NAPPANEE - Rich Dodson's career record as NorthWood's football coach is 75-13 (.852). He has been head coach for seven years, so his teams are averaging less than two losses a season.

His Panthers advanced to the state finals in 1993. In 1998, just five years later, they again moved to the state finals, where they lost to Indianapolis Chatard 23-6 in the championship game.

An 11-4 record and a trip to the state finals are why Dodson has been chosen as the 1998 Times-Union Area Football Coach of the Year.

Dodson's Panthers killed the theory on momentum. So often coaches and television sports commentators talk about how important it is to win the last regular season game before the postseason tournaments. The theory is a win keeps the team rolling into the postseason.

But NorthWood ended the regular season by losing at Plymouth 17-13. The 6-3 Panthers were entering the sectional on a loss.

Still, Dodson remained optimistic.

"I thought our schedule was strong enough," he said. "That Plymouth game, we beat ourselves. But after the schedule we played, I thought we could put together a string of games, yeah."

Besides Plymouth, NorthWood played the likes of Jimtown, Concord, Goshen and Dowagiac (Mich.), all high school football heavyweights in 1998. These teams were to high school football what the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings have been to the NFL.

NorthWood's football record over 30 years is 240-93 (.721). The Panthers have been to the state finals four times. All four times, they lost.

But they have been there, a claim several teams cannot make.

"You can't dwell on the loss too long, because it may affect opportunities you have later," Dodson said. "I think 10 minutes after the game I began reflecting back on things and feeling good about the season.

"I have experienced four runnersup now. Now I would like to watch the community and players experience a state championship. It gets a little tough." [[In-content Ad]]