Warriors Can't Slow Down Raiders In Fourth Quarter
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark Howe-
“It was nice to get that monkey off our back – exorcise those demons,” said former Wawasee coach and current Raider head man Tom Wogomon. “We talked all off season about getting that NLC streak behind us, and it was a battle, but we got it done.”
The Raiders struck first, holding Wawasee to a three and out, then returning the Warrior punt to the Wawasee 30-yard line.
Three plays later Northridge junior Cam Ridenour opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run.
Early in the second quarter Wawasee tied the score when junior Clayton Cook made a leaping grab in the end zone.
Later the Raiders pinned the Warriors on their 2-yard line.
Backed up deep in his own territory, Wawasee junior quarterback Gage Reinhard and the offense engineered a 98-yard, 12-play drive, capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Sam Clark, giving Wawasee a 14-7 lead and the momentum.
“We came out ready to play football – there’s no doubt about it,” Wogomon said. “Then all of a sudden, a couple of little things happen, and before you knew it we were reeling a little bit. At halftime we stepped back, and challenged them a little bit. And they came out and played a really good second half.”
While the Warriors continued to outgain the Raiders, Northridge got big plays from its defense.
Trailing the Warriors 14-10 in the fourth quarter, Ridenour intercepted Reinhard as Wawasee was looking to extend its lead, and the 63-yard return lead to the first of Raider senior quarterback Tanner Love’s two 1-yard touchdown runs to give Northridge the lead for good at 17-14 with 11:33 remaining in the game.
“We moved the ball all over the field. We just didn’t score,” said Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich. “We finally established a little bit of a running game in the second half, and we threw the ball well, but we just didn’t finish.”
In the middle of the final quarter Northridge put together a 79-yard drive in just six plays, with Love completing a 34-yard pass to senior Sam Ahonen before hitting Ridenour from 32 yards out.
A Northridge sack and a Wawasee fumble on the ensuing possession gave the Raiders the ball at the Warrior 20, and Love sealed the deal with his final touchdown.
Reinhard finished the game with 210 yards passing, and added 17 yards on the ground. Cook caught eight passes for 124 yards and a score. Senior Brandin McCulloch led all Warrior rushers with 37 yards on 11 carries.
Both coaches acknowledged the emotional significance of the game, with Wogomon coaching against many former players and coaches.
“It was a big game for everybody,” said Wogomon. “I coached most of those guys two or three years. You can’t say enough about Gage Reinhard, and Clayton Cook did a great job. Really, they played pretty well. To be honest, I’m glad it’s over. It’s been a hard week, and it was a hard game.”
“This was a big game for us, and I know our guys are taking it hard,” Ekovich said. “The biggest thing is we are guaranteed at least seven more game is season. Life moves on, and we need to learn from the things we did. It’s about how we handle adversity. They made some great plays and some great catches, now we move on.”
In addition to snapping its conference losing streak, the Raiders beat Wawasee for the first time in four seasons.
Northridge will take a 3-0 mark, 1-0 in the NLC, to Plymouth next Friday, while Wawasee drops to 1-2 on the season, 0-1 in conference, and will host Concord Friday.
NORTHRIDGE 31, WAWASEE 14
W 0 14 0 0 — 14
N 7 3 0 21 — 31
W N
1st downs 19 11
Rushing yds 80 104
Passing yds 210 80
Comp-Att-Int 18-35-2 5-8-1
Total yds 290 184
Fumbles/lost 4/1 0/0
Penalties/yds 7/50 9/105
First Quarter
N – Cam Ridenour 17 run (Logan Sutton kick) 8:57, 7-0
Second Quarter
W – Gage Reinhard 26 pass to Clayton Cook 26 (Nate Prescott kick) 10:54, 7-7
W – Reinhard 21 pass to Sam Clark (Prescott kick) 4:53, 14-7
N – Sutton 34 field goal 0:25, 14-10
Fourth Quarter
N – Tanner Love 1-yard run (Sutton kick) 11:33, 17-14
N – Ridenour 34 pass from Love (Sutton kick) 6:37, 24-14
N – Love 1 run (Sutton kick) 2:30, 31-14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Wawasee, Reinhard 6-17 yards, Brandin McCulloch 11-37, Clark 2-24, Nic Wilson 3-(-4); Dominik Sanderson 4-6; Northridge, Love 8-10, Ridenour 8-32, Travis Schlabach 12-51, Christian Miller 3-11.
Passing – Wawasee, Reinhard 18-35 210 yds, TD, 2 INTs; Northridge, Love 5-8, 90 yds, TD, INT.
Receiving – Wawasee, Cook 8-124, McCulloch 2-5, Austin Lutz 1-19, Elliott 4-37; Northridge, Derek Woolsey 3-24, Sam Ahonen 1-32, Ridenour 1-34.[[In-content Ad]]
“It was nice to get that monkey off our back – exorcise those demons,” said former Wawasee coach and current Raider head man Tom Wogomon. “We talked all off season about getting that NLC streak behind us, and it was a battle, but we got it done.”
The Raiders struck first, holding Wawasee to a three and out, then returning the Warrior punt to the Wawasee 30-yard line.
Three plays later Northridge junior Cam Ridenour opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run.
Early in the second quarter Wawasee tied the score when junior Clayton Cook made a leaping grab in the end zone.
Later the Raiders pinned the Warriors on their 2-yard line.
Backed up deep in his own territory, Wawasee junior quarterback Gage Reinhard and the offense engineered a 98-yard, 12-play drive, capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Sam Clark, giving Wawasee a 14-7 lead and the momentum.
“We came out ready to play football – there’s no doubt about it,” Wogomon said. “Then all of a sudden, a couple of little things happen, and before you knew it we were reeling a little bit. At halftime we stepped back, and challenged them a little bit. And they came out and played a really good second half.”
While the Warriors continued to outgain the Raiders, Northridge got big plays from its defense.
Trailing the Warriors 14-10 in the fourth quarter, Ridenour intercepted Reinhard as Wawasee was looking to extend its lead, and the 63-yard return lead to the first of Raider senior quarterback Tanner Love’s two 1-yard touchdown runs to give Northridge the lead for good at 17-14 with 11:33 remaining in the game.
“We moved the ball all over the field. We just didn’t score,” said Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich. “We finally established a little bit of a running game in the second half, and we threw the ball well, but we just didn’t finish.”
In the middle of the final quarter Northridge put together a 79-yard drive in just six plays, with Love completing a 34-yard pass to senior Sam Ahonen before hitting Ridenour from 32 yards out.
A Northridge sack and a Wawasee fumble on the ensuing possession gave the Raiders the ball at the Warrior 20, and Love sealed the deal with his final touchdown.
Reinhard finished the game with 210 yards passing, and added 17 yards on the ground. Cook caught eight passes for 124 yards and a score. Senior Brandin McCulloch led all Warrior rushers with 37 yards on 11 carries.
Both coaches acknowledged the emotional significance of the game, with Wogomon coaching against many former players and coaches.
“It was a big game for everybody,” said Wogomon. “I coached most of those guys two or three years. You can’t say enough about Gage Reinhard, and Clayton Cook did a great job. Really, they played pretty well. To be honest, I’m glad it’s over. It’s been a hard week, and it was a hard game.”
“This was a big game for us, and I know our guys are taking it hard,” Ekovich said. “The biggest thing is we are guaranteed at least seven more game is season. Life moves on, and we need to learn from the things we did. It’s about how we handle adversity. They made some great plays and some great catches, now we move on.”
In addition to snapping its conference losing streak, the Raiders beat Wawasee for the first time in four seasons.
Northridge will take a 3-0 mark, 1-0 in the NLC, to Plymouth next Friday, while Wawasee drops to 1-2 on the season, 0-1 in conference, and will host Concord Friday.
NORTHRIDGE 31, WAWASEE 14
W 0 14 0 0 — 14
N 7 3 0 21 — 31
W N
1st downs 19 11
Rushing yds 80 104
Passing yds 210 80
Comp-Att-Int 18-35-2 5-8-1
Total yds 290 184
Fumbles/lost 4/1 0/0
Penalties/yds 7/50 9/105
First Quarter
N – Cam Ridenour 17 run (Logan Sutton kick) 8:57, 7-0
Second Quarter
W – Gage Reinhard 26 pass to Clayton Cook 26 (Nate Prescott kick) 10:54, 7-7
W – Reinhard 21 pass to Sam Clark (Prescott kick) 4:53, 14-7
N – Sutton 34 field goal 0:25, 14-10
Fourth Quarter
N – Tanner Love 1-yard run (Sutton kick) 11:33, 17-14
N – Ridenour 34 pass from Love (Sutton kick) 6:37, 24-14
N – Love 1 run (Sutton kick) 2:30, 31-14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Wawasee, Reinhard 6-17 yards, Brandin McCulloch 11-37, Clark 2-24, Nic Wilson 3-(-4); Dominik Sanderson 4-6; Northridge, Love 8-10, Ridenour 8-32, Travis Schlabach 12-51, Christian Miller 3-11.
Passing – Wawasee, Reinhard 18-35 210 yds, TD, 2 INTs; Northridge, Love 5-8, 90 yds, TD, INT.
Receiving – Wawasee, Cook 8-124, McCulloch 2-5, Austin Lutz 1-19, Elliott 4-37; Northridge, Derek Woolsey 3-24, Sam Ahonen 1-32, Ridenour 1-34.[[In-content Ad]]
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