First-Half Turnovers Bury Wawasee
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - When you play a top-ranked team in the state, you better not turn the football over.
That was what Wawasee could not afford against 7-0 No. 2 (3A) Mishawaka Marian.
Wawasee turned the ball over four times in the first half, enabling Mishawaka Marian to cruise to a 34-0 win in a non-conference football game on Wawasee's homecoming night. The Warriors dropped to 2-6.
"We really played hard tonight, but turnovers did us in," Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld said. "Mishawaka Marian is a very good team. You can't afford a turnover, let alone four in one half."
Wawasee came out fired up on homecoming night. The Warriors opened the game with a 10-play drive that stalled when quarterback Brent Doty threw an interception with 7:44 left in the first quarter. Seven plays later, Mishawaka Marian scored on Rocco Decicco's 26-yard touchdown run, his first of three touchdowns in the game.
"We moved the ball well on our opening drive,' Rietveld said. "Doty had a couple of bad reads on some passes, and we really never recovered from our turnovers.'
On the Warriors' next possession, Doty tried a pitch to Logan Lees, but the pitch went wild and the Knights pounced on the ball for the second turnover of the quarter. Again Decicco scored on a 25-yard touchdown run. D.J. Fitzpatrick added the extra point to put the Knights up 14-0.
The homecoming crowd got real quiet real quick.
"We just couldn't bounce back after the first quarter,' Rietveld said. "We just didn't make any big plays or any big stops in key situations.'
The second quarter didn't get any better for the Warriors.
Again after a 10-play drive, Doty threw his second interception, this time with 7:51 in the quarter with the Warriors driving down field.
Mishawaka Marian then went on a nine-play drive and scored again as Cole Laux took an 11-yard pass from Matthew Krueger to up the lead to 20-0. The extra point failed, but that was really the only bad play for the Knights all night.
"They have some great athletes,' Rietveld said. "Our defense was put in a lot of bad situations tonight because of all our turnovers.'
The second half was a little better for the Warriors. They didn't commit a turnover.
"Our kids never quit,' Rietveld said. "The game really was played better than the score indicates, especially the second half.'
The Knights struck on their opening drive of the third quarter. The Knights went 72 yards on seven plays as Decicco scored his final touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run. The extra point was good and the Knights extended their lead to 27-0.
After a quick four and out for the Warriors, Mishawaka Marian finished their scoring for the night as Vincenzo Dewald took a handoff from Krueger and rumbled in from six yards out to give the guests a 33-0 cushion. Fitzpatrick added the extra point. And it was lights out for this year's homecoming party.
"We just have to regroup for next week,' Rietveld said. "I believe Goshen is a better team than Marian, and we are going to have to be able to pass the ball better.'
With the loss, the Warriors drop to 2-6 and travel to Northern Lakes Conference rival Goshen next week. If the Warriors are going to come up with a huge upset, they can't turn the ball over and expect to win, especially playing at Goshen.
"We have to be able to control the clock against Goshen,' Rietveld said. "Our kids have to learn how to win. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.'
No. 2 (3A) MISH. MARIAN 34 WAWASEE 0
Mishawaka Marian 14 6 14 0 -Ê 34
Wawasee 0 0 0 0 - 0
M W
First downs 14 10
Rushing yards 44-221 28-94
Passing yards 51 88
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-8-0 10-23-3
Total offense 272 182
Fumbles lost 1-0 3-1
Punts/avg. 4-40.5 4-36
Penalties/yards 7-70 3-15
First Quarter
M - Rocco Decicco 26 run (Fitzpatrick kick), 4:40, 7-0 M
M - Rocco Decicco 25 run (Fitzpatrick kick), :21, 14-0 M
Second Quarter
M - Cole Laux 11 pass from Matthew Krueger (kick failed), 4:10, 20-0 M
Third Quarter
M - Rocco Decicco 10 run (Fitzpatrick kick), 9:14, 27-0 M
M -ÊVincenzo Dewald 6 run (Fitzpatrick kick), 4:32, 34-0 M
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Mishawaka Marian: Rocco Decicco 7-61, Cole Laux 10-65, Matthew Krueger 10-45, Vincenzo Dewald 5-35, Kevin Block 1-0, Mark Rykovich 7-7, Anthony Bishop 2-14, Brendon Krueger 1-2, Max Asterlio 1-6. Wawasee: Logan Lees 16-70, Brent Doty 2-28, Jimmy Meyer 4-15, Justin Magid 2-5, Chris Cline 4-19.
Passing -ÊMishawaka Marian: Matthew Krueger 3-5-40, Brenden Krueger 1-2-11. Wawasee: Brent Doty 10-23-88.
Receiving -ÊE.J. Elgin 1-12, Cole Laux 1-11, Danny Nussbaum 1-17, Daniel Hayes 1-11. Wawasee: Jimmy Meyer 1-6, Peter Chang 1-7, Travis Klenke 3-38, Paul Gilliam 1-5, Logan Lees 3-28, Adam Brown 1-4. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - When you play a top-ranked team in the state, you better not turn the football over.
That was what Wawasee could not afford against 7-0 No. 2 (3A) Mishawaka Marian.
Wawasee turned the ball over four times in the first half, enabling Mishawaka Marian to cruise to a 34-0 win in a non-conference football game on Wawasee's homecoming night. The Warriors dropped to 2-6.
"We really played hard tonight, but turnovers did us in," Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld said. "Mishawaka Marian is a very good team. You can't afford a turnover, let alone four in one half."
Wawasee came out fired up on homecoming night. The Warriors opened the game with a 10-play drive that stalled when quarterback Brent Doty threw an interception with 7:44 left in the first quarter. Seven plays later, Mishawaka Marian scored on Rocco Decicco's 26-yard touchdown run, his first of three touchdowns in the game.
"We moved the ball well on our opening drive,' Rietveld said. "Doty had a couple of bad reads on some passes, and we really never recovered from our turnovers.'
On the Warriors' next possession, Doty tried a pitch to Logan Lees, but the pitch went wild and the Knights pounced on the ball for the second turnover of the quarter. Again Decicco scored on a 25-yard touchdown run. D.J. Fitzpatrick added the extra point to put the Knights up 14-0.
The homecoming crowd got real quiet real quick.
"We just couldn't bounce back after the first quarter,' Rietveld said. "We just didn't make any big plays or any big stops in key situations.'
The second quarter didn't get any better for the Warriors.
Again after a 10-play drive, Doty threw his second interception, this time with 7:51 in the quarter with the Warriors driving down field.
Mishawaka Marian then went on a nine-play drive and scored again as Cole Laux took an 11-yard pass from Matthew Krueger to up the lead to 20-0. The extra point failed, but that was really the only bad play for the Knights all night.
"They have some great athletes,' Rietveld said. "Our defense was put in a lot of bad situations tonight because of all our turnovers.'
The second half was a little better for the Warriors. They didn't commit a turnover.
"Our kids never quit,' Rietveld said. "The game really was played better than the score indicates, especially the second half.'
The Knights struck on their opening drive of the third quarter. The Knights went 72 yards on seven plays as Decicco scored his final touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run. The extra point was good and the Knights extended their lead to 27-0.
After a quick four and out for the Warriors, Mishawaka Marian finished their scoring for the night as Vincenzo Dewald took a handoff from Krueger and rumbled in from six yards out to give the guests a 33-0 cushion. Fitzpatrick added the extra point. And it was lights out for this year's homecoming party.
"We just have to regroup for next week,' Rietveld said. "I believe Goshen is a better team than Marian, and we are going to have to be able to pass the ball better.'
With the loss, the Warriors drop to 2-6 and travel to Northern Lakes Conference rival Goshen next week. If the Warriors are going to come up with a huge upset, they can't turn the ball over and expect to win, especially playing at Goshen.
"We have to be able to control the clock against Goshen,' Rietveld said. "Our kids have to learn how to win. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.'
No. 2 (3A) MISH. MARIAN 34 WAWASEE 0
Mishawaka Marian 14 6 14 0 -Ê 34
Wawasee 0 0 0 0 - 0
M W
First downs 14 10
Rushing yards 44-221 28-94
Passing yards 51 88
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-8-0 10-23-3
Total offense 272 182
Fumbles lost 1-0 3-1
Punts/avg. 4-40.5 4-36
Penalties/yards 7-70 3-15
First Quarter
M - Rocco Decicco 26 run (Fitzpatrick kick), 4:40, 7-0 M
M - Rocco Decicco 25 run (Fitzpatrick kick), :21, 14-0 M
Second Quarter
M - Cole Laux 11 pass from Matthew Krueger (kick failed), 4:10, 20-0 M
Third Quarter
M - Rocco Decicco 10 run (Fitzpatrick kick), 9:14, 27-0 M
M -ÊVincenzo Dewald 6 run (Fitzpatrick kick), 4:32, 34-0 M
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Mishawaka Marian: Rocco Decicco 7-61, Cole Laux 10-65, Matthew Krueger 10-45, Vincenzo Dewald 5-35, Kevin Block 1-0, Mark Rykovich 7-7, Anthony Bishop 2-14, Brendon Krueger 1-2, Max Asterlio 1-6. Wawasee: Logan Lees 16-70, Brent Doty 2-28, Jimmy Meyer 4-15, Justin Magid 2-5, Chris Cline 4-19.
Passing -ÊMishawaka Marian: Matthew Krueger 3-5-40, Brenden Krueger 1-2-11. Wawasee: Brent Doty 10-23-88.
Receiving -ÊE.J. Elgin 1-12, Cole Laux 1-11, Danny Nussbaum 1-17, Daniel Hayes 1-11. Wawasee: Jimmy Meyer 1-6, Peter Chang 1-7, Travis Klenke 3-38, Paul Gilliam 1-5, Logan Lees 3-28, Adam Brown 1-4. [[In-content Ad]]