors, with the ball bouncing out of the end zone for a safety.
“We knew we were going to have our hands full,” said Whitko coach Wayne Swender. “ I knew (Wawasee coach) Tom (Wogomon) would have his troops ready. They played awful well last season, and we were able to play well against them last year, (a 20-0 Whitko win) and I knew they would be ready for us. Hats off to Wawasee and their coaching staff.”
The Wildcats did manage some semblance of offense in the second half, with Stoddard connecting on five of six passes for 33 yards. But Swender made it clear to his squad there’s work to be done.
“I told them we have two choices; we can either buckle down and get to work to get better, or we can just go through the motions,” he said. “I’m assuming this team’s got some heart, and we’re going to get better.”
Meanwhile Wogomon was more than happy to return the favor for last year’s whitewashing in South Whitley.
“We’ll take this one,” said Wogomon. “Whitko is a respected program, and they showed what they could do last year. We knew if we didn’t come out physically ready to play, we could have a game like last year’s. Our special teams did a great job, our defense being able to get a shutout was a nice statement. Zac’s pick six was the first one I’ve seen here. We’ve been running interception drills and every time we get an interception in practice we’ve been scoring on it, and it was good to see that happen.”
Like most coaches, Wogomon found plenty of things to improve on. The Warriors committed nine penalties, costing them 70 yards and two of Whitko’s five first downs, and the offensive line will be asked to hold onto blocks a little longer.
“We had a couple of personal fouls on late hits, and some other things that were a little sloppy, and we’ve got to clean that up,” Wogomon said. “Looking at where we’re at on the offensive line, we knew they were young coming in. Not inexperienced, but young as a unit. I challenged them in the locker room to play on their side of the playground. We’ve got to make sure we stay on blocks. We were a little hesitant at times. We really don’t have time to fix it; it’s got to get fixed in a hurry, because next week we’re playing a team that went to state last year.”
That game will be in South Bend against 3A runner-up St. Jospeh’s, while Whitko will travel to Columbia City.[[In-content Ad]]
The Wawasee Warriors did just that en route to a 23-0 win over the Whitko Wildcats in Syracuse Friday night.
After the teams exchanged a pair of three-and-outs to open the game, Wawasee senior Zac Patrick intercepted an Alex Stoddard pass and ran it back 27 yards for a touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Stoddard attempted to pitch the ball to a running back, but the ball got away and was recovered by the Warriors’ Demitri Kaplanis at the Wildcat 25-yard line. Four plays later, Wawasee junior D.J. Semon scored on a 14-yard run to extend the lead.
Wawasee’s Andrew Hepler scored the first of the special teams points when he ran the second-half kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown. On Whitko’s next possession, a penalty and a sack left the Wildcats punting out of their own end zone. Jake Clark blocked the kick for the Warriors, with the ball bouncing out of the end zone for a safety.
“We knew we were going to have our hands full,” said Whitko coach Wayne Swender. “ I knew (Wawasee coach) Tom (Wogomon) would have his troops ready. They played awful well last season, and we were able to play well against them last year, (a 20-0 Whitko win) and I knew they would be ready for us. Hats off to Wawasee and their coaching staff.”
The Wildcats did manage some semblance of offense in the second half, with Stoddard connecting on five of six passes for 33 yards. But Swender made it clear to his squad there’s work to be done.
“I told them we have two choices; we can either buckle down and get to work to get better, or we can just go through the motions,” he said. “I’m assuming this team’s got some heart, and we’re going to get better.”
Meanwhile Wogomon was more than happy to return the favor for last year’s whitewashing in South Whitley.
“We’ll take this one,” said Wogomon. “Whitko is a respected program, and they showed what they could do last year. We knew if we didn’t come out physically ready to play, we could have a game like last year’s. Our special teams did a great job, our defense being able to get a shutout was a nice statement. Zac’s pick six was the first one I’ve seen here. We’ve been running interception drills and every time we get an interception in practice we’ve been scoring on it, and it was good to see that happen.”
Like most coaches, Wogomon found plenty of things to improve on. The Warriors committed nine penalties, costing them 70 yards and two of Whitko’s five first downs, and the offensive line will be asked to hold onto blocks a little longer.
“We had a couple of personal fouls on late hits, and some other things that were a little sloppy, and we’ve got to clean that up,” Wogomon said. “Looking at where we’re at on the offensive line, we knew they were young coming in. Not inexperienced, but young as a unit. I challenged them in the locker room to play on their side of the playground. We’ve got to make sure we stay on blocks. We were a little hesitant at times. We really don’t have time to fix it; it’s got to get fixed in a hurry, because next week we’re playing a team that went to state last year.”
That game will be in South Bend against 3A runner-up St. Jospeh’s, while Whitko will travel to Columbia City.[[In-content Ad]]
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