NorthWood High School is known around the state for its quality football team. When the Panthers face West Noble tonight in Ligonier, the Chargers will try to knock last year's state runners-up out of this year's race.

But West Noble coach Monty Mawhorter knows the Chargers will have their work cut out for them. The Chargers, who average 25.3 points per game will be facing a strong 'Black Crunch' defense that gives up an average of just under 14 points per game. And the West Noble squad will have to contend with NorthWood quarterback Charlie Roeder.

Roeder, who leads the Panthers in rushing and passing, is a force to be reckoned with. He averages 76 yards rushing and 176 yards passing per game. He is one of the top quarterbacks in the state and is a candidate for this year's Mr. Football.

"Roeder will be one of our main concerns," said Mawhorter. "We want to keep possession of the ball so we can keep it out of Roeder's hands."

However, Roeder is not the only threat West Noble will face from NorthWood. The Panthers will look to Chaz Scherer and Jason Brennaman to lead the ground attack. Scherer averages close to eight yards per carry, while Brennaman adds nearly six yards each time he touches the football.

Brock Doty, Andy Mitschelen and Ian Reed are three of Roeder's favorite offensive targets. Doty leads the Panthers with 28 catches for 485 yards, while Reed has 411 yards on 22 receptions. Mitschelen has 23 receptions for 349 yards.

"NorthWood is the best team we have faced this season," said Mawhorter. "They are one of the best teams in the state.

"Field position and time of possession will be very important for us. We also want to keep the ball at their end of the field."

West Noble will look to Chad Howard and Doug McDonald to lead the Charger ground attack. Howard has rushed 140 times for 835 yards, and McDonald has 99 carries for 602 yards. Toby Steele, the Charger signal caller, has completed 40 of 102 passes for 354 yards and is the third-leading rusher with 300 yards.

"West Noble has some skilled athletes," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson. "They have a good fullback/running back in Howard. Steele at quarterback is an outstanding athlete who can make things happen. Steele can run and he can throw. In fact, I think he is more dangerous when he steps back to pass and decides to run."

"We've gotta contain their running game and not let them have the football. Offensively, we need to be effective and take advantage of all opportunities."

The Panthers will face a West Noble defense that has allowed just 160 points all season.

"Defensively, West Noble plays very aggressively," said Dodson. "They put eight men on the line in what they call a box. They run a 4-4 defense similar to the one Warsaw ran earlier in the year. They put their linebackers snug to the line of scrimmage and they blitz aggressively, too."

To this point in the season, the Chargers have racked up 22 sacks, recovered 12 fumbles, and snagged 12 interceptions.

Those fumble and interception statistics will be one of the factors that will be important in the outcome of the sectional semifinal game.

"Special teams will probably be a factor, and turnovers will be a major factor in the game," said Dodson. "If you move the ball 50 or 60 yards and then turn it over, then it was all for naught. We will also need to take advantage of scoring opportunities."

The Panthers and Chargers will kick off at 7:30 tonight.

1999 SECTIONAL FOOTBALL

NorthWood at West Noble

7:30 p.m. Tonight

NorthWood Team Stats

Points Per Game -ÊNorthWood 37.3, opponents 13.8.

Offense per game -ÊNorthWood 404.9, opponents 250.1

NorthWood Leaders

Rushing (carries-yards, per game average) -ÊCharlie Roeder 109-760 (76.0); Chaz Scherer 89-694 (69.4); Jason Brennaman 72-421 (42.1); Ben Lehman 16-112 (11.2).

Passing -ÊRoeder 106-196-10, 1,757 yards, 54 percent completion, 17 touchdown passes.

Receiving (catches-yards, per game average) -ÊBrock Doty 28-485 (48.5); Ian Reed 22-411 (41.1); Andy Mitschelen 23-349 (4.9); Chaz Scherer 13-237 (23.7); Nick Juday 8-166 (16.6).

Touchdowns -ÊScherer 14, Roeder 10, Doty 7.

Punts (attempts-yards, average) -ÊNick Juday 21-802 (38.2).

Punt returns (Attempts-yards, average) -ÊJustin Lantzer 15-162 (10.8).

Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Chaz Scherer 7-195 (27.9); Justin Lantzer 8-134 (16.8); Jesse Fink 4-83 (20.8).

Tackles -ÊDavid Higley 93; Tony Garl 74; Josh Cook 62; Jermey Hartzell 57; Willy Will 54; Trent Stump 51.

Sacks -ÊHigley 3.5; Stump 2.5; Jeff Baumgartner 2.0.

Interceptions -ÊDoty 5; Will 3; Reed 2.

Fumble recoveries -ÊRoeder 1, Lantzer 1, Brennaman 1, Reed 1, Mitschelen 1, Higley 1, Mast 1, Richard Armon 1, Tim Schmucker 1.

NorthWood Scores (Home team in caps)

Regular season (8-1)

NORTHWOOD 20, Jimtown 0

NORTHWOOD 34, Bremen 28, OT

CONCORD 35, NorthWood 28

NORTHWOOD 31, Goshen 14

NORTHWOOD 53, Wawasee 0

NorthWood 33, NORTHRIDGE 6

NorthWood 34, DOWAGIAC (MI) 21

NorthWood 42, WARSAW 28

NORTHWOOD 37, Plymouth 6

Sectional 19

NORTHWOOD 67, Fort Wayne Elmhurst 0

West Noble Team Stats

Points per game - West Noble 25.3, opponents 16.0

Offense per game -ÊWest Noble 289.0, opponents 275.4

West Noble Leaders

Rushing (carries-yards, per game average) - Chad Howard 140-835 (83.5); Doug McDonald 99-602 (60.2); Toby Steele 65-300 (30.0); Jesse Johnson 50-247 (24.7).

Passing - Steele 40-102-6, 870 yards, 39 percent completion, 6 touchdowns.

Receiving (catches-yards, per game average) -ÊCharley Gabet 22-442 (44.2); Rick Johnson 4-168 (16.8), Wesley Austrup 5-182 (18.2).

Touchdowns -ÊMcDonald 9; Steele 7; Gabet 5.

Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Gabet 23-740 (32.2); Mike Sparks 10-321 (32.1)

Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) -ÊGabet 5-41 (8.2); J. Johnson 10-85 (8.5).

Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) -ÊGabet 7-130 (18.6); McDonald 7-157 (22.4).

Tackles -ÊMike Sparks 53; Steele 45; Justin Savage 37.

Sacks -ÊAustrup 5; Steele 9; Savage 3; Sparks 3.

Interceptions -ÊSteele 1.

Fumble recoveries -ÊNelson 6; Steele 3.

West Noble Scores

Regular season (6-3)

EASTSIDE 19, West Noble 13

Central Noble 20, WEST NOBLE 0

West Noble 41, GARRETT 7

West Noble 23, LAKELAND 21

WEST NOBLE 53, Fairfield 13

FREMONT 27, West Noble 14

WEST NOBLE 40, Prairie Heights 14

WEST NOBLE 23, Angola 14

West Noble 23, CHURUBUSCO 13

Sectional 19

West Noble 23, WHITKO 13 [[In-content Ad]]