Leach Leads Warriors Past NorthWood
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Veteran NorthWood High School football coach Rich Dodson spent little time answering the question.
Having seen what Wawasee quarterback Joe Leach did to the Panthers Friday night was probably enough as it was, let alone talking about it.
Following Wawasee's 40-29 win over his Panthers, Dodson was asked what Leach meant to the Warriors.
Dodson responded, "He's their heartbeat, that's all I got to say."
Leach certainly was Wawasee's heartbeat Friday night, leading the Warriors to their fourth win over NorthWood in five years.
All the 6-foot-3, 175-pound senior signal caller did was carry the ball 23 times for 207 yards and complete 14 of 21 passes for 183 yards.
Leach scored touchdowns on runs of 29 and 54 yards. He also threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to classmate Andrew Mock and a 24-yard scoring strike to junior Brandon Geiger.
"Joe did a great job," Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld said of Leach. "I never imagined our quarterback would carry 23 times."
The win, which came a week after the Warriors lost 38-10 at Concord, improved Wawasee to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the NLC standings.
NorthWood, which went 3-6 in the regular season last year but rattled off six straight victories in postseason play to win the Class 3A state championship, fell to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Though the Panthers have just one victory this year, Rietveld said NorthWood is still the measuring stick in the NLC because of their career accomplishments.
In its storied history, NorthWood has won 15 sectional championships, nine regional crowns, five semistate titles and one state championship.
Dodson, now in his 15th year as the head coach in Nappanee, sports a career record of 146-41.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game," said Rietveld, who has turned a program that was near the bottom of the NLC into one that now sports a record of 26-6 over the past two-and-a-half seasons. "They have some kids back (that missed games) and they wanted to prove a point. (NorthWood) is the bar in the NLC, like it or not. I don't know their career mark, but it's better than the rest of the conference. They've slipped a little, but they're a good football team."
As are Rietveld's Warriors, who led 17-15 at halftime before scoring 23 unanswered points to start the second half, boosting their lead to 40-15 when Leach electrified the crowd with his 54-yard touchdown trot with 8:31 remaining in the game.
NorthWood made a game of it late, cutting Wawasee's advantage to 40-22 after sophomore quarterback Skyler Titus connected with Sam Montgomery for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 6:36 to play, and to 40-29 after Titus barrelled his way from two yards out with 2:00 remaining in the contest.
For the Panthers, it was too little too late.
Leach's performance highlighted the game. Mental mistakes - namely a blocked punt, a fumble that Wawasee recovered and an interception by Wawasee senior Tylor Trobaugh - didn't help the Panthers either.
Panther fullback Jed Beer scored the game's first touchdown on a 2-yard run with 9:37 left in the first quarter. Brandon Williams' extra-point kick made it 7-0.
Leach, who tallied 60 yards on his first two carries, put the Warriors on the board with 8:24 on the clock in the first quarter. Jon Miller's kick knotted the game at seven.
Tom Schwartz powered his way in from six yards out and Miller's kick gave the Warriors a 14-7 advantage with 17 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Titus then scored on a 1-yard run for NorthWood and Beer ran in the two-point conversion after Wawasee was called for encroachment on back-to-back plays, which gave the Panthers a 15-14 advantage.
The Warriors then scored on field goals of 30 and 34 yards by Miller, the latter giving Wawasee a 20-15 advantage with 8:34 to play in the third quarter.
Then came Mock's 85-yard touchdown catch, followed by Geiger's 24-yard touchdown catch, which was followed by Leach's 54-yard scoring scamper.
Wawasee tallied 244 rushing yards on 34 carries, while NorthWood racked up 148 yards on 32 carries.
NorthWood's Kent Biller was held to 60 yards on 18 carries. Titus carried 10 times for 67 yards.
For Wawasee, Schwartz had eight carries for 34 yards while Mock had three carries for three yards.
Mock had two receptions for 89 yards while Trent Brown and Geiger combined for six catches for 62 yards.
Brant Ehret led NorthWood's receivers with six catches for 123 yards.
Titus finished the game 19 of 32 for 292 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Wawasee will be in action again Friday at NLC foe Plymouth while NorthWood hosts Northridge.
WAWASEE 40, NORTHWOOD 29
NorthWood 7 8 0 14 - 29
Wawasee 14 3 10 13 - 40
NW W
First downs 20 14
Rushing yards 148 244
Passing yards 312 183
Comp.-Att.-Int. 20-33-1 14-21-0
Total offense 460 427
Fumbles/lost 4/1 1/0
Punts/avg. 3-29.7 3-38.0
Penalties/yards 4-30 7-50
First Quarter
NW - Jed Beer 2 run (Brandon Williams kick) 9:37, 7-0
W - Joe Leach 29 run (Jon Miller kick) 8:24, 7-7
W - Tom Schwartz 6 run (Miller kick) :17, 14-7
Second Quarter
NW - Skyler Titus 1 run (Beer conversion run) 8:18, 15-14
W - Miller 30 field goal 3:15, 17-15
Third Quarter
W - Miller 34 field goal 8:34, 20-15
W - Leach 85 pass to Andrew Mock (Miller kick) 3:15, 27-15
Fourth Quarter
W - Leach 24 pass to Brandon Geiger (kick failed) 10:41, 33-15
W - Leach 54 run (kick good) 8:31, 40-15
NW - Titus 45 pass to Sam Montgomery (Williams kick) 6:36, 40-22
NW - Titus 2 run (Williams kick) 2:00, 40-29
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Wawasee, Leach 23-207, Schwartz 8-34, Mock 3-3; NorthWood, Kent Biller 18-60, Titus 10-67, Beer 4-21
Passing - Wawasee, Leach 14-21-183, 2 TDs, 0 INT; NorthWood, Titus 19-32-292, 1 TD, 1 INT, Beer 1-1-20
Receiving - Wawasee, Geiger 3-39, Trent Brown 3-23, Mock 2-89, Nick Richardson 2-14, Lance Zimmerman 2-6; NorthWood, Brant Ehret 6-123, Kelly Adams 5-56, Montgomery 3-63, Beer 2-49, Biller 2-7 [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Veteran NorthWood High School football coach Rich Dodson spent little time answering the question.
Having seen what Wawasee quarterback Joe Leach did to the Panthers Friday night was probably enough as it was, let alone talking about it.
Following Wawasee's 40-29 win over his Panthers, Dodson was asked what Leach meant to the Warriors.
Dodson responded, "He's their heartbeat, that's all I got to say."
Leach certainly was Wawasee's heartbeat Friday night, leading the Warriors to their fourth win over NorthWood in five years.
All the 6-foot-3, 175-pound senior signal caller did was carry the ball 23 times for 207 yards and complete 14 of 21 passes for 183 yards.
Leach scored touchdowns on runs of 29 and 54 yards. He also threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to classmate Andrew Mock and a 24-yard scoring strike to junior Brandon Geiger.
"Joe did a great job," Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld said of Leach. "I never imagined our quarterback would carry 23 times."
The win, which came a week after the Warriors lost 38-10 at Concord, improved Wawasee to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the NLC standings.
NorthWood, which went 3-6 in the regular season last year but rattled off six straight victories in postseason play to win the Class 3A state championship, fell to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Though the Panthers have just one victory this year, Rietveld said NorthWood is still the measuring stick in the NLC because of their career accomplishments.
In its storied history, NorthWood has won 15 sectional championships, nine regional crowns, five semistate titles and one state championship.
Dodson, now in his 15th year as the head coach in Nappanee, sports a career record of 146-41.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game," said Rietveld, who has turned a program that was near the bottom of the NLC into one that now sports a record of 26-6 over the past two-and-a-half seasons. "They have some kids back (that missed games) and they wanted to prove a point. (NorthWood) is the bar in the NLC, like it or not. I don't know their career mark, but it's better than the rest of the conference. They've slipped a little, but they're a good football team."
As are Rietveld's Warriors, who led 17-15 at halftime before scoring 23 unanswered points to start the second half, boosting their lead to 40-15 when Leach electrified the crowd with his 54-yard touchdown trot with 8:31 remaining in the game.
NorthWood made a game of it late, cutting Wawasee's advantage to 40-22 after sophomore quarterback Skyler Titus connected with Sam Montgomery for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 6:36 to play, and to 40-29 after Titus barrelled his way from two yards out with 2:00 remaining in the contest.
For the Panthers, it was too little too late.
Leach's performance highlighted the game. Mental mistakes - namely a blocked punt, a fumble that Wawasee recovered and an interception by Wawasee senior Tylor Trobaugh - didn't help the Panthers either.
Panther fullback Jed Beer scored the game's first touchdown on a 2-yard run with 9:37 left in the first quarter. Brandon Williams' extra-point kick made it 7-0.
Leach, who tallied 60 yards on his first two carries, put the Warriors on the board with 8:24 on the clock in the first quarter. Jon Miller's kick knotted the game at seven.
Tom Schwartz powered his way in from six yards out and Miller's kick gave the Warriors a 14-7 advantage with 17 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Titus then scored on a 1-yard run for NorthWood and Beer ran in the two-point conversion after Wawasee was called for encroachment on back-to-back plays, which gave the Panthers a 15-14 advantage.
The Warriors then scored on field goals of 30 and 34 yards by Miller, the latter giving Wawasee a 20-15 advantage with 8:34 to play in the third quarter.
Then came Mock's 85-yard touchdown catch, followed by Geiger's 24-yard touchdown catch, which was followed by Leach's 54-yard scoring scamper.
Wawasee tallied 244 rushing yards on 34 carries, while NorthWood racked up 148 yards on 32 carries.
NorthWood's Kent Biller was held to 60 yards on 18 carries. Titus carried 10 times for 67 yards.
For Wawasee, Schwartz had eight carries for 34 yards while Mock had three carries for three yards.
Mock had two receptions for 89 yards while Trent Brown and Geiger combined for six catches for 62 yards.
Brant Ehret led NorthWood's receivers with six catches for 123 yards.
Titus finished the game 19 of 32 for 292 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Wawasee will be in action again Friday at NLC foe Plymouth while NorthWood hosts Northridge.
WAWASEE 40, NORTHWOOD 29
NorthWood 7 8 0 14 - 29
Wawasee 14 3 10 13 - 40
NW W
First downs 20 14
Rushing yards 148 244
Passing yards 312 183
Comp.-Att.-Int. 20-33-1 14-21-0
Total offense 460 427
Fumbles/lost 4/1 1/0
Punts/avg. 3-29.7 3-38.0
Penalties/yards 4-30 7-50
First Quarter
NW - Jed Beer 2 run (Brandon Williams kick) 9:37, 7-0
W - Joe Leach 29 run (Jon Miller kick) 8:24, 7-7
W - Tom Schwartz 6 run (Miller kick) :17, 14-7
Second Quarter
NW - Skyler Titus 1 run (Beer conversion run) 8:18, 15-14
W - Miller 30 field goal 3:15, 17-15
Third Quarter
W - Miller 34 field goal 8:34, 20-15
W - Leach 85 pass to Andrew Mock (Miller kick) 3:15, 27-15
Fourth Quarter
W - Leach 24 pass to Brandon Geiger (kick failed) 10:41, 33-15
W - Leach 54 run (kick good) 8:31, 40-15
NW - Titus 45 pass to Sam Montgomery (Williams kick) 6:36, 40-22
NW - Titus 2 run (Williams kick) 2:00, 40-29
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Wawasee, Leach 23-207, Schwartz 8-34, Mock 3-3; NorthWood, Kent Biller 18-60, Titus 10-67, Beer 4-21
Passing - Wawasee, Leach 14-21-183, 2 TDs, 0 INT; NorthWood, Titus 19-32-292, 1 TD, 1 INT, Beer 1-1-20
Receiving - Wawasee, Geiger 3-39, Trent Brown 3-23, Mock 2-89, Nick Richardson 2-14, Lance Zimmerman 2-6; NorthWood, Brant Ehret 6-123, Kelly Adams 5-56, Montgomery 3-63, Beer 2-49, Biller 2-7 [[In-content Ad]]