Warriors Enter Ekovich Era With Win Over Whitko
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Hosting the Whitko Wildcats (0-1), the Wawasee Warriors’ (1-0) season began with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by junior Clayton Cook.
And the scores just kept coming for the Warriors, as the home team racked up a 42-7 lead before Whitko scored two late touchdowns, resulting in the Wawasee 42-20 victory.
Whitko also had a coach making his debut, and following Cook’s score, Josh Mohr noticed a change in his Wildcats.
“We had a lot of energy in the locker room, so I don’t know if (the kickoff return) deflated us or what happened,” Mohr said. “It took us a while to get back up. Wawasee is an excellent team.”
On the kickoff, Cook took the kick at his own 5, and after four long strides, only had the Whitko kicker to beat, which he did easily en route to the end zone.
And while Cook utilized his speed, he also had a hole almost 10 yards wide to run straight through.
“He’s a great athlete,” Ekovich said of Cook. “You really have to take a look at the kickoff return and look at the 10 other guys that were doing their jobs. They did a heckuva job. Clayton didn’t just use his God-given athleticism. You really need to hand it to the 10 guys blocking for him.”
If the kick return didn’t showcase his ability enough, Cook also caught three passes for 90 yards, including a 34-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Cook’s skill was enhanced by junior quarterback Gage Reinhard.
Reinhard completed his first six attempts for 131 yards, the third completion being a quick slant to sophomore Sam Clark, who took it 56 yards to the end zone with 2:21 left in the opening quarter.
In all, Reinhard was 10 of 15 for 218 yards and the two scores.
However, in-between completing his first six passes and his last four, he had five-straight incompletions, which Ekovich put on himself.
“As coaches, we made some poor mistakes,” he said. “We didn’t call what we would have liked to have ideally called. That’s just a learning curve. A lot of groups take a little while to get an identity.”
On Wawasee’s first three possessions, the initial being the opening kickoff, it scored a touchdown each time, the last being a 2-yard plunge by senior Braxton O’Haver on the first play of the second quarter.
However, after that score came with 11:52 remaining in the first half, the Wawasee offense struggled, not picking up another first down until its second possession of the second half, which came at 8:38 mark in the third.
In-between the score and the first down, the Wawasee offense generated three total yards on five possessions, although one was a one-play, seven-yard drive that was comprised of a 7-yard TD run by senior running back Brandin McCulloch.
A reason for some of those struggles was Wawasee’s plan to run the ball more, rushing the ball on 10 of 14 plays, an aspect of the game Ekovich wants to get going, instead of relying solely on Reinhard’s arm.
“If you’re going to win games in the (Northern Lakes Conference), you’re going to need to be able to run the ball,” Ekovich said. “That’s going to be a focus.”
Focusing on the run, McCulloch got 17 attempts, going for 121 yards, 65 of which came on a long score with 7:27 remaining in the game.
“McCulloch has taken himself to the top,” Ekovich said. “He did a great job. Rightfully so, he’s a senior and he’s kind of put it on his back.”
On the other side of the ball, rushing the ball was the only option, as Whitko senior quarterback Ethan Nicodemus was 0 of 5 in his first start.
Failing to record a single passing yard, Whitko’s offense was based solely on the ground, running for 261 yards on 47 carries.
Nicodemus accounted for 144 of those yards, coming on 20 carries.
“The option game just happened to be open for him tonight,” Mohr said of Nicodemus, who had two rushing touchdowns. “That’s part of running a triple-option (offense). One kid’s going to have a bunch of yards one night, then the next week, it may be somebody else. There’s some things we need to work on there. It’s a new system for our kids. It’s a new offense. There are some growing pains.”
In his first start, Nicodemus took a lot of hits, although junior Tanner Hughes also rushed it 18 times for 79 yards and a score.
Along with struggling to pass the ball, Whitko also had problems holding onto it, putting it on the ground 10 times, losing four of them.
“They were blitzing a lot,” Mohr said. “At times we picked it up, but at other times we didn’t.”
Wawasee also put the ball on the ground four times, losing three, all of which came in the second half.
The fumbles, and penalties, are all expected in Week 1 of a season, but should be cleaned up in Week 2.
For Whitko, it will be at Whitley County rival Columbia City Friday, but Mohr is more worried about his team than the Eagles, who fell 33-14 at Warsaw Friday.
“They are a very good team, well-coached,” Mohr said of Columbia City. “We have to work on us. I’m worried about us more than anyone else.”
Along with working to improve themselves, the Warriors will also face a tough test at Class 4A No. 10 South Bend St. Joseph, which defeated Class 6A Chesterton 22-17 Friday night.
“They have a great quarterback and they’re great at play action,” Ekovich said, recalling last season’s 35-7 home loss to St. Joe.
Before worrying about the Indians, Ekovich just wanted a little time to relish his first career victory.
“It’s a great feeling, because you always have the legacy of Tom Wogomon on your back shoulders,” he said, referring to the former Wawasee coach who know coaches Northridge.
WAWASEE 42, WHITKO 20
Wh 0 0 7 13 — 20
Wa 14 14 0 14 — 42
Wh Wa
1st downs 10 9
Rushing yds 261 138
Passing yds 0 218
Comp-Att-Int 0-0 10-15-0
Total yds 261 356
Fumbles/lost 10/4 4/3
Penalties/yds 9/89 7/55
Punts/avg 5/31 4/38.3
First Quarter
Wa – Clayton Cook 95 kick return (Nate Prescott kick) 11:47, 7-0
Wa – Gage Reinhard 56 pass to Sam Clark (Prescott kick) 2:21, 14-0
Second Quarter
Wa – Braxton O’Haver 2 run (Prescott kick) 11:52, 21-0
Wa – Brandin McCulloch 7 run (Prescott kick) 2:48, 28-0
Third Quarter
Wh – Ethan Nicodemus 1 run (Brady Herendeen kick) 10:09, 28-7
Fourth Quarter
Wa – Reinhard 34 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 9:37, 35-7
Wa – McCulloch 65 run (Prescott kick) 6:59, 42-7
Wh – Tanner Hughes 26 run (kick failed) 2:59, 42-13
Wh – Nicodemus 8 run (Herendeen kick) 1:48, 42-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wawasee 36-138, McCulloch 17-121, Nic Wilson 8-15, Sam Rookstool 3-8, Nick LeCount 4-6, Dominick Sanderson 1-1, Reinhard 2-(-15); Whitko 47-261, Nicodemus 20-144, Hughes 18-79, Trace Killian 4-23, Devin Gerding 5-15.
Passing — Wawasee, Reinhard 10-15, 218 yds; Whitko, Nicodemus 0-5.
Receiving — Wawasee, Clark 5-96, Cook 3-90, Jordan Elliott 2-32; Whitko, N/A.[[In-content Ad]]
Hosting the Whitko Wildcats (0-1), the Wawasee Warriors’ (1-0) season began with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by junior Clayton Cook.
And the scores just kept coming for the Warriors, as the home team racked up a 42-7 lead before Whitko scored two late touchdowns, resulting in the Wawasee 42-20 victory.
Whitko also had a coach making his debut, and following Cook’s score, Josh Mohr noticed a change in his Wildcats.
“We had a lot of energy in the locker room, so I don’t know if (the kickoff return) deflated us or what happened,” Mohr said. “It took us a while to get back up. Wawasee is an excellent team.”
On the kickoff, Cook took the kick at his own 5, and after four long strides, only had the Whitko kicker to beat, which he did easily en route to the end zone.
And while Cook utilized his speed, he also had a hole almost 10 yards wide to run straight through.
“He’s a great athlete,” Ekovich said of Cook. “You really have to take a look at the kickoff return and look at the 10 other guys that were doing their jobs. They did a heckuva job. Clayton didn’t just use his God-given athleticism. You really need to hand it to the 10 guys blocking for him.”
If the kick return didn’t showcase his ability enough, Cook also caught three passes for 90 yards, including a 34-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Cook’s skill was enhanced by junior quarterback Gage Reinhard.
Reinhard completed his first six attempts for 131 yards, the third completion being a quick slant to sophomore Sam Clark, who took it 56 yards to the end zone with 2:21 left in the opening quarter.
In all, Reinhard was 10 of 15 for 218 yards and the two scores.
However, in-between completing his first six passes and his last four, he had five-straight incompletions, which Ekovich put on himself.
“As coaches, we made some poor mistakes,” he said. “We didn’t call what we would have liked to have ideally called. That’s just a learning curve. A lot of groups take a little while to get an identity.”
On Wawasee’s first three possessions, the initial being the opening kickoff, it scored a touchdown each time, the last being a 2-yard plunge by senior Braxton O’Haver on the first play of the second quarter.
However, after that score came with 11:52 remaining in the first half, the Wawasee offense struggled, not picking up another first down until its second possession of the second half, which came at 8:38 mark in the third.
In-between the score and the first down, the Wawasee offense generated three total yards on five possessions, although one was a one-play, seven-yard drive that was comprised of a 7-yard TD run by senior running back Brandin McCulloch.
A reason for some of those struggles was Wawasee’s plan to run the ball more, rushing the ball on 10 of 14 plays, an aspect of the game Ekovich wants to get going, instead of relying solely on Reinhard’s arm.
“If you’re going to win games in the (Northern Lakes Conference), you’re going to need to be able to run the ball,” Ekovich said. “That’s going to be a focus.”
Focusing on the run, McCulloch got 17 attempts, going for 121 yards, 65 of which came on a long score with 7:27 remaining in the game.
“McCulloch has taken himself to the top,” Ekovich said. “He did a great job. Rightfully so, he’s a senior and he’s kind of put it on his back.”
On the other side of the ball, rushing the ball was the only option, as Whitko senior quarterback Ethan Nicodemus was 0 of 5 in his first start.
Failing to record a single passing yard, Whitko’s offense was based solely on the ground, running for 261 yards on 47 carries.
Nicodemus accounted for 144 of those yards, coming on 20 carries.
“The option game just happened to be open for him tonight,” Mohr said of Nicodemus, who had two rushing touchdowns. “That’s part of running a triple-option (offense). One kid’s going to have a bunch of yards one night, then the next week, it may be somebody else. There’s some things we need to work on there. It’s a new system for our kids. It’s a new offense. There are some growing pains.”
In his first start, Nicodemus took a lot of hits, although junior Tanner Hughes also rushed it 18 times for 79 yards and a score.
Along with struggling to pass the ball, Whitko also had problems holding onto it, putting it on the ground 10 times, losing four of them.
“They were blitzing a lot,” Mohr said. “At times we picked it up, but at other times we didn’t.”
Wawasee also put the ball on the ground four times, losing three, all of which came in the second half.
The fumbles, and penalties, are all expected in Week 1 of a season, but should be cleaned up in Week 2.
For Whitko, it will be at Whitley County rival Columbia City Friday, but Mohr is more worried about his team than the Eagles, who fell 33-14 at Warsaw Friday.
“They are a very good team, well-coached,” Mohr said of Columbia City. “We have to work on us. I’m worried about us more than anyone else.”
Along with working to improve themselves, the Warriors will also face a tough test at Class 4A No. 10 South Bend St. Joseph, which defeated Class 6A Chesterton 22-17 Friday night.
“They have a great quarterback and they’re great at play action,” Ekovich said, recalling last season’s 35-7 home loss to St. Joe.
Before worrying about the Indians, Ekovich just wanted a little time to relish his first career victory.
“It’s a great feeling, because you always have the legacy of Tom Wogomon on your back shoulders,” he said, referring to the former Wawasee coach who know coaches Northridge.
WAWASEE 42, WHITKO 20
Wh 0 0 7 13 — 20
Wa 14 14 0 14 — 42
Wh Wa
1st downs 10 9
Rushing yds 261 138
Passing yds 0 218
Comp-Att-Int 0-0 10-15-0
Total yds 261 356
Fumbles/lost 10/4 4/3
Penalties/yds 9/89 7/55
Punts/avg 5/31 4/38.3
First Quarter
Wa – Clayton Cook 95 kick return (Nate Prescott kick) 11:47, 7-0
Wa – Gage Reinhard 56 pass to Sam Clark (Prescott kick) 2:21, 14-0
Second Quarter
Wa – Braxton O’Haver 2 run (Prescott kick) 11:52, 21-0
Wa – Brandin McCulloch 7 run (Prescott kick) 2:48, 28-0
Third Quarter
Wh – Ethan Nicodemus 1 run (Brady Herendeen kick) 10:09, 28-7
Fourth Quarter
Wa – Reinhard 34 pass to Cook (Prescott kick) 9:37, 35-7
Wa – McCulloch 65 run (Prescott kick) 6:59, 42-7
Wh – Tanner Hughes 26 run (kick failed) 2:59, 42-13
Wh – Nicodemus 8 run (Herendeen kick) 1:48, 42-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wawasee 36-138, McCulloch 17-121, Nic Wilson 8-15, Sam Rookstool 3-8, Nick LeCount 4-6, Dominick Sanderson 1-1, Reinhard 2-(-15); Whitko 47-261, Nicodemus 20-144, Hughes 18-79, Trace Killian 4-23, Devin Gerding 5-15.
Passing — Wawasee, Reinhard 10-15, 218 yds; Whitko, Nicodemus 0-5.
Receiving — Wawasee, Clark 5-96, Cook 3-90, Jordan Elliott 2-32; Whitko, N/A.[[In-content Ad]]
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