Wawasee Scores NLC Win At NorthWood
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Wawasee junior quarterback Gage Reinhard completed 15 of 22 pass attempts for 209 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball around.
Senior Jordan Elliott caught eight of Reinhard’s passes, the biggest being a 44-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the second half, while senior Austin Lutz caught four for 58 yards and two first-half touchdowns.
Sophomore Sam Clark also caught two passes for 47 yards, but the team’s top receiver on the year, junior Clayton Cook, had just one catch for three yards.
Despite the low statistical numbers, Wawasee coach Josh Ekovich was happy with Cook’s performance.
“You can give a running back 30 carries a game, but you can’t throw to a receiver 30 times a game,” Ekovich said. “That’s what’s nice about Cook. Last week, he had over 100 yards receiving, and tonight he has four. If he has to be a decoy, he’s just fine with that. If he has to be the guy that needs to get the yards, he’s fine with that too. We tried to get him the ball, they just did a good job of covering him.”
Reinhard’s strong start began on Wawasee’s first drive, as he benefitted from a 41-yard run by senior Brandin McCulloch, before hitting Lutz on an 8-yard score with 6:05 left in the first.
Wawasee’s passing attack has been its strength, but getting 49 rushing yards from McCulloch on its first drive seemed to open it up even more.
“Brandin did a great job tonight,” Ekovich said of McCulloch, who finished with 93 rushing yards on 17 carries. “I told him, ‘You have to be the guy to step up.’ This (running back) by committee is great, because we can throw another guy in there to give him a rest, but someone has to step up and run the ball hard. I think he did a good job tonight. Our offensive line did a good job too, creating opportunities to run.”
After a strong start, the NorthWood Panthers (3-2, 1-2 NLC) seemed to turn the tide a bit, as sophomore Connor Miller hit a 25-yard field goal, then senior Luke Edwards gave the home team the lead with an 18-yard touchdown run with 2:08 remaining in the first half.
The Wawasee defense did block the extra point, making NorthWood settle for a 9-7 lead late in the half.
Though time was running out in the half, the excitement was not.
On its ensuing possession, Wawasee was forced into a three-and-out, and things got worse when Cook’s punt didn’t reach the line of scrimmage, allowing the Panthers to take over at the Wawasee 32-yard line with 1:12 remaining.
After six plays, NorthWood surrendered the ball when a high snap was recovered by Wawasee junior Dominik Sanderson at the Wawasee 32 with 25 seconds remaining.
Instead of settling for the two-point lead at the half, Wawasee let Reinhard throw, and it worked out.
First, Reinhard hit Clark on a slant that he took 37 yards to the NorthWood 31. A play later, he connected with Lutz for their second touchdown, giving the Warriors a 14-9 lead with nine seconds still remaining.
“Coach (Chris) Cotton, up in the booth, called it,” Ekovich said of the touchdown pass. “I thought Gage was going to run it, but it was one of those things where Gage has that moxie and is able to step up and make a good throw. They were really keying on Cook, so I figured if we flipped him to the other side, he’d be double covered and Lutz would be open in the end zone.”
Giving up 68 yards in 16 seconds, NorthWood coach Scott Hoover felt that late drive was a kick in the gut.
“We were lined up wrong and they killed us,” he said. “They threw the ball right where we were supposed to be. That was a killer.”
It only got worse for Hoover and the Panthers after Reinhard hit Elliott for a 44-yard score early in the second half, increasing the lead to 21-9.
NorthWood answered that score with a 15-play, 87-yard drive, ending with an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior Will Kirkwood to junior Travis Bear.
Following that exhausting NorthWood drive, Wawasee answered with one of its own, taking the ball from its own 45 to the NorthWood 12 before failing on 4th-and-1, giving the ball to the Panthers with 9:32 left to play.
Despite surrendering the ball on the drive, Wawasee did convert a 4th-and-5, showing Ekovich wasn’t playing it safe.
Continuing to grind the ball, the NorthWood offense embarked on a 16-play drive that ate 6:16 off the clock, but ended on an incomplete pass into the end zone from the 14-yard line with 3:16 remaining.
“I thought we were in a good place there in the fourth quarter,” Hoover said. “A couple of bad reads and we didn’t get the push we needed on a couple of runs.”
NorthWood had another opportunity, forcing Wawasee into a three-and-out.
Returning the Warriors’ punt to the Wawasee 37, Kirkwood then had his first pass intercepted by McCulloch, who returned it all the way to the NorthWood 19, all but ending the game.
“Their playmakers made plays and our’s didn’t,” Hoover said. “They made an interception at the end and we dropped two interceptions that hit us right in the hands. They caught some touchdown passes, we dropped a touchdown pass in the first half that hit us right in the hands. Their guys made plays and when we had the opportunities, we weren’t even close.”
The two late defensive stands were something the Ekovich has been waiting for, as Wawasee entered the game on a three-game losing streak.
“What I’m most proud of is when adversity hit, they stood up and said, ‘This isn’t going to happen,’” he said. “Two weeks ago, that didn’t happen. That’s the growth we’ve seen in this team.”
The growth will need to continue this week, as the Warriors host Plymouth Friday, but according to Ekovich, every NLC game is a welcomed one.
“Nothing’s better than an NLC win,” he said. “Even with the talk about us thinking about changing conferences (to the Northern State Conference) – an NLC win feels just like a sectional win. Every single week is going to be good competition. No matter what.”
WAWASEE 21, NORTHWOOD 16
Waw 7 7 7 0 — 21
NW 0 9 7 0 — 16
Waw NW
1st downs 8 19
Rushing yds 90 175
Passing yds 208 153
Comp-Att-Int 15-22-0 10-22-1
Total yds 298 328
Fumbles/lost 1/1 3/1
Penalties/yds 6/55 5/35
Punts/avg 2/17.5 2/33
First Quarter
Waw – Gage Reinhard 8 pass to Austin Lutz (Nate Prescott kick) 6:05, 7-0
Second Quarter
NW – Connor Miller 25 FG 6:19, 7-3
NW – Luke Edwards 18 run (kick blocked) 2:08, 9-7
Waw – Reinhard 31 pass to Lutz (Prescott kick) 0:09, 14-9
Third Quarter
Waw – Reinhard 44 pass to Jordan Elliott (Prescott kick) 9:32, 21-9
NW – Will Kirkwood 18 pass to Travis Bear (Miller kick) 1:24, 21-16
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wawasee, Brandin McCulloch 17-93, Nic Wilson 5-9, Dominik Sanderson 1-4, Reinhard 4-(-16); NW, Edwards 20-123, Tanner Cleveland 17-53, Kirkwood 7-18, Trent Sauceda 1-(-5), Team 1-(-14).
Passing — Wawasee, Reinhard 15-22, 209 yds, 3 TDs; NW, Kirkwood 10-22, 153 yds, INT.
Receiving — Wawasee, Elliott 8-100, Lutz 4-58, Sam Clark 2-47, Clayton Cook 1-4; NW, Bear 3-59, Bailey Gessinger 2-55, Cleveland 4-29, Edwards 1-10.[[In-content Ad]]
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Wawasee junior quarterback Gage Reinhard completed 15 of 22 pass attempts for 209 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball around.
Senior Jordan Elliott caught eight of Reinhard’s passes, the biggest being a 44-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the second half, while senior Austin Lutz caught four for 58 yards and two first-half touchdowns.
Sophomore Sam Clark also caught two passes for 47 yards, but the team’s top receiver on the year, junior Clayton Cook, had just one catch for three yards.
Despite the low statistical numbers, Wawasee coach Josh Ekovich was happy with Cook’s performance.
“You can give a running back 30 carries a game, but you can’t throw to a receiver 30 times a game,” Ekovich said. “That’s what’s nice about Cook. Last week, he had over 100 yards receiving, and tonight he has four. If he has to be a decoy, he’s just fine with that. If he has to be the guy that needs to get the yards, he’s fine with that too. We tried to get him the ball, they just did a good job of covering him.”
Reinhard’s strong start began on Wawasee’s first drive, as he benefitted from a 41-yard run by senior Brandin McCulloch, before hitting Lutz on an 8-yard score with 6:05 left in the first.
Wawasee’s passing attack has been its strength, but getting 49 rushing yards from McCulloch on its first drive seemed to open it up even more.
“Brandin did a great job tonight,” Ekovich said of McCulloch, who finished with 93 rushing yards on 17 carries. “I told him, ‘You have to be the guy to step up.’ This (running back) by committee is great, because we can throw another guy in there to give him a rest, but someone has to step up and run the ball hard. I think he did a good job tonight. Our offensive line did a good job too, creating opportunities to run.”
After a strong start, the NorthWood Panthers (3-2, 1-2 NLC) seemed to turn the tide a bit, as sophomore Connor Miller hit a 25-yard field goal, then senior Luke Edwards gave the home team the lead with an 18-yard touchdown run with 2:08 remaining in the first half.
The Wawasee defense did block the extra point, making NorthWood settle for a 9-7 lead late in the half.
Though time was running out in the half, the excitement was not.
On its ensuing possession, Wawasee was forced into a three-and-out, and things got worse when Cook’s punt didn’t reach the line of scrimmage, allowing the Panthers to take over at the Wawasee 32-yard line with 1:12 remaining.
After six plays, NorthWood surrendered the ball when a high snap was recovered by Wawasee junior Dominik Sanderson at the Wawasee 32 with 25 seconds remaining.
Instead of settling for the two-point lead at the half, Wawasee let Reinhard throw, and it worked out.
First, Reinhard hit Clark on a slant that he took 37 yards to the NorthWood 31. A play later, he connected with Lutz for their second touchdown, giving the Warriors a 14-9 lead with nine seconds still remaining.
“Coach (Chris) Cotton, up in the booth, called it,” Ekovich said of the touchdown pass. “I thought Gage was going to run it, but it was one of those things where Gage has that moxie and is able to step up and make a good throw. They were really keying on Cook, so I figured if we flipped him to the other side, he’d be double covered and Lutz would be open in the end zone.”
Giving up 68 yards in 16 seconds, NorthWood coach Scott Hoover felt that late drive was a kick in the gut.
“We were lined up wrong and they killed us,” he said. “They threw the ball right where we were supposed to be. That was a killer.”
It only got worse for Hoover and the Panthers after Reinhard hit Elliott for a 44-yard score early in the second half, increasing the lead to 21-9.
NorthWood answered that score with a 15-play, 87-yard drive, ending with an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior Will Kirkwood to junior Travis Bear.
Following that exhausting NorthWood drive, Wawasee answered with one of its own, taking the ball from its own 45 to the NorthWood 12 before failing on 4th-and-1, giving the ball to the Panthers with 9:32 left to play.
Despite surrendering the ball on the drive, Wawasee did convert a 4th-and-5, showing Ekovich wasn’t playing it safe.
Continuing to grind the ball, the NorthWood offense embarked on a 16-play drive that ate 6:16 off the clock, but ended on an incomplete pass into the end zone from the 14-yard line with 3:16 remaining.
“I thought we were in a good place there in the fourth quarter,” Hoover said. “A couple of bad reads and we didn’t get the push we needed on a couple of runs.”
NorthWood had another opportunity, forcing Wawasee into a three-and-out.
Returning the Warriors’ punt to the Wawasee 37, Kirkwood then had his first pass intercepted by McCulloch, who returned it all the way to the NorthWood 19, all but ending the game.
“Their playmakers made plays and our’s didn’t,” Hoover said. “They made an interception at the end and we dropped two interceptions that hit us right in the hands. They caught some touchdown passes, we dropped a touchdown pass in the first half that hit us right in the hands. Their guys made plays and when we had the opportunities, we weren’t even close.”
The two late defensive stands were something the Ekovich has been waiting for, as Wawasee entered the game on a three-game losing streak.
“What I’m most proud of is when adversity hit, they stood up and said, ‘This isn’t going to happen,’” he said. “Two weeks ago, that didn’t happen. That’s the growth we’ve seen in this team.”
The growth will need to continue this week, as the Warriors host Plymouth Friday, but according to Ekovich, every NLC game is a welcomed one.
“Nothing’s better than an NLC win,” he said. “Even with the talk about us thinking about changing conferences (to the Northern State Conference) – an NLC win feels just like a sectional win. Every single week is going to be good competition. No matter what.”
WAWASEE 21, NORTHWOOD 16
Waw 7 7 7 0 — 21
NW 0 9 7 0 — 16
Waw NW
1st downs 8 19
Rushing yds 90 175
Passing yds 208 153
Comp-Att-Int 15-22-0 10-22-1
Total yds 298 328
Fumbles/lost 1/1 3/1
Penalties/yds 6/55 5/35
Punts/avg 2/17.5 2/33
First Quarter
Waw – Gage Reinhard 8 pass to Austin Lutz (Nate Prescott kick) 6:05, 7-0
Second Quarter
NW – Connor Miller 25 FG 6:19, 7-3
NW – Luke Edwards 18 run (kick blocked) 2:08, 9-7
Waw – Reinhard 31 pass to Lutz (Prescott kick) 0:09, 14-9
Third Quarter
Waw – Reinhard 44 pass to Jordan Elliott (Prescott kick) 9:32, 21-9
NW – Will Kirkwood 18 pass to Travis Bear (Miller kick) 1:24, 21-16
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wawasee, Brandin McCulloch 17-93, Nic Wilson 5-9, Dominik Sanderson 1-4, Reinhard 4-(-16); NW, Edwards 20-123, Tanner Cleveland 17-53, Kirkwood 7-18, Trent Sauceda 1-(-5), Team 1-(-14).
Passing — Wawasee, Reinhard 15-22, 209 yds, 3 TDs; NW, Kirkwood 10-22, 153 yds, INT.
Receiving — Wawasee, Elliott 8-100, Lutz 4-58, Sam Clark 2-47, Clayton Cook 1-4; NW, Bear 3-59, Bailey Gessinger 2-55, Cleveland 4-29, Edwards 1-10.[[In-content Ad]]
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