NorthWood Football Team Adds To Warrior Woes
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Wawasee is only about 15 miles down the road from NorthWood. But in terms of football programs the two schools are drastically far apart.
NorthWood, led by all-purpose quarterback Charlie Roeder and 1,000-yard rusher Aaron Huber, is considered one of the top teams in the area. The Panthers flexed their proverbial football muscle as they held off a feisty Wawasee squad 34-14 Friday.
The Panthers got off to a furious start as they drove the ball 67 yards in nine plays, with Huber finishing the drive on an 8-yard run.
Wawasee quickly responded, mounting a drive of its own. The drive was quickly halted, however, when on first-and-10 Warrior running back Rustin Mikel was brought down 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Forced to air the ball out, Wawasee's drive stalled.
NorthWood's next possesion started on its on 3-yard line. This was quickly changed when Roeder connected with Brock Doty on a tipped pass for a 60-yard gain. One play later, Roeder went to the air again, this time hooking up with Huber for a 16-yard touchdown.
With another Huber run, this time from seven yards out, the Wawasee deficit climbed to 20. Despite falling behind so many points early in the game, the Warriors refused to roll over for NorthWood.
Wawasee mounted a 16-play, 71-yard drive of its own that kept the Panther defense on the field for most of the second quarter. When Warrior fullback Jimmy Meyer plunged into the end zone from a yard out, Wawasee seemed to gain the momentum that was in NorthWood's corner up until that point.
On that drive Wawasee converted on two straight fourth downs. The first was after a false start call that turned a fourth-and-inches into a fourth-and-long. Mikel responded with a 24-yard run. On the second of the two conversions, Wawasee quarterback Adam Brown barreled over his offensive line to keep the Warrior drive going.
NorthWood threatened to score on its first drive of the second half, but the Warrior defense forced Roeder out of the pocket as he threw four straight incompletions.
Wawasee looked to jump right back into the game as Jimmy Meyer broke through the Panther line and charged past the Northwood secondary. But after a 40 yard run, Meyer was stripped by defensive back Ian Reed as NorthWood fell on the ball and abruptly ended the Warrior drive.
The Panthers quickly converted as Roeder ran the ball in from three yards out.
Again Wawasee responded. Mikel returned the Warrior kickoff 45 yards to the NorthWood 36 yard line. A couple of plays later, Mikel scampered in from 10 yards out to draw his team back within 14 points.
This wouldn't be the case for too long. Roeder hooked up with Huber on an 82-yard pass play that dimminished any hopes Wawasee had of making a comeback.
Huber was a threat as both a receiver and a runner. He had 116 yards receiving on four catches and 112 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Pretty amazing stats considering after last Saturday's game against Goshen at the RCA Dome, he had a shortened week of practice and less time to recover from a knee injury he suffered several weeks ago.
"He's a good versatile back. He got banged up in the Concord game, he hurt his knee a bit, and didn't practice much for the Goshen game, but he came back healthy tonight and played well," NorthWood coach Rich Dodson said.
Dodson was also impressed with this year's Wawasee squad.
"I was impressed with how Wawasee played. This is the hardest playing Wawasee team I think we've ever played."
Wawasee (1-4, 0-3) hopes to show that same intensity as they travel to NLC foe Plymouth while NorthWood (3-2, 2-1) hosts Northridge.
NORTHWOOD 34 WAWASEE 14
Northwood 14 6 14 0 - 34
Whitko 0 7 7 0 - 14
N W
First downs 19 12
Rushes-yards 36-208 39-183
Passing yards 240 36
Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-21-0 5-15-1
Total offense 448 219
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1
Punts-avg. 3-33 4-36.2
Penalties-yds. 1-0 4-25
First Quarter
NW - Aaron Huber 8 run (kick failed) 7-0 NW
NW -Huber 16 pass from Charlie Roeder (Roeder run) 14-0 NW
Second Quarter
NW - Huber 7 run (run failed) 20-0 NW
W - Jimmy Meyer 1 run (Jeremy High kick) 20-7 NW
Third Quarter
NW - Roeder 3 run (Chad Knisley run) 28-7
W - Rustin Mikel 10 run (High kick)
Fourth Quarter
NW - Huber 82 pass from Roeder (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Northwood: Huber 16-112, Roeder 11-42, Corey Brown 4-25, Chad Knisley 4-23, Ian Reed 1-6. Wawasee: Mikel 27-134, Meyer 7-29, Adam Brown 4-16, Aaron Drumm 1-4
Receiving - Northwood: Huber 4-116, Brock Doty 2-67, Blair Baumgartner 3-41, Knisley 1-16. Wawasee: Chris Lambert 1-23, Richard Kidd 1-5, Mikel 2-1.
Passing - Northwood: Roeder 10-21-0 240. Wawasee: Brown 5-15-1 38. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Wawasee is only about 15 miles down the road from NorthWood. But in terms of football programs the two schools are drastically far apart.
NorthWood, led by all-purpose quarterback Charlie Roeder and 1,000-yard rusher Aaron Huber, is considered one of the top teams in the area. The Panthers flexed their proverbial football muscle as they held off a feisty Wawasee squad 34-14 Friday.
The Panthers got off to a furious start as they drove the ball 67 yards in nine plays, with Huber finishing the drive on an 8-yard run.
Wawasee quickly responded, mounting a drive of its own. The drive was quickly halted, however, when on first-and-10 Warrior running back Rustin Mikel was brought down 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Forced to air the ball out, Wawasee's drive stalled.
NorthWood's next possesion started on its on 3-yard line. This was quickly changed when Roeder connected with Brock Doty on a tipped pass for a 60-yard gain. One play later, Roeder went to the air again, this time hooking up with Huber for a 16-yard touchdown.
With another Huber run, this time from seven yards out, the Wawasee deficit climbed to 20. Despite falling behind so many points early in the game, the Warriors refused to roll over for NorthWood.
Wawasee mounted a 16-play, 71-yard drive of its own that kept the Panther defense on the field for most of the second quarter. When Warrior fullback Jimmy Meyer plunged into the end zone from a yard out, Wawasee seemed to gain the momentum that was in NorthWood's corner up until that point.
On that drive Wawasee converted on two straight fourth downs. The first was after a false start call that turned a fourth-and-inches into a fourth-and-long. Mikel responded with a 24-yard run. On the second of the two conversions, Wawasee quarterback Adam Brown barreled over his offensive line to keep the Warrior drive going.
NorthWood threatened to score on its first drive of the second half, but the Warrior defense forced Roeder out of the pocket as he threw four straight incompletions.
Wawasee looked to jump right back into the game as Jimmy Meyer broke through the Panther line and charged past the Northwood secondary. But after a 40 yard run, Meyer was stripped by defensive back Ian Reed as NorthWood fell on the ball and abruptly ended the Warrior drive.
The Panthers quickly converted as Roeder ran the ball in from three yards out.
Again Wawasee responded. Mikel returned the Warrior kickoff 45 yards to the NorthWood 36 yard line. A couple of plays later, Mikel scampered in from 10 yards out to draw his team back within 14 points.
This wouldn't be the case for too long. Roeder hooked up with Huber on an 82-yard pass play that dimminished any hopes Wawasee had of making a comeback.
Huber was a threat as both a receiver and a runner. He had 116 yards receiving on four catches and 112 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Pretty amazing stats considering after last Saturday's game against Goshen at the RCA Dome, he had a shortened week of practice and less time to recover from a knee injury he suffered several weeks ago.
"He's a good versatile back. He got banged up in the Concord game, he hurt his knee a bit, and didn't practice much for the Goshen game, but he came back healthy tonight and played well," NorthWood coach Rich Dodson said.
Dodson was also impressed with this year's Wawasee squad.
"I was impressed with how Wawasee played. This is the hardest playing Wawasee team I think we've ever played."
Wawasee (1-4, 0-3) hopes to show that same intensity as they travel to NLC foe Plymouth while NorthWood (3-2, 2-1) hosts Northridge.
NORTHWOOD 34 WAWASEE 14
Northwood 14 6 14 0 - 34
Whitko 0 7 7 0 - 14
N W
First downs 19 12
Rushes-yards 36-208 39-183
Passing yards 240 36
Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-21-0 5-15-1
Total offense 448 219
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1
Punts-avg. 3-33 4-36.2
Penalties-yds. 1-0 4-25
First Quarter
NW - Aaron Huber 8 run (kick failed) 7-0 NW
NW -Huber 16 pass from Charlie Roeder (Roeder run) 14-0 NW
Second Quarter
NW - Huber 7 run (run failed) 20-0 NW
W - Jimmy Meyer 1 run (Jeremy High kick) 20-7 NW
Third Quarter
NW - Roeder 3 run (Chad Knisley run) 28-7
W - Rustin Mikel 10 run (High kick)
Fourth Quarter
NW - Huber 82 pass from Roeder (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Northwood: Huber 16-112, Roeder 11-42, Corey Brown 4-25, Chad Knisley 4-23, Ian Reed 1-6. Wawasee: Mikel 27-134, Meyer 7-29, Adam Brown 4-16, Aaron Drumm 1-4
Receiving - Northwood: Huber 4-116, Brock Doty 2-67, Blair Baumgartner 3-41, Knisley 1-16. Wawasee: Chris Lambert 1-23, Richard Kidd 1-5, Mikel 2-1.
Passing - Northwood: Roeder 10-21-0 240. Wawasee: Brown 5-15-1 38. [[In-content Ad]]