Wawasee Tops West Noble On Gridiron
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich, however, didn’t give much of it.
Sure, there were some good vibes around the team, as the good parts were enough to easily secure the win. But there was enough bitter in the sweetness of victory to temper the celebration.
“Like I told the boys, ‘a victory is a victory no matter what way it tastes,’” Ekovich said. “It’s good to be 2-0 going into the (Northern Lakes Conference), and it’s good to have that confidence and a little bit of excitement about it.”
It was the home team that got the better start. Wawasee got the ball first, but the kickoff return went the wrong direction, and after a three-and-out punter Lucas Garza was working inside the Wawasee 10-yard line. His punt didn’t clear midfield, and nine plays later West Noble took a 6-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
The Warriors quickly refocused their attack, and answered with a six-play, 54-yard drive capped with junior quarterback Tyler Smith’s 6-yard touchdown run. With Garza’s point-after kick, Wawasee had a lead they didn’t give up.
“We came out for that first series, and we wanted the ball, and I told the boys ‘let’s get the ball and run it down.’ I don’t think we were ready to play, to be honest; that comes back to me, our captains and the leaders of our team,” Ekovich said. “After that I think we had three good series, then we got complacent. Credit to West Noble, they had some very good play calling on long plays. I think we did well on some aspects, but there’s definitely things we can work on.”
Wawasee scored on its next two possessions to take a 20-6 lead, but a 54-yard run by Smith was called back due to an inadvertent whistle.
“I talked to the refs before the game, and told them our offense uses a lot of fakes and we didn’t want any inadvertent whistles. When he came over to explain what happened, he said ‘you’re not going to like this, sir.’ It happens, and we overcame it.” said Ekovich.
West Noble hurt its own cause with four turnovers, and Wawasee converted two of them into points. Ekovich felt like his team didn’t come out after halftime with the same fire it ignited in the first half. Noah Wadkins, who rushed for 104 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown, drew some of the criticism.
“We had a talk with Noah; I don’t think he was as productive as he was last week,” Ekovich. “He came out like a ball of fury, but I think the whole team got complacent,” the coach said. “We told him ‘you can’t do that in this offense. You can’t go 75 percent speed because it’s gonna come back and bite you in the butt.’ But he woke up in the second half and gave us some good yards.
“Overall, there is a lot to be happy about, but we do have plenty of things to work on in practice next week.”
Smith finished with 59 yards rushing and completed one pass for 29 yards on the night. Michael Katzer had 58 yards rushing on five attempts with a pair of touchdowns, and Zac McKee had three carries for 15 yards and a score. Garza had a 30-yard field goal and four PATs to round out the Warrior attack.
Wawasee opens NLC play in Middlebury against former Wawasee head coach Tom Wogoman’s Northridge Raiders Friday night.
WAWASEE 37, WEST NOBLE 12
WA 14 6 3 14 — 37
WN 6 6 0 0 — 12
WA WN
1st downs 18 10
Rushing yds 282 61
Passing yds 118 151
Comp-Att-Int 1-4-0 8-19-3
Total yds 389 212
Fumbles/lost 3/1 2/1
Penalties/yds 2/20 7/40
Punts/avg. 2/25.0 3/36.3
First Quarter
WN – Evan Porter 20 pass from Tim Airgood (run failed) 8:46 0-6
WA – Tyler Smith 6 run (Lucas Garza kick) 6:36 7-6
WA – Michael Katzer 8 run (Garza kick) 5:05 14-6
Second Quarter
WA – Zac McKee 11 run (kick failed) 11:52 20-6
WN – Bradley Martin 87 pass from Airgood (pass failed) 11:20 20-12
Third Quarter
WA – Garza 30 FG 3:48 23-12
Fourth Quarter
WA – Noah Wadkins 2 run (Garza kick) 9:55 30-12
WA – Katzer 5 run (Garza kick) 6:48 37-12
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wawasee: Smith 18-59, Watkins 23-104, McKee 3-15, Katzer 5-58, Kevin Weikhart 1-1, Will Geer 3-16. West Noble: Airgood 2-(-5), Fernando Luevano 7-(-8), Martin 13-70, Draven Rasler 6-4
Passing — Wawasee: Smith 1-4-29 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT. West Noble: Airgood 6-15-142 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT. Chase Wroblewski 2-4-9 yards, 0 TD, O INT.
Receiving — Wawasee: McKee 1-29. West Noble: Rasler 3-44, Martin 4-103, Evan Porter 1-4[[In-content Ad]]
Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich, however, didn’t give much of it.
Sure, there were some good vibes around the team, as the good parts were enough to easily secure the win. But there was enough bitter in the sweetness of victory to temper the celebration.
“Like I told the boys, ‘a victory is a victory no matter what way it tastes,’” Ekovich said. “It’s good to be 2-0 going into the (Northern Lakes Conference), and it’s good to have that confidence and a little bit of excitement about it.”
It was the home team that got the better start. Wawasee got the ball first, but the kickoff return went the wrong direction, and after a three-and-out punter Lucas Garza was working inside the Wawasee 10-yard line. His punt didn’t clear midfield, and nine plays later West Noble took a 6-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
The Warriors quickly refocused their attack, and answered with a six-play, 54-yard drive capped with junior quarterback Tyler Smith’s 6-yard touchdown run. With Garza’s point-after kick, Wawasee had a lead they didn’t give up.
“We came out for that first series, and we wanted the ball, and I told the boys ‘let’s get the ball and run it down.’ I don’t think we were ready to play, to be honest; that comes back to me, our captains and the leaders of our team,” Ekovich said. “After that I think we had three good series, then we got complacent. Credit to West Noble, they had some very good play calling on long plays. I think we did well on some aspects, but there’s definitely things we can work on.”
Wawasee scored on its next two possessions to take a 20-6 lead, but a 54-yard run by Smith was called back due to an inadvertent whistle.
“I talked to the refs before the game, and told them our offense uses a lot of fakes and we didn’t want any inadvertent whistles. When he came over to explain what happened, he said ‘you’re not going to like this, sir.’ It happens, and we overcame it.” said Ekovich.
West Noble hurt its own cause with four turnovers, and Wawasee converted two of them into points. Ekovich felt like his team didn’t come out after halftime with the same fire it ignited in the first half. Noah Wadkins, who rushed for 104 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown, drew some of the criticism.
“We had a talk with Noah; I don’t think he was as productive as he was last week,” Ekovich. “He came out like a ball of fury, but I think the whole team got complacent,” the coach said. “We told him ‘you can’t do that in this offense. You can’t go 75 percent speed because it’s gonna come back and bite you in the butt.’ But he woke up in the second half and gave us some good yards.
“Overall, there is a lot to be happy about, but we do have plenty of things to work on in practice next week.”
Smith finished with 59 yards rushing and completed one pass for 29 yards on the night. Michael Katzer had 58 yards rushing on five attempts with a pair of touchdowns, and Zac McKee had three carries for 15 yards and a score. Garza had a 30-yard field goal and four PATs to round out the Warrior attack.
Wawasee opens NLC play in Middlebury against former Wawasee head coach Tom Wogoman’s Northridge Raiders Friday night.
WAWASEE 37, WEST NOBLE 12
WA 14 6 3 14 — 37
WN 6 6 0 0 — 12
WA WN
1st downs 18 10
Rushing yds 282 61
Passing yds 118 151
Comp-Att-Int 1-4-0 8-19-3
Total yds 389 212
Fumbles/lost 3/1 2/1
Penalties/yds 2/20 7/40
Punts/avg. 2/25.0 3/36.3
First Quarter
WN – Evan Porter 20 pass from Tim Airgood (run failed) 8:46 0-6
WA – Tyler Smith 6 run (Lucas Garza kick) 6:36 7-6
WA – Michael Katzer 8 run (Garza kick) 5:05 14-6
Second Quarter
WA – Zac McKee 11 run (kick failed) 11:52 20-6
WN – Bradley Martin 87 pass from Airgood (pass failed) 11:20 20-12
Third Quarter
WA – Garza 30 FG 3:48 23-12
Fourth Quarter
WA – Noah Wadkins 2 run (Garza kick) 9:55 30-12
WA – Katzer 5 run (Garza kick) 6:48 37-12
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Wawasee: Smith 18-59, Watkins 23-104, McKee 3-15, Katzer 5-58, Kevin Weikhart 1-1, Will Geer 3-16. West Noble: Airgood 2-(-5), Fernando Luevano 7-(-8), Martin 13-70, Draven Rasler 6-4
Passing — Wawasee: Smith 1-4-29 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT. West Noble: Airgood 6-15-142 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT. Chase Wroblewski 2-4-9 yards, 0 TD, O INT.
Receiving — Wawasee: McKee 1-29. West Noble: Rasler 3-44, Martin 4-103, Evan Porter 1-4[[In-content Ad]]
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