Whitko Seeks First Win Over NorthWood
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - As Whitko and NorthWood meet for the sectional final game Friday, it won't be the first time they have met.
In the early 1980s before the class football system, Whitko and NorthWood met twice. About six years ago, they met in a sectional matchup.
Although the teams were different then, one thing stayed constant: NorthWood had Whitko's number.
In each of the previous meetings, NorthWood has come out on top.
This week, Whitko will try to avenge those losses by knocking NorthWood out of sectional play. NorthWood will try to continue their winning streak against the Wildcats.
Since neither team wants to finish their season Friday, each of these coaches has done his homework on the opponents.
"We hope to play well this week," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger. "They have a good explosive offense.
"(Charlie) Roeder can throw the ball and run with the ball as well. (Aaron) Huber, the tailback/halfback, also runs the ball well.
"They have many weapons and they can score points quickly."
NorthWood is led by quarterback Roeder, who has completed 95 of 190 passes for 1,915 yards with 11 interceptions and nine touchdowns. Roeder has rushed 119 times for 803 yards.
Huber, NorthWood's leading rusher and receiver, has gained 1,282 yards on 168 carried and has caught 31 passes for 516 yards. Huber has scored 22 total touchdowns.
Chad Knisley and Brad Greenlee have also stepped up for the Panthers. Knisley has rushed 79 times for 348 yards and 3 touchdowns while catching 6 passes for 51 yards.
Greenlee has 246 yards on 15 receptions with one touchdown.
"Whitko is a very good running ball club," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson. "They have two 1,000 yard rushers. Their two 1,000-yard rushers. Their offensive line is good at making holes for those guys to run through."
Those 1,000-yard rushers are Seth Slater and Josh Gonzalez. Slater had gained 1,080 yards on 179 rushes and scored 15 touchdowns. He also has 10 receptions for 33 yards and two more touchdowns.
Gonzalez has rushed 128 times to gain 1,103 yards and score 11 touchdowns while catching nine passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
Ben Mohr leads the Wildcats' passing attack, completing 38 of 75 passes for 368 yards, five interceptions and six touchdowns.
After Slater and Gonzalez, John Wendel is the leading Wildcat receiver with six receptions for 61 yards.
While both teams have outstanding players, both Sprunger and Dodson agree that the key to the game will be control.
"We cannot allow Whitko to control the football," said Dodson. "It's hard to score on a team when you don't have control of the ball.
"We also want to control the clock. If we can control both the ball and the clock, then we will have a successful game."
"We must be able to move the ball offensively," said Sprunger. "You can't give up control of the ball against a good team.
"We can't allow them to run the ball for big plays and move the ball down the field if we want to be successful this week."
Whitko and NorthWood want to take home the sectional championship, and they have set goals to earn that honor.
"Our goal is to execute and play well to earn the victory," said Dodson.
"Like I said before, we hope to play well," said Sprunger. "We're excited to play in the sectional championship, and we are ready to play for it."
1998 FOOTBALL SECTIONAL
Whitko at NorthWood
7:30 p.m. Friday in Nappanee
Whitko Team Stats
Points per game - Whitko 28.3, Opponents 32.3
Whitko Leaders
Rushing (carries-yards, average) - Josh Gonzalez 128-1103, 8.6; Seth Slater 179-1080, 6.0; Ben Mohr 87-353, 4.1
Passing - Mohr 38-75-5, 368 yards, 6 TD
Receiving (catches-yards, average) - Slater 10-33, 3.3; Gonzalez, 9-123, 13.7; John Wendel 6-61, 10.2; Joe Potts 4-30, 7.5
Touchdowns - Slater 15; Gonzalez 11
Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Jeff Martin 26-849, 32.7
Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) - Gonzalez 8-138, 17.2
Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Gonzalez 26-545, 20.8; Slater 10-156, 15.6
Whitko Scores
Regular Season Record 5-4
Overall Record 6-4
Wawasee 50, Whitko 26
Whitko 20, Columbia City 17
Southwood 53, Whitko 20
Manchester 35, Whitko 14
Whitko 46, Oak Hill 30
Whitko 35, Northfield 21
Whitko 36, North Miami 32
Rochester 35, Whitko 13
Whitko 29, Tippecanoe Valley 28
SECTIONAL
Round 1: BYE
Round 2: Whitko 44, West Noble 22
NorthWood Team Stats
Points per game - NorthWood 30.1, Opponents 15.4
NorthWood Leaders
Rushing (carries-yards, average) - Aaron Huber 168-1282, 7.6; Charlie Roeder 119-803, 6.7; Chad Knisley 79-348, 4.4
Passing - Roeder 95-190-11, 1615 yards, 9 TD
Receiving (catches-yards, average) - Huber 31-516, 16.6; Brad Greenlee 15-246, 16.4; Baumgartner 11-189, 17.2
Touchdowns - Huber 24; Roeder 14
Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Nick Juday 20-828, 41.4; Huber 7-264, 37.7
Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) - Huber 9-184, 20.4; Justin Lantzer 5-38, 7.6; Greenlee 4-29, 7.3
Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Huber 13-214, 16.5; Cory Brown 5-144, 28.8; Andy Sheets 4-42, 10.5
NorthWood Scores
Regular Season Record 6-3
Overall Record 8-3
Jimtown 21, NorthWood 20
NorthWood 39, Bremen 6
NorthWood 32, Concord 15
Goshen 30, NorthWood 7
NorthWood 34, Wawasee 14
NorthWood 42, Northridge 10
NorthWood 28, Dowagiac, MI 0
NorthWood 34, Warsaw 28
Plymouth 17, NorthWood 13
SECTIONAL
Round 1: NorthWood 42, Angola 21
Round 2: NorthWood 40, Northridge 7 [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE - As Whitko and NorthWood meet for the sectional final game Friday, it won't be the first time they have met.
In the early 1980s before the class football system, Whitko and NorthWood met twice. About six years ago, they met in a sectional matchup.
Although the teams were different then, one thing stayed constant: NorthWood had Whitko's number.
In each of the previous meetings, NorthWood has come out on top.
This week, Whitko will try to avenge those losses by knocking NorthWood out of sectional play. NorthWood will try to continue their winning streak against the Wildcats.
Since neither team wants to finish their season Friday, each of these coaches has done his homework on the opponents.
"We hope to play well this week," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger. "They have a good explosive offense.
"(Charlie) Roeder can throw the ball and run with the ball as well. (Aaron) Huber, the tailback/halfback, also runs the ball well.
"They have many weapons and they can score points quickly."
NorthWood is led by quarterback Roeder, who has completed 95 of 190 passes for 1,915 yards with 11 interceptions and nine touchdowns. Roeder has rushed 119 times for 803 yards.
Huber, NorthWood's leading rusher and receiver, has gained 1,282 yards on 168 carried and has caught 31 passes for 516 yards. Huber has scored 22 total touchdowns.
Chad Knisley and Brad Greenlee have also stepped up for the Panthers. Knisley has rushed 79 times for 348 yards and 3 touchdowns while catching 6 passes for 51 yards.
Greenlee has 246 yards on 15 receptions with one touchdown.
"Whitko is a very good running ball club," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson. "They have two 1,000 yard rushers. Their two 1,000-yard rushers. Their offensive line is good at making holes for those guys to run through."
Those 1,000-yard rushers are Seth Slater and Josh Gonzalez. Slater had gained 1,080 yards on 179 rushes and scored 15 touchdowns. He also has 10 receptions for 33 yards and two more touchdowns.
Gonzalez has rushed 128 times to gain 1,103 yards and score 11 touchdowns while catching nine passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
Ben Mohr leads the Wildcats' passing attack, completing 38 of 75 passes for 368 yards, five interceptions and six touchdowns.
After Slater and Gonzalez, John Wendel is the leading Wildcat receiver with six receptions for 61 yards.
While both teams have outstanding players, both Sprunger and Dodson agree that the key to the game will be control.
"We cannot allow Whitko to control the football," said Dodson. "It's hard to score on a team when you don't have control of the ball.
"We also want to control the clock. If we can control both the ball and the clock, then we will have a successful game."
"We must be able to move the ball offensively," said Sprunger. "You can't give up control of the ball against a good team.
"We can't allow them to run the ball for big plays and move the ball down the field if we want to be successful this week."
Whitko and NorthWood want to take home the sectional championship, and they have set goals to earn that honor.
"Our goal is to execute and play well to earn the victory," said Dodson.
"Like I said before, we hope to play well," said Sprunger. "We're excited to play in the sectional championship, and we are ready to play for it."
1998 FOOTBALL SECTIONAL
Whitko at NorthWood
7:30 p.m. Friday in Nappanee
Whitko Team Stats
Points per game - Whitko 28.3, Opponents 32.3
Whitko Leaders
Rushing (carries-yards, average) - Josh Gonzalez 128-1103, 8.6; Seth Slater 179-1080, 6.0; Ben Mohr 87-353, 4.1
Passing - Mohr 38-75-5, 368 yards, 6 TD
Receiving (catches-yards, average) - Slater 10-33, 3.3; Gonzalez, 9-123, 13.7; John Wendel 6-61, 10.2; Joe Potts 4-30, 7.5
Touchdowns - Slater 15; Gonzalez 11
Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Jeff Martin 26-849, 32.7
Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) - Gonzalez 8-138, 17.2
Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Gonzalez 26-545, 20.8; Slater 10-156, 15.6
Whitko Scores
Regular Season Record 5-4
Overall Record 6-4
Wawasee 50, Whitko 26
Whitko 20, Columbia City 17
Southwood 53, Whitko 20
Manchester 35, Whitko 14
Whitko 46, Oak Hill 30
Whitko 35, Northfield 21
Whitko 36, North Miami 32
Rochester 35, Whitko 13
Whitko 29, Tippecanoe Valley 28
SECTIONAL
Round 1: BYE
Round 2: Whitko 44, West Noble 22
NorthWood Team Stats
Points per game - NorthWood 30.1, Opponents 15.4
NorthWood Leaders
Rushing (carries-yards, average) - Aaron Huber 168-1282, 7.6; Charlie Roeder 119-803, 6.7; Chad Knisley 79-348, 4.4
Passing - Roeder 95-190-11, 1615 yards, 9 TD
Receiving (catches-yards, average) - Huber 31-516, 16.6; Brad Greenlee 15-246, 16.4; Baumgartner 11-189, 17.2
Touchdowns - Huber 24; Roeder 14
Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Nick Juday 20-828, 41.4; Huber 7-264, 37.7
Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) - Huber 9-184, 20.4; Justin Lantzer 5-38, 7.6; Greenlee 4-29, 7.3
Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Huber 13-214, 16.5; Cory Brown 5-144, 28.8; Andy Sheets 4-42, 10.5
NorthWood Scores
Regular Season Record 6-3
Overall Record 8-3
Jimtown 21, NorthWood 20
NorthWood 39, Bremen 6
NorthWood 32, Concord 15
Goshen 30, NorthWood 7
NorthWood 34, Wawasee 14
NorthWood 42, Northridge 10
NorthWood 28, Dowagiac, MI 0
NorthWood 34, Warsaw 28
Plymouth 17, NorthWood 13
SECTIONAL
Round 1: NorthWood 42, Angola 21
Round 2: NorthWood 40, Northridge 7 [[In-content Ad]]