Manchester split its two quarters in the Wabash Jamboree on Saturday. The Squires defeated Wabash 13-0 and then lost to Southwood 14-0. In the second quarter, coach Al Bailey played all of his second and third stringers since Manchester did not get to scrimmage because of lightning.

Wawasee's Luke Matz rushed for 72 yards in Wawasee's 27-15 loss to Whitko, yet the Warriors gained only 39 rushing yards as a team. Wawasee quarterback Jeff Beer carried the ball five times for -40 yards.

Whitko's first P.A.T. came in the first round of the sectional last year. Scott Barker, who graduated, kicked it in a 43-6 home win over Blackford. The Wildcats didn't wait as long this year. Jeff Martin kicked their first extra point after their first drive in their first game of the 1997 season.

Just how deep is Whitko? Well, head coach Bryan Sprunger played quarterback Ben Mohr and halfback Ben Watson in the second quarter. Both are reserves. Jimmy Linn, Whitko's starting quarterback/safety and probably the best local player, sat on the bench. Why? Sprunger believes as talented as Linn is at quarterback, he's even a better safety. He wants to find spots to rest him when he can.

Of the seven local teams the Times-Union covers, Whitko's offense cranked out the most total yards (383). The Whitko defense allowed the fewest rushing yards (39). But Whitko also allowed 142 passing yards, the most allowed by any local team. Pass defense was a concern last year - the Wildcats allowed 320 passing yards in a 47-26 home loss to Oak Hill. It may still be this year. Sprunger said after Friday's win pass defense would be discussed at the meeting he and his coaches have every Sunday.

Whitko outscored Wawasee 13-0 the first quarter, but the rest of the way, Wawasee outscored Whitko 15-14.

Whitko won 27-15, but the score could have easily been at least 33-15. In eight plays, the Wildcat offense moved the ball down to Wawasee's three-yard line late in the game. But with 23 seconds left, instead of trying to punch it in for another meaningless score, Whitko kneeled to end the game.

Beer passed for 142 yards, all in the second half. Wide receiver Brad Brown was the biggest beneficiary, catching five passes for 134 of those yards. Wawasee's 142 passing yards are more than the Warriors had in any regular-season game last year, and Brown's 134 receiving yards are also more than any Warrior had last year. Beer, who started at quarterback last season, did pass for 152 yards in Wawasee's 28-11 second-round sectional loss to Goshen.

Columbia City scored every time it got the ball inside Warsaw's 20-yard line Friday night and used its unbalanced line to blow past the Tiger defense. The offensive set was called "Jumbo."

Rob Boley, Warsaw's senior backup quarterback, gave a nice "Senior Night" present to himself and fellow senior, Joel Shepherd, firing a five-yard scoring strike to Shepherd in the final minute of Warsaw's 28-14 loss to Columbia City Friday.

Columbia City's running game (328 yards on the ground) was so good right off the bat that the Eagles threw only one pass in the first 1 3/4 quarters of the game, and it was intercepted by Warsaw's James Taylor at the Tiger one-yard line. It turned out to be a good thing for the Eagles, who got the ball back in great field position after Warsaw couldn't get out of the shadow of its own goal.

NorthWood head coach Rich Dodson was just happy to know that he would not have to face Jimtown's big three running backs (Brian Smith, Travis Daniels and Adrian Pettis) again after combining for 308 yards rushing. Dodson said, "I think their skill players are seniors. I hope. Smith's a senior, right? Pettis is a senior? Daniels is a senior? OK, that makes me feel a little better."

NorthWood's 28-14 loss to Jimtown was only Dodson's seventh loss in six years as head coach of the Panthers. It was only his second regular-season loss, the last one coming in 1992, his first year at the helm of the Black Crunch.

Triton's 1-0 start is the first time that the Trojans have been above .500 in recent memory. It also means that Triton will have more wins this year than in 1981, '82, '83, '90, '91 and '93 combined.

It may be the year of the sophomore quarterback. Charlie Roeder called the plays for NorthWood and threw for 161 yards and a touchdown. Triton's Nate Setser threw two touchdowns and a two-point conversion on his way to a 9-for-19, 85-yard performance. Columbia City's Marshall Keith led the Eagles over Warsaw. Although he only put the ball in the air six times, he handed the ball to his running backs 46 times for 308 yards.

North Judson only passed the ball four times against Valley for 18 total yards. Despite knowing that the Bluejays were going to run the ball, the Vikings still allowed Justin Wright to rush for 222 yards.

Defensive Player Of Week:

Jeremiah Laws (Whitko) - Defensive end made key play in Whitko's 27-15 win over Wawasee. He sacked Wawasee quarterback Jeff Beer for a 14-yard loss after the Warriors had advanced to Whitko's one-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Laws' sack came on fourth down and kept Whitko's lead at 19-7.

Offensive Player Of Week:

Brad Brown (Wawasee) - Wawasee's wide receiver caught five passes for 134 yards from W quarterback Jeff Beer in a 27-15 loss to Whitko. He scored both of Wawasee's touchdowns, on a 34-yard pass in the third quarter and on a 23-yard pass in the fourth quarter. His 134 receiving yards in the first game of the 1997 season are more than any Warrior had in any game in 1996. [[In-content Ad]]