Warsaw Wins Fourth Straight
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MIDDLEBURY - Northridge should have seen the writing on the wall.
Starting quarterback Joe Sickels was on the bench after an injury in practice this week. On homecoming night, the Raiders were left with a P.A. system on the rocks until the second quarter. The senior float was driven by someone with a lead foot who almost dropped all the float riders off the back, and the Northridge radio station had a short in one of its wires causing it to go dead about once every two minutes.
And then there was the rain.
If only Northridge had called it quits and decided that it just wasn't meant to be on Friday night. But the Raiders stepped on the field and were overmatched from the beginning in a 27-0 rout for Warsaw's second shutout of the season.
On the opening play from scrimmage, Warsaw's Andy Plank hooked up with Jon Hill for 40 yards to the Northridge 29-yard line. On 3rd-and-6, Plank threw for another first down 13 yards downfield to Jason Barrett to the 14-yard line. Plank then ran for seven yards and Jose Esquivel ran four more yards for a first down as the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Plank took it in himself on the quarterback keeper for a 6-0 lead after Sam Wihebrink missed the extra point attempt.
"Jon Hill made that big catch to start the football game," coach Phil Jensen said. "I think that kind of caught everyone a bit surprised."
Northridge drove on its first drive to the 39-yard line before Joe Stanley picked off second-string quarterback Jody Weldy. The Tigers took over at the Northridge 47-yard line, but the drive stalled out at the 25, and Northridge took over possession on downs.
The Tigers scored their next touchdown in the second quarter on a 76-yard drive. On 2nd-and-10 from the Warsaw 24, Plank connected with Emerson Poort for 21 yards and then later found Pat Riley open at the Northridge 39-yard line. Warsaw then handed the ball to Derrick Duncan four times for the final 39 yards and a 12-0 lead. Warsaw went for the two-point conversion, but failed.
As the half ended, the Northridge Raiders were in the best position possible trailing by just 12 points. Warsaw outgained Northridge 224-50 in the opening 14 minutes and had 11 first downs compared to just three for Northridge.
In the second half, Warsaw came out and slammed the door. After holding the Raiders to three and out, Warsaw put together a nine-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 38-yard touchdown pass to Scott Shepherd. This time, Wihebrink knocked down the extra point for a 19-0 advantage.
On Warsaw's next drive, the Tigers closed out the scoring. They were helped by two unsportsmanlike penalties before Duncan scored from five yards out. Plank added a two-point conversion run for a 27-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Warsaw put together one final impressive drive with the backups. Greg Seiss took over the reins at quarterback, and Mike Moore took Esquivel's spot at running back as the Tigers put together a nine-minute drive consisting of 15 running plays and five first downs. However, Wihebrink's 35-yard field goal went wide to go scoreless on the drive.
Warsaw ended up with 401 total yards compared to just 117 yards for the Raiders. The Tigers spread out the running duties as Ryan rushed for 83 yards, Duncan rushed for 58 yards and Esquivel added 43 more. Plank threw an unusually high 18 passes, completing 11 for 189 yards.
"We wanted to be able to throw the ball a little bit," Jensen said. "Andy did a nice job. The offensive line pass protected. Andy had some decent time. I don't think he got pressured too many times. That was good."
Despite the easy win, Jensen was not real happy with his team's effort.
"We did not come out ready to play football," Jensen said. "We were a little flat. We have to be ready to play from the get-go, and I'm not sure that we were. Sure, we got the touchdown and the big, long pass, but then we missed the extra point. We just sputtered a lot offensively. You can't do that if you're going to be a successful team. As upset as I am about certain things, I'm pleased that we did the things that we need to do to be successful."
Now, the hype can begin. On Friday night, Warsaw (4-1) will head to Goshen to play the 5-0 Redskins. Coach Jensen understands that the task ahead is daunting.
"We've got a lot of work to do if we're going to be competitive next Friday night," Jensen said. "Goshen is in a league of their own. They're proving it night in and night out. We've got to be more consistent if we're going to be competitive on Friday night. We're going to have to work real hard this week to keep it respectable." [[In-content Ad]]
MIDDLEBURY - Northridge should have seen the writing on the wall.
Starting quarterback Joe Sickels was on the bench after an injury in practice this week. On homecoming night, the Raiders were left with a P.A. system on the rocks until the second quarter. The senior float was driven by someone with a lead foot who almost dropped all the float riders off the back, and the Northridge radio station had a short in one of its wires causing it to go dead about once every two minutes.
And then there was the rain.
If only Northridge had called it quits and decided that it just wasn't meant to be on Friday night. But the Raiders stepped on the field and were overmatched from the beginning in a 27-0 rout for Warsaw's second shutout of the season.
On the opening play from scrimmage, Warsaw's Andy Plank hooked up with Jon Hill for 40 yards to the Northridge 29-yard line. On 3rd-and-6, Plank threw for another first down 13 yards downfield to Jason Barrett to the 14-yard line. Plank then ran for seven yards and Jose Esquivel ran four more yards for a first down as the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Plank took it in himself on the quarterback keeper for a 6-0 lead after Sam Wihebrink missed the extra point attempt.
"Jon Hill made that big catch to start the football game," coach Phil Jensen said. "I think that kind of caught everyone a bit surprised."
Northridge drove on its first drive to the 39-yard line before Joe Stanley picked off second-string quarterback Jody Weldy. The Tigers took over at the Northridge 47-yard line, but the drive stalled out at the 25, and Northridge took over possession on downs.
The Tigers scored their next touchdown in the second quarter on a 76-yard drive. On 2nd-and-10 from the Warsaw 24, Plank connected with Emerson Poort for 21 yards and then later found Pat Riley open at the Northridge 39-yard line. Warsaw then handed the ball to Derrick Duncan four times for the final 39 yards and a 12-0 lead. Warsaw went for the two-point conversion, but failed.
As the half ended, the Northridge Raiders were in the best position possible trailing by just 12 points. Warsaw outgained Northridge 224-50 in the opening 14 minutes and had 11 first downs compared to just three for Northridge.
In the second half, Warsaw came out and slammed the door. After holding the Raiders to three and out, Warsaw put together a nine-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 38-yard touchdown pass to Scott Shepherd. This time, Wihebrink knocked down the extra point for a 19-0 advantage.
On Warsaw's next drive, the Tigers closed out the scoring. They were helped by two unsportsmanlike penalties before Duncan scored from five yards out. Plank added a two-point conversion run for a 27-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Warsaw put together one final impressive drive with the backups. Greg Seiss took over the reins at quarterback, and Mike Moore took Esquivel's spot at running back as the Tigers put together a nine-minute drive consisting of 15 running plays and five first downs. However, Wihebrink's 35-yard field goal went wide to go scoreless on the drive.
Warsaw ended up with 401 total yards compared to just 117 yards for the Raiders. The Tigers spread out the running duties as Ryan rushed for 83 yards, Duncan rushed for 58 yards and Esquivel added 43 more. Plank threw an unusually high 18 passes, completing 11 for 189 yards.
"We wanted to be able to throw the ball a little bit," Jensen said. "Andy did a nice job. The offensive line pass protected. Andy had some decent time. I don't think he got pressured too many times. That was good."
Despite the easy win, Jensen was not real happy with his team's effort.
"We did not come out ready to play football," Jensen said. "We were a little flat. We have to be ready to play from the get-go, and I'm not sure that we were. Sure, we got the touchdown and the big, long pass, but then we missed the extra point. We just sputtered a lot offensively. You can't do that if you're going to be a successful team. As upset as I am about certain things, I'm pleased that we did the things that we need to do to be successful."
Now, the hype can begin. On Friday night, Warsaw (4-1) will head to Goshen to play the 5-0 Redskins. Coach Jensen understands that the task ahead is daunting.
"We've got a lot of work to do if we're going to be competitive next Friday night," Jensen said. "Goshen is in a league of their own. They're proving it night in and night out. We've got to be more consistent if we're going to be competitive on Friday night. We're going to have to work real hard this week to keep it respectable." [[In-content Ad]]