NAPPANEE -ÊNorthWood's 42-16 Northern Lakes Conference win over Wawasee, Rich Dodson's 100th win, should have been a happy moment. However it was bittersweet in light of this week's tragic events in America.

"I'm sure that in the future people won't remember this (the 100th win) as much as they will remember what happened earlier this week," said Dodson. "This was a tough week for everybody. It was hard to be focused on anything. The thing to remember is that we need to come together as a country at this time. We need to realize how lucky we are to live in this country and have the freedoms that we do."

But as many national leaders have said, America must go on. And that's exactly what NorthWood and Wawasee did.

The Panthers and Warriors squared off at Andrews Field in Nappanee, but before the game NorthWood principal Louis Bonacorsi spoke, the crowd sang the national anthem, and a wreath was placed on the fence under the scoreboard where cups spelled out, "The American Spirit Never Dies."

After the ceremonies, the football teams got down to business.

NorthWood struck first. After Jaime Garcia intercepted a Wawasee pass, the Panthers took over on the Warrior 13. Three plays later, Jesse Fink broke free for a 4-yard touchdown run. After Jake Eby's kick split the uprights, The Panthers held a 7-0 lead with 8:08 left in the first frame of play.

However, that lead lasted just seven minutes. Wawasee's Drew Evans capped off a 58-yard drive with a 7-yard run into the endzone. Quarterback Brent Doty gave the Warriors their first lead of the game after successfully scoring the two-point conversion.

At the end of the first quarter, Wawasee led NorthWood 8-7.

But the Panthers were not down for long. After Wawasee and NorthWood traded interceptions, the Panthers held the ball on Wawasee's 40.

Six plays later quarterback Kyle Lehman made a 1-yard run to paydirt and scored NorthWood's second touchdown of the night and put the Panthers back in control 13-8 at the 6:31 mark in the second stanza.

Later in the second quarter, Lehman connected with Jeremy Greenlee on a 73-yard touchdown pass. Fink ran the ball into the endzone on the conversion to put NorthWood up 21-8 at the half.

Wawasee jumped back into action after the halftime break. The Warriors took possession on the kickoff and moved the ball 76 yards into a first-and-goal situation. Jordan Swain trotted into the endzone for a touchdown, and after Doty got the conversion and scored two more points.

The Wawasee score put them back in the running, just five points behind NorthWood, 21-16.

"We played well at times," said Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld. "We came out and answered in the second half by scoring on the opening drive."

However, NorthWood answered quickly. At the 4:03 mark in the third Kyle Lehman scored on a 4-yard run to extend NorthWood's lead to 28-16.

The Panthers went on to score twice more in the fourth frame. Adam Hochstetler caught a 7-yard pass from Kyle Lehman at the 11:05 mark, and Fink ran 14 yards for a touchdown to make the final score 42-16 in the Panthers' favor.

Fink led the Panthers with 117 yards on 16 carries. Ben Lehman rushed 14 times for 62 yards. Quarterback Kyle Lehman finished the game 6-of-10 passing for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

Brent Doty led the Warrior offense, completing 13 of 28 passes for 88 yards. Swain, a freshman, was the leading rusher for the Warriors with 13 carries for 65 yards.

"We ran the ball better tonight," said Rietveld. "I think Jordan Swain ran the ball pretty well for us."

The win moves NorthWood's record to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in NLC play. Wawasee falls to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the NLC.

"It's been a busy week with Homecoming and the events that happened earlier this week," said Dodson. "But I think this was good for the kids. We came out to play, and I think it was good for everyone."

No. 10 (3A) NORTHWOOD 42

WAWASEE 16

Wawasee 8 0 8 0 - 16

NorthWood 7 13 7 14 - 42

N W

First downs 13 10

Rushing yards 207 103

Passing yards 152 88

Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-11-1 13-29-2

Total offense 227 190

Fumbles/lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties/yards 1-15 1-14

First Quarter

N -ÊJesse Fink 4 run (Jake Eby kick), 7-0 N, 8:08

W - Drew Evans 7 run (Brent Doty run) 8-7 N, 1:11

Second Quarter

N -ÊKyle Lehman 1 run (kick failed) 13-8 N, 6:31

N -ÊJeremy Greenlee 79 pass from Ben Lehman (Fink run), 21-8, 4:10

Third Quarter

W -ÊJordan Swain 8 run (Doty run), 21-16 N, 9:42

N - Kyle Lehman 4 run (Eby kick), 28-16 N, 4:03

Fourth Quarter

N -ÊAdam Hochstetler 7 pass from Kyle Lehman (Eby kick), 35-16 N, 11:05

N -ÊFink 14 run (Eby kick), 42-16 N, 8:26

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - NorthWood: Ben Lehman 14-62, Fink 16-117, Kyle Lehman 13-23, Scott Hill 1-0, Phil BeMiller 3-7, Josh Sabo 2-0, Dillon Whitacre 2-0; Wawasee: Jordan Swain 13-65, Brent Doty 12-38

Passing - NorthWood: Kyle Lehman 6-10-152 1 INT, 2 TDs, BeMiller 0-1-0 0 INT, 0 TD; Wawasee: Doty 13-28-88, 2 INT, 0 TD, Mike Ellsworth 0-1-0 0 INT, 0 TD

Receiving - NorthWood: Jeremy Greenlee 4-130, Jordan Adams 1-15, Adam Hochstetler 1-7; Wawasee: Bobby Likens 5-61, Drew Evans 3-24, Ellsworth 1-(-3), Beau Brumbaugh 2-4, Jordan Swain 1-2

Warsaw Blasts Northridge Raiders, Remains Undefeated

By Dale Hubler, Times-Union Sports Writer

MIDDLEBURY - To say the least, Warsaw's rout of Northern Lakes Conference rival Northridge Friday was a true team effort.

Scoring on offense, defense and special teams, the fourth-ranked Tigers blasted the Raiders 41-6.

In a week marred by national tragedy, sixth-year Warsaw football coach Phil Jensen found something to smile about.

"There's no question I thought we should have played tonight," Jensen said. "These are 16, 17 and 18-year-old kids whose childhood, innocence and security has been taken away. It was good for the kids to get out here for a couple hours and be kids again, it hasn't been that way for a couple days. There's no question we needed to play football."

After a special ceremony prior to kickoff, it was all business for Warsaw, which improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the NLC; the Raiders, who upset state-ranked Plymouth 34-7 a week ago, fall to 2-3 and 1-2.

Trailing 7-0 early in the second quarter, Northridge punted and trapped the Tigers on the 4-yard line. Eleven seconds later Warsaw was on the board again as senior tailback Brad Seiss scored his second touchdown of the game, this one coming from 96 yards out.

By halftime, the six-foot, 195-pound Ball State recruit had racked up 163 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries.

To go with the Seiss-led rushing attack, the Tigers opened up its passing arsenal with senior speedster Adam Sisson.

Sisson caught a 44-yard pass from junior quarterback Ryan DeGeeter on the second play of the game, setting up a four-yard scoring run from Seiss that capped off a four-play drive with 10:33 left on the first-quarter clock.

Before it was negated by a penalty, Sisson also returned a kickoff 90-plus yards for a touchdown.

"We've got a lot of kids that not only have been in football with us for four years, but in track for four years," Jensen said. "You can make a lot of things happen in football with track kids."

Seiss and Sisson competed in the state meet in the 1600 relay with classmates Grady Randall and Chris Clay this past season.

Randall, who started for the injured Seiss against Northridge a year ago and rushed for over 200 yards in a 42-0 win, scored Warsaw's first touchdown of the second half. The 5-10, 180-pound defensive back picked up a fumble and scampered 15 yards to paydirt, giving Warsaw a commanding 28-0 lead with 10:55 remaining in the third.

With the Tigers leading 35-0, Clay blocked a Raider punt. Junior Mike Thallemer scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 22 yards to give Warsaw a 41-0 lead, as the Tigers' extra-point attempt failed with 11:52 remaining in the game.

Seiss finished the game with 220 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries, while Sisson caught three passes for 63 yards. Senior Ross Parker caught one pass for 43 yards, while Clay had a reception for 13 yards.

DeGeeter finished the game 5-of-8 passing for 119 yards.

Behind an underrated offensive line, Warsaw racked up 233 rushing yards on just 25 carries, an average of 9.3 yards per carry.

"Our offensive line has been the most pleasant surprise of the year," Jensen said. "They've come out and got better and better every week."

While the Tiger offense has garnered much of the headlines this season, Warsaw's defense has yielded but 32 points in five games.

"Our defense really came out and got things done," Jensen said. "We were kind of flat in the first quarter, but were really physical as the game went on."

Warsaw's defense held the Raiders to 186 rushing yards on 54 carries, an average of just 3.4 yards per carry. Both junior Josiah Boomershine and senior Chris Harrell pounded out 69 yards on the ground for the Raiders, while senior signal caller Adam Smith carried 14 times for 31 yards.

Through the air, Smith was 4 of 8 for 23 yards. Boomershine caught all four passes.

Northridge's lone score came with 6:18 left to play when Boomershine scampered 14 yards to cap off a 12-play drive.

"Northridge is a much improved football team," Jensen said. "Their two running backs and quarterback play hard. Their team has shown drastic improvement, but we've improved too the last couple years."

The 35-point win for the Tigers was the 10th consecutive over Northridge, which has been outscored by Warsaw 118-13 the last three contests.

Warsaw will go for its 11 straight Northern Lakes Conference win next Friday at Goshen, a 21-17 loser Friday to Class 4A No. 3 Concord.

NO. 4 (5A) WARSAW 41 NORTHRIDGE 6

Warsaw (5-0, 3-0) 7 14 14 13 - 41

Northridge (2-3, 1-2) 0 0 0 6 - 6

W NR

First downs 12 13

Rushing yards 233 186

Passing yards 119 23

Comp.-Att.-Int. 5-8-1 4-8-0

Total offense 352 209

Fumbles/lost 2/0 4/1

Punts/avg. 2-31.5 5-29.6

Penalties/yards 6-55 1-9

First Quarter

W - Brad Seiss 4 run (Adam Sisson kick) 7-0, 10:33

Second Quarter

W - Seiss 96 run (Sisson kick) 14-0, 10:55

W - Seiss 3 run (Sisson kick) 21-0, 1:30

Third Quarter

W - Grady Randall 15 yard fumble return (Sisson kick) 28-0, 10:55

W - Seiss 2 run (Sisson kick) 35-0, 7:04

Fourth Quarter

W - Mike Thallemer 22 punt block return (kick failed) 41-0, 11:52

NR - Josiah Boomershine 14 run (kick failed) 41-6, 6:18

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Warsaw, Seiss 19-220, Ben Kreinbrink 3-9, Ryan DeGeeter 2-4; Northridge, Chris Harrell 20-69, Boomershine 14-69, Adam Smith 14-31, Robert Kindel 3-10, John Tepen 2-7

Passing - Warsaw, DeGeeter 5-8-119, 1 INT; Northridge, Smith 4-8-23, 0 INT

Receiving - Warsaw, Sisson 3-63, Ross Parker 1-43, Chris Clay 1-13; Northridge, Boomershine 4-23

Manchester Wins Big Game Over North Miami

By Andrew J. Trudell, Times-Union Sports Correspondent

NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊWith the tragedy of this week's events looming of on the minds of everyone in attendance Friday night, Manchester's head coach Al Bailey had a little something to smile about.

After coming off an emotional 22-20 double-overtime win over the Whitko Wildcats last week, the Squires downed Three Rivers Conference rival North Miami in impressive fashion, 28-0.

The night began with each team fumbling the ball on their first possessions. Manchester quickly took over the tempo of the game after that, scoring early and often.

"These kids came out and worked really hard tonight," Bailey said. "You can't really ask for more than that."

Rushing defense was the key that Manchester focused on, holding the Warriors to 78 yards on the ground.

The Squires also forced three turnovers on a fumble and two interceptions. Austin Greer recovered the fumble, and contributed with one interception.

"Greer did just as we have been expecting," Bailey said. "He was born with football in his blood."

The Squires frequently gave up yards to the offensive passing game of the Warriors.

Manchester allowed North Miami's quarterback Zac Hostetler to connect on 12 of 20 passes for 136 yards.

"We really have to cover receivers and tackle better in the open field," Bailey said.

Manchester put together some strong scoring drives, moving the ball down the field and scoring once in each quarter.

Trying to eat as much time as possible off of the game clock, the Squires put together two long scoring drives in the second half, one consuming 6:38.

The opening score for the Squires was an 8-yard pass from senior quarterback Michael Sorg to junior wide receiver Farron Gaerte. The conversion was completed to Aaron Cassel, giving the Squires an 8-0 lead after the first quarter.

Rushing touchdowns were scored by Dustin Westafer on a 61-yard dash, and Anthony Sorg on a 15-yard run.

Westafer and Anthony Sorg each rushed for over 100 yards, combining for 214 total rushing yards and 245 of Manchester's 296 total offensive production.

"I was disappointed that we did did not score on a couple of drives, but overall we pushed the ball well," Bailey said.

The Squires (3-2, 2-1 TRC) will rely on more of the same production as they travel to face the Rochester Zebras (4-1, 3-0 TRC) Friday night.

MANCHESTER 28

NORTH MIAMI 0

Manchester (3-2) 8 6 8 6 - 28

North Miami (1-4) 0 0 0 0 - 0

M N

First downs 1#3 13

Rushing yards 247 78

Passing yards 49 136

Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-10-0 12-20-2

Total offense 296 214

Fumbles/lost 2-1 1-1

Punts/avg. 0-0 1-33

Penalties/yards 8-70 4-40

First Quarter

M - Michael Sorg 8 pass to Farron Gaerte (Sorg pass to Aaron Cassel) :52, 8-0

Second Quarter

M - Michael Sorg 31 pass to Anthony Sorg (pass failed) :47, 14-0

Third Quarter

M - Dustin Westafer 61 run (Michael Sorg pass to Brent Westendorf) 9:42, 22-0

Fourth Quarter

M - Anthony Sorg 15 run (kick failed) 6:38, 28-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Manchester- Westafer 12-110, Anthony Sorg 12-110; North Miami- Boyd Smith 14-76,

Passing - Manchester- Michael Sorg 3-16-49-0; North Miami- Zac Hostetler 12-20-136-2

Receiving - Manchester- A. Sorg 1-31; North Miami- Derek Haynes 7-102

Triton Falls To John Glenn 33-0

Times-Union Staff Report

BOURBON -ÊThe Triton football team fell to 1-4 on the season after dropping a game to John Glenn 33-0 Friday night.

The Trojans held Glenn scoreless in the first quarter, but the Falcons broke out for 12 points in the second quarter, 14 in the third and seven in the fourth quarter to get the win.

Quarterback Steve Boyer led the Trojans, completing 10 of 18 passes for 86 yards. He also had 25 yards rushing on seven carries.

Todd Blackford caught four passes for a gain of 45 yards, while Aaron Trieschman had 51 yards on four receptions.

Nathan Ulmer rushed seven times for 29 yards.

Triton is 1-4 on the season and 0-3 in Northern State Conference play. The Trojans travel to New Prairie for a 7:30 p.m. game Friday.

JOHN GLENN 33, TRITON 0

Glenn (3-2) 0 12 14 7 - 33

Triton (1-4) 0 0 0 0 - 0

G T

First downs 11 8

Rushing yards 39 23

Passing yards 248 63

Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-7-0 10-18-1

Total offense 311 155

Fumbles/lost 2-3 0-0

Penalties/yards 11-96 6-45

Second Quarter

G -ÊBrandon Adkins 4 run (kick failed), 6-0 G, 9:42

G - Adkins 21 run (kick failed), 12-0 G, :30.8

Third Quarter

G -ÊKyle O'Dell 13 pass from Greg Engel (Adkins kick), 19-0 G, 8:11

G -ÊEngel 37 run (Adkins kick), 26-0 G, 4:17

Fourth Quarter

G - Will Groves 34 pass from Engel (Adkins kick), 33-0 G, 10:17

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Triton: Steve Boyer 7-25, Nathan Ulmer 7-29; Glenn: Greg Engel 10-118, Brandon Adkins 19-93

Passing - Triton: Boyer 10-18-86, 1 INT 0 TD; Glenn: Engel 4-7-63, 0 INT, 2 TD

Receiving - Triton: Todd Blackford 4-45, Aaron Trieschman 4-51; Glenn: not available

Vikings Smash Norsemen

Times-Union Staff Report

WABASH - Using a smash mouth running game, Tippecanoe Valley pummeled Three Rivers Conference foe Northfield 71-7 Friday night.

The Vikings pounded out 399 yards on the ground to just 101 for the hapless Norsemen. In all, Valley outgained host Northfield 470-145.

The 71-point outburst was the second-highest in Viking history. In its 1979 state championship season, Valley scored 81 points against conference rival North Miami.

The win improves Valley to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the TRC, while Northfield falls to 0-5 and 0-3.

Eight different Valley players scored touchdowns in the win. Only Shawn Severns and Luke Scripture had two touchdowns.

The Vikings will host conference opponent Oak Hill, a 22-0 loser to Whitko, next Friday.

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 71 NORTHFIELD 7

T. Valley (4-1, 3-0) 15 21 14 21 - 71

Northfield (0-5, 0-3) 0 0 0 7 - 7

TV NF

First downs 16 2

Rushing yards 399 101

Passing yards 71 44

Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-12-0 1-7-3

Total offense 470 145

Fumbles/lost 0/0 1/1

Punts/avg. 0-0 7-33

Penalties/yards 8-62 4-42

First Quarter

TV - Kevin Day 22 run (kick blocked), 6-0

TV - David Beyers 14 pass to Shawn Severns (conversion failed), 12-0

TV - Chris Hurd 30 yard field goal, 15-0

Second Quarter

TV - Jon Rice 5 run (Hurd kick), 22-0

TV - Kevin Paxton 44 run (Hurd kick), 29-0

TV - Beyers 10 pass to Trey Eaton (Hurd kick), 36-0

Third Quarter

TV - Aaron Zolman 3 run (Hurd kick), 43-0

TV - Severns 3 run (Hurd kick), 50-0

Fourth Quarter

TV - Luke Scripture 30 run (Matt Eby kick), 57-7

NF - Brad Laconfora 25 run (Nick Good kick), 57-7

TV - Eby 11 run (Eby kick) 64-7

TV - Scripture 9 run (Eby kick) 71-7

*No individual stats were reported

Whitko Defense Clamps Down On Oak Hill

Times-Union Staff Report

CONVERSE - Allowing just 60 total yards of offense, Whitko hammered Three Rivers Conference rival Oak Hill 22-0 Friday.

The Wildcat defense held the Eagles to just eight yards on the ground, while Whitko piled up 258.

The win improves the Wildcats to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the TRC; Oak Hill falls to 2-3 and 1-2.

With Whitko up 8-0, Alan Robbins scampered 42 yards in the third quarter for the Wildcats' second score.

Robbins finished the game with 114 yards on 14 carries.

Brandon Waterson added 63 yards on 11 carries, while Burl Haywood carried eight times for 41 yards.

Whitko hosts TRC opponent Northfield, a 71-7 loser to Tippecanoe Valley, next Friday.

WHITKO 22, OAK HILL 0

Whitko (3-2, 2-1) 8 0 8 6 - 22

Oak Hill (2-3, 1-2) 0 0 0 0 - 0

W OH

First downs 14 4

Rushing yards 258 8

Passing yards 72 52

Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-10-0 6-11-1

Total offense 330 60

Fumbles/lost 2/0 4/2

Punts/avg. 1-25 3-33.3

Penalties/yards 7-40 4-20

First Quarter

W - Brandon Waterson 5 run (Brad Walpole conversion run) 1:37, 8-0

Third Quarter

W - Alan Robbins 42 run (Walpole conversion pass good) 9:56, 16-0

Fourth Quarter

W - Walpole 1 run (conversion failed) 9:39, 22-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Whitko, Robbins 14-114, Waterson 11-63, Burl Haywood 8-41; Oak Hill, Kirk Winger 5-6, Chris Key 2-11

Passing - Whitko, Walpole 6-10-72, O INT; Oak Hill, Nick Millspaugh 6-11-52, 1 INT

Receiving - Whitko, Drew Spangle 2-34, Brett Lukens 1-16, Robbins 1-10; Oak Hill, Jeff Sheedy 3-47, Key 1-7 [[In-content Ad]]