Wawasee Stops Northridge
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - The shoe was on the other foot Friday at Warrior Field. And Wawasee coach Gene Mitz liked the fit just fine.
The Warriors opened their Northern Lakes Conference schedule with a shocker - a 21-7 win against the Northridge Raiders. For a Wawasee team that has been struggling to lift itself out of the cellar, it was a bright spot in a season only two games old.
"When you've been in the bottom looking up, (this) is a pretty good feeling," Mitz said. "It may only last a week, but this feels good."
The Warriors were extremely advantageous, benefiting from six Northridge turnovers. After cutting the Wawasee lead to 21-7 early in the fourth quarter, the Raiders gave the ball away twice on fumbles in the final period.
That's to take nothing away from the Wawasee defense. For the second consecutive game, the Warriors controlled the line of scrimmage. Friday against Northridge, the Raiders were held to only 90 yards rushing on 22 carries. Northridge didn't get a first down until late in the second quarter.
"We knew they were a good football team," Mitz said. "We had a lot of respect for their offense. We felt we matched up very well."
As in the first half of last week's game at Carroll, Wawasee showed little respect for their opponent's defense - at least in the first half.
Wawasee took the opening kickoff and marched to the 28 on the legs of running back Shawn Johnson and quarterback Ryan Mikel. Then faced with a fourth and eight from the Northridge 22, Mikel ran around the right end for a touchdown, cutting to the inside to take a big hit instead of running safely out of bounds.
Matt Stump kicked the first of his three extra points and it was 7-0 with 6:12 left in the first quarter.
Northridge then went three and out, and Wawasee took over on its 37. After Mikel rushed the ball to midfield, Johnson ran around the left end for 22 yards to take the ball to the 28.
The drive seemed to have halted when Wawasee was faced with a fourth and 13 from the Raider 31.
That's when sweaty palms played a bit part in the win. Mikel, who also lines up at corner for the Warriors defense, had difficulty gripping the ball because of sweaty hands.
So on fourth down in came junior backup QB Jeff Beer. Beer calmly threw a strike to Brad Brown who ran to the one-yard line.
"That's the way Jeff is," Mitz said. "He's really loose."
That's when Scott Ousley, another junior, took the game in his own hands. On second down, Ousley ran the ball in from the one and the Warriors led 14-0 with 11:25 to go in the first half.
After the two teams traded possessions, Ousley, then playing linebacker, stepped back into coverage and intercepted Northridge's Geoff Sickels. Ousley raced to the Raider 25.
Nine plays later, Johnson ran the ball in from the two and Wawasee led 21-0 with 3:20 left in the half.
The Raiders weren't about to go gently into that good night, however. They took the next possession and drove to the Wawasee 20. Then on second and 10, Ousley broke into the Northridge backfield and tackled Joey Butera for an eight-yard loss.
The tackle broke the Raiders' momentum and the game stayed 21-0 at the half.
In the first half, Wawasee out-rushed Northridge 138-39.
In the second half Northridge got a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, but couldn't overcome its own mistakes and the Warrior defense. The Raiders were able to slow down the Wawasee running attack in the second half, limiting the hosts to 20 total yards on 17 carries.
After the game, a disappointed Northridge coach Dennis Sienicki wasn't about to give away any secrets on how he slowed down the Warrior rushing attack.
"I'm not going to tell you what we did (differently)," Sienicki said. "We made a few adjustments upfield."
Mikel led the Warriors with 79 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Johnson rushed 35 times for 77 yards, but his stats ended up being deceiving. His last four carries, when Wawasee was simply running down the clock totalled minus-17 yards. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - The shoe was on the other foot Friday at Warrior Field. And Wawasee coach Gene Mitz liked the fit just fine.
The Warriors opened their Northern Lakes Conference schedule with a shocker - a 21-7 win against the Northridge Raiders. For a Wawasee team that has been struggling to lift itself out of the cellar, it was a bright spot in a season only two games old.
"When you've been in the bottom looking up, (this) is a pretty good feeling," Mitz said. "It may only last a week, but this feels good."
The Warriors were extremely advantageous, benefiting from six Northridge turnovers. After cutting the Wawasee lead to 21-7 early in the fourth quarter, the Raiders gave the ball away twice on fumbles in the final period.
That's to take nothing away from the Wawasee defense. For the second consecutive game, the Warriors controlled the line of scrimmage. Friday against Northridge, the Raiders were held to only 90 yards rushing on 22 carries. Northridge didn't get a first down until late in the second quarter.
"We knew they were a good football team," Mitz said. "We had a lot of respect for their offense. We felt we matched up very well."
As in the first half of last week's game at Carroll, Wawasee showed little respect for their opponent's defense - at least in the first half.
Wawasee took the opening kickoff and marched to the 28 on the legs of running back Shawn Johnson and quarterback Ryan Mikel. Then faced with a fourth and eight from the Northridge 22, Mikel ran around the right end for a touchdown, cutting to the inside to take a big hit instead of running safely out of bounds.
Matt Stump kicked the first of his three extra points and it was 7-0 with 6:12 left in the first quarter.
Northridge then went three and out, and Wawasee took over on its 37. After Mikel rushed the ball to midfield, Johnson ran around the left end for 22 yards to take the ball to the 28.
The drive seemed to have halted when Wawasee was faced with a fourth and 13 from the Raider 31.
That's when sweaty palms played a bit part in the win. Mikel, who also lines up at corner for the Warriors defense, had difficulty gripping the ball because of sweaty hands.
So on fourth down in came junior backup QB Jeff Beer. Beer calmly threw a strike to Brad Brown who ran to the one-yard line.
"That's the way Jeff is," Mitz said. "He's really loose."
That's when Scott Ousley, another junior, took the game in his own hands. On second down, Ousley ran the ball in from the one and the Warriors led 14-0 with 11:25 to go in the first half.
After the two teams traded possessions, Ousley, then playing linebacker, stepped back into coverage and intercepted Northridge's Geoff Sickels. Ousley raced to the Raider 25.
Nine plays later, Johnson ran the ball in from the two and Wawasee led 21-0 with 3:20 left in the half.
The Raiders weren't about to go gently into that good night, however. They took the next possession and drove to the Wawasee 20. Then on second and 10, Ousley broke into the Northridge backfield and tackled Joey Butera for an eight-yard loss.
The tackle broke the Raiders' momentum and the game stayed 21-0 at the half.
In the first half, Wawasee out-rushed Northridge 138-39.
In the second half Northridge got a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, but couldn't overcome its own mistakes and the Warrior defense. The Raiders were able to slow down the Wawasee running attack in the second half, limiting the hosts to 20 total yards on 17 carries.
After the game, a disappointed Northridge coach Dennis Sienicki wasn't about to give away any secrets on how he slowed down the Warrior rushing attack.
"I'm not going to tell you what we did (differently)," Sienicki said. "We made a few adjustments upfield."
Mikel led the Warriors with 79 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Johnson rushed 35 times for 77 yards, but his stats ended up being deceiving. His last four carries, when Wawasee was simply running down the clock totalled minus-17 yards. [[In-content Ad]]