NorthWood Conquers Unknown
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - One interesting aspect of sectional play is meeting teams that you haven't seen yet. It means sometimes going up against an offensive system that is foreign to your defense.
Such was the case of Angola and NorthWood Friday in Class 3A, Sectional 19 action. Neither team had much experience of defending each other's offense, but it was NorthWood who managed to make the right adjustments at the right time and survived a wild 27-21 decision over the Hornets.
The No. 9 Panthers (9-2) will now travel to Northern Lakes Conference rival Northridge Friday for the sectional championship game.
The run-oriented Hornets ran up over 300 yards on the ground, but NorthWood countered with a timely passing game and 208 aerial yards from sophomore quarterback Charlie Roeder.
"They are a different offense," NorthWood coach Rich Dodson said. "It was something different from what we have seen, and it took some time to get used to it. They were very good at what they were doing.
"They had double tights, three guys in the backfield and the misdirection," he said. "We didn't tackle well, and it was a combination of things. It is a team that nobody has really stopped this year."
It wasn't anything fancy from Angola. The Hornets had three good running backs (Justin Maurer 143 yards, Matt David 103 yards and Josh Jenkins 72 yards) and a good offensive line. There were pitches, sweeps and counters and usually good execution from the Hornets.
Ironically, it came down to a missed pass play from Angola that sealed the deal for NorthWood. On a fourth-and-9 play from the Panther 43, Angola quarterback Steve Quaderer looked for tight end Jeff Floyd over the middle for the first down. Two Panther defenders converged just as the ball did, made the tip on the ball, and it fell harmlessly to the turf.
NorthWood managed to run out the remaining 2:30 on the clock and preserve the win.
"That is something they don't like to do, and that is throw the football," Dodson said. "It was to our advantage. We made a good play on it. I was just hoping the kid didn't have enough athleticism to turn around and make a catch on a batted ball. It was a good ending."
NorthWood was even in that situation at the end of the game because it couldn't put the dagger in Angola's hearts.
Twice in the second half, the Panthers had the ball inside the Hornet 5-yard line and twice NorthWood came away with no points.
NorthWood missed a golden opportunity in the third when Aaron Huber ran back a punt 79 yards to the Angola three. NorthWood misfired on three straight plays, and a field goal attempt fell apart when a high snap caused holder Jake Yoder to get tackled for a 9-yard loss.
The Panthers' other missed opportunity came in the third period when they drove down to the Angola five. On a third-and-five play, Roeder rolled right and tried to thread the ball to Brad Greenlee, but linebacker Josh Jenkins stepped in front of the pass and made the interception in the end zone.
"We did enough things to win the game," Dodson said. "We spoiled a good punt return and ruined a good opportunity at a field goal. That bothered me more than the way we were playing defense. We can't just allow points to slip away like that. After you do something good to put yourself in position, you have to get it into the end zone.
"On that particular play (the interception), he played like a sophomore," he said. "He didn't see Huber open on the left, and that is where the play was designed to go. He got disoriented or something. I am glad Charlie is on our side because he makes things happen."
Roeder certainly did make things happen, outside of the one interception. Included in his 208 yards was two scoring strikes to Yoder covering 32 and 51 yards, and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Greenlee in the third quarter that was the deciding score.
"NorthWood's kids ran good patterns and caught the ball," Angola coach Don Harter said. "I wish we would have had more heat on them up the middle. They have an outstanding quarterback. He has a lot of composure for a sophomore. We were close on a couple of them, but we just couldn't get the bat. If we do that, the ball game might change."
Angola did a good job of stopping the NorthWood running game with Huber, the Panthers' leading rusher, picking up on nine yards on 11 carries. But the NorthWood offense has been pretty balanced this year, and this game was no exception.
"We ran some play-action, and Charlie was able to hit a couple of good passes on that," Dodson said. "It is something they don't do a lot in their conference in throwing the ball. Having someone out here under the lights throwing the ball makes it different for them.
"We have enough variation in our pass patterns, that we find a way to get somebody open," he said. "Charlie does a good job most of the time of reading the primary receiver."
It didn't look good for NorthWood early on as Angola marched straight down the field on its very first possession of the game, going 80 yards on eight plays and less than three minutes before getting a 10-yard scoring run from Justin Maurer.
NorthWood came right back and got Yoder's first touchdown of the night and tied the score at 7-7. The Panther defense seemed to settled down after that, and NorthWood took the lead 13-7 when Chad Knisley scored from a yard out.
The Panthers could have put more on the board after recovering a Angola fumble at their own 39-yard line. But NorthWood turned the ball right back to Angola, and the Hornets took advantage a few plays later when Jenkins rushed to the end zone from five yards out to make it 14-13 at halftime.
Roeder found Yoder from 51 yards out to start the third quarter as NorthWood retook the lead 19-14. After NorthWood's missed field goal opportunity, the Hornets took the ball right down the field and got a 54-yard jaunt from Maurer and a 21-19 advantage.
The Panthers wasted little time in changing the score again when Roeder rolled left and found Greenlee in the front of the end zone and a 27-21 lead. An earlier 32-yards pass from the same combination helped set up the scoring play.
"Twenty-one points should have been enough if we play our kind of defense," Harter said. "It was an ebb and flow situation that whichever team had the ball last was going to win."
Angola finishes the season at 8-3. [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE - One interesting aspect of sectional play is meeting teams that you haven't seen yet. It means sometimes going up against an offensive system that is foreign to your defense.
Such was the case of Angola and NorthWood Friday in Class 3A, Sectional 19 action. Neither team had much experience of defending each other's offense, but it was NorthWood who managed to make the right adjustments at the right time and survived a wild 27-21 decision over the Hornets.
The No. 9 Panthers (9-2) will now travel to Northern Lakes Conference rival Northridge Friday for the sectional championship game.
The run-oriented Hornets ran up over 300 yards on the ground, but NorthWood countered with a timely passing game and 208 aerial yards from sophomore quarterback Charlie Roeder.
"They are a different offense," NorthWood coach Rich Dodson said. "It was something different from what we have seen, and it took some time to get used to it. They were very good at what they were doing.
"They had double tights, three guys in the backfield and the misdirection," he said. "We didn't tackle well, and it was a combination of things. It is a team that nobody has really stopped this year."
It wasn't anything fancy from Angola. The Hornets had three good running backs (Justin Maurer 143 yards, Matt David 103 yards and Josh Jenkins 72 yards) and a good offensive line. There were pitches, sweeps and counters and usually good execution from the Hornets.
Ironically, it came down to a missed pass play from Angola that sealed the deal for NorthWood. On a fourth-and-9 play from the Panther 43, Angola quarterback Steve Quaderer looked for tight end Jeff Floyd over the middle for the first down. Two Panther defenders converged just as the ball did, made the tip on the ball, and it fell harmlessly to the turf.
NorthWood managed to run out the remaining 2:30 on the clock and preserve the win.
"That is something they don't like to do, and that is throw the football," Dodson said. "It was to our advantage. We made a good play on it. I was just hoping the kid didn't have enough athleticism to turn around and make a catch on a batted ball. It was a good ending."
NorthWood was even in that situation at the end of the game because it couldn't put the dagger in Angola's hearts.
Twice in the second half, the Panthers had the ball inside the Hornet 5-yard line and twice NorthWood came away with no points.
NorthWood missed a golden opportunity in the third when Aaron Huber ran back a punt 79 yards to the Angola three. NorthWood misfired on three straight plays, and a field goal attempt fell apart when a high snap caused holder Jake Yoder to get tackled for a 9-yard loss.
The Panthers' other missed opportunity came in the third period when they drove down to the Angola five. On a third-and-five play, Roeder rolled right and tried to thread the ball to Brad Greenlee, but linebacker Josh Jenkins stepped in front of the pass and made the interception in the end zone.
"We did enough things to win the game," Dodson said. "We spoiled a good punt return and ruined a good opportunity at a field goal. That bothered me more than the way we were playing defense. We can't just allow points to slip away like that. After you do something good to put yourself in position, you have to get it into the end zone.
"On that particular play (the interception), he played like a sophomore," he said. "He didn't see Huber open on the left, and that is where the play was designed to go. He got disoriented or something. I am glad Charlie is on our side because he makes things happen."
Roeder certainly did make things happen, outside of the one interception. Included in his 208 yards was two scoring strikes to Yoder covering 32 and 51 yards, and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Greenlee in the third quarter that was the deciding score.
"NorthWood's kids ran good patterns and caught the ball," Angola coach Don Harter said. "I wish we would have had more heat on them up the middle. They have an outstanding quarterback. He has a lot of composure for a sophomore. We were close on a couple of them, but we just couldn't get the bat. If we do that, the ball game might change."
Angola did a good job of stopping the NorthWood running game with Huber, the Panthers' leading rusher, picking up on nine yards on 11 carries. But the NorthWood offense has been pretty balanced this year, and this game was no exception.
"We ran some play-action, and Charlie was able to hit a couple of good passes on that," Dodson said. "It is something they don't do a lot in their conference in throwing the ball. Having someone out here under the lights throwing the ball makes it different for them.
"We have enough variation in our pass patterns, that we find a way to get somebody open," he said. "Charlie does a good job most of the time of reading the primary receiver."
It didn't look good for NorthWood early on as Angola marched straight down the field on its very first possession of the game, going 80 yards on eight plays and less than three minutes before getting a 10-yard scoring run from Justin Maurer.
NorthWood came right back and got Yoder's first touchdown of the night and tied the score at 7-7. The Panther defense seemed to settled down after that, and NorthWood took the lead 13-7 when Chad Knisley scored from a yard out.
The Panthers could have put more on the board after recovering a Angola fumble at their own 39-yard line. But NorthWood turned the ball right back to Angola, and the Hornets took advantage a few plays later when Jenkins rushed to the end zone from five yards out to make it 14-13 at halftime.
Roeder found Yoder from 51 yards out to start the third quarter as NorthWood retook the lead 19-14. After NorthWood's missed field goal opportunity, the Hornets took the ball right down the field and got a 54-yard jaunt from Maurer and a 21-19 advantage.
The Panthers wasted little time in changing the score again when Roeder rolled left and found Greenlee in the front of the end zone and a 27-21 lead. An earlier 32-yards pass from the same combination helped set up the scoring play.
"Twenty-one points should have been enough if we play our kind of defense," Harter said. "It was an ebb and flow situation that whichever team had the ball last was going to win."
Angola finishes the season at 8-3. [[In-content Ad]]