On The Gridiron Capsules
September 15, 2016 at 4:26 p.m.
By Staff Report-
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Middlebury
Coaches: Phil Jensen (Warsaw), Tom Wogomon (Northridge)
Records: Warsaw 2-2 (1-1 NLC), Northridge 1-3 (1-1 NLC)
Last Game: Warsaw 49, Elk. Memorial 6; Northridge 22, Plymouth 14
Last Year: Warsaw 14, Northridge 7
Matchup: With wins last week, the Warsaw Tigers and Northridge Raiders kept themselves alive in the battle for a Northern Lakes Conference championship. NorthWood leads the league with a 2-0 record, while Concord, Goshen, Plymouth, Northridge, Warsaw and Wawasee all have one NLC loss. Memorial, which fell 49-6 at Warsaw last week, is 0-3 in conference play. After a disappointing loss at Plymouth in Week 3, the Tigers were impressive against Memorial. Warsaw led 35-6 at halftime and held the Crimson Chargers to just 92 yards of total offense during the game. Through four games, Warsaw's Will McGarvey has rushed for 532 yards and three touchdowns on 73 carries. McGarvey is averaging seven yards per carry and 133 yards per game. Quarterback Michael Jensen has rushed for four TDs, while Mason Faas has three. Jensen has completed completed 48 of 90 pass attempts for 578 yards with sixth TDs and two interceptions. All of Jensen's touchdown passes have gone to the Street twins - 5 to D'Andre and 1 to Devin. Faas and Lane McClone lead the Tiger defense with 17 solo tackles each, while AJ Villarreal tops the team with two sacks. Northridge started the season with losses to South Bend Adams, Michigan City and Wawasee before beating Plymouth 22-14 last week. Camm Nickell kicked three field goals in the win for the Raiders, while Conner Graber rushed for 101 yards and quarterback Nick Hooley threw a 41-yard TD pass to Mason Troyer.
Jensen: "They beat Plymouth, which is something we didn't get done, and they did it the week after we played them. You can't just look at their record … they've played two good non-conference teams, and went two overtimes with Wawasee. The Hooley kid is a good quarterback. He's not as mobile as he used to be (because of a foot injury last year), but he's got the smarts. We did what we needed to do last week. After a disappointing loss to Plymouth the week before, I was really impressed with the way we responded last week. We played four quarters and we executed. Our approach was so much better. We need to do that all the time, not just when we're playing at home against a team that we should beat."
2A NO. 10 WHITKO AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Akron
Coaches: Jeff Sprunger (Whitko), Jeff Shriver & Aaron Norris (T. Valley)
Records: Whitko 4-0 (2-0 TRC), Tippecanoe Valley 0-4 (0-2 TRC)
Last Game: Northfield 40, T. Valley 0; Whitko 57, Rochester 14
Last Year: Whitko 12, Tippecanoe Valley 0
Matchup: Three Rivers Conference rivals Whitko and Tippecanoe Valley are on opposite ends of the spectrum heading into Friday's meeting in Akron. The Whitko Wildats are ranked 10th in Class 2A while sporting a 4-0 record overall and a 2-0 mark in the TRC. The Valley Vikings, on the other hand, are 0-4 overall, 0-2 in league play and have been outscored 207-27 through four games. In last week's 57-14 drubbing of Rochester, the Wildcats led 37-0 in the first quarter. Senior tailback Garrett Elder carried the ball just six times in the win, but tallied 198 yards and four touchdowns. Hunter Reed added 106 yards and two TDs on six carries. Through four games, Elder has rushed for 604 yards and 11 TDS on 42 carries, an average of 14 yards per carry, while Reed has tallied 378 yards and six TDs on 60 carries, an average of 6 yards per carry. As a team, Whitko has rushed for 1,209 yards and 19 touchdowns, while completing 5 of 13 passes for 40 yards with a touchdown and an interception. For Valley, Alec Craig has completed 21 of 54 passes for 389 yards with two scores and four INTs. DJ Heckman is Valley's leading rusher with 149 yards, 65 of which came on one carry, while Jaydin Conley and Craig have rushed for 87 and 82 yards, respectively. Whitko has won six of the last seven meetings with Valley, including the last three.
Sprunger: "When we watched film of the Valley team this week we saw an offense that mirrors almost exactly what we do offensively. We have been preparing our defense for this offense. That's something that our players have been doing since the very first day of practice. With that said, their coaching staff knows the weakness of our offense and will know exactly how to attack us. We just have to come out and execute what we do and play Wildcat football. Their players are going to be first up to play this week because of the fact that I taught may of the players in class and coached almost all of them at the JV level (when I was art Valley)."
Shriver: "They're ranked No. 10 in the state in their class. Coach Sprunger has a great thing going. He has two former head coaches on the staff, with his dad (Bryan Sprunger) and Wayne Swender. Jeff used to coach with us here at Valley, they run the Wing-T offense that we ran when I was the head coach here. We're familiar with each other, and it's a great offense for the kids he has. He moved his quarterback (Garrett Elder) to tailback this year, and we have a lot of respect for Garrett Elder. Their fullback, Hunter Reed, does a great job of getting some hard yards. And you can't forget about their quarterback, Collin Craig. They're having a lot of success right now … they hung 37 on Rochester in the first quarter last week. They're fast, physical and they believe in what they're doing. Our kids have responded well this week. One of the things we took away from the game at Northfield is that our conditioning was terrible. The score at the end of the game didn't tell the story. In the first quarter we played well, but when we got tired, we were gassed, and we were done. That's something we've worked on this week, our conditioning. The kids have put in tremendous effort this week to get in better shape and be ready to go."
4A No. 3 NORTHWOOD AT WAWASEE (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Syracuse
Coaches: Nate Andrews (NorthWood); Josh Ekovich (Wawasee)
Records: NorthWood 4-0 (2-0 NLC); Wawasee 3-1 (1-1 NLC)
Last week: NorthWood 35, Goshen 12; Concord 49, Wawasee 40
Last year: NorthWood 38, Wawasee 10
Matchup: As Class 4A's No. 3 team, the NorthWood Panthers will bring a very productive, well-balanced offense that leans a touch toward the pass. NorthWood senior quarterback Trey Bilinski has already passed for 1,250 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a team, NorthWood has also rushed the ball for 914 yards, better than 225 yards per game, and 13 more touchdowns. Sophomore Bronson Yoder and junior Payton Bear have rushed for 258 and 249 yards, respectively, with a 100-yard rushing game and two touchdowns each. Wawasee senior quarterback Tyler Smith is coming off, arguably, the best game of his career, having run for 311 yards in the Warriors' 49-40 loss at Concord. Smith attempted more passes Friday night (29) than in any other game over the past two seasons. Whether that trend continues remains to be seen. If it does, Paul Mendoza, Cole VanLue and Alec Rosbrugh will be primary targets for the Warriors. Having allowed 16 points on special teams last week, and given up field position that helped the Concord offense considerably, the Warriors have a bitter taste in their mouths after the loss.
Ekovich: "We haven't given up a kickoff return for touchdown in a long time. (The Concord game) helped us with confidence and gave us perspective on what we are capable of, and helped us focus on our weaknesses. Every week is a huge week in the NLC because of the depth of the conference. NorthWood is a storied program having a great year. They're very athletic, physical and dynamic."
CULVER COMMUNITY AT TRITON (HNAC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Mike Zehner (Culver Comm.); Ron Brown (Triton),
Records: Culver Comm. 3-1 (3-0 HNAC); Triton 0-4 (0-3 HNAC)
Last week: Culver Comm. 41, West Central 8; Bremen 42, Triton 0
Last year: Culver Comm. 19, Triton 0
Matchup: Opportunity may be knocking on the door for the Triton Trojans this week. While the Culver Cavaliers have a very respectable record, they've amassed only 464 yards of total offense in four games. Triton hasn't been anywhere near what Coach Brown wants them to be on offense. James Snyder has a relatively high completion percentage, but the Trojans' 25 points so far this season is next to last in the HNAC. (West Central has 24). Defense and turnovers will be the keys to victory in Bourbon Friday night.
Brown: "I see every week as a good opportunity for Triton to knock off a good conference opponent. They are a great team, and it will take an excellent effort to accomplish our goal of winning. Every week we add a little more brick and mortar to shore up our walls. Time will tell what blocks we’ve added. Trojan Nation should probably know that it takes time to build an actual program since we are not an after school activity. The boys are making great strides to accomplish building a solid foundation. Each grade that passes through our program, starting back to last year, will leave its mark and hopefully our Trojan Nation can be proud of how they do it."
MANCHESTER AT NORTHFIELD (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Wabash
Coaches: Greg Miller (Manchester); Brandon Baker (Northfield)
Records: Manchester 0-4 (0-2 TRC); Northfield 3-1 (2-0 TRC)
Last week: Peru 32, Manchester 7; Northfield 40, Tippecanoe Valley 0
Last year: Northfield 54, Manchester 6 (Northfield later had to forfeit)
Matchup: The Northfield Norsemen, Class 1A's 14th-ranked team, butters its bread with an option-based running game. Senior Jensen Frieden might be well-rested; he had just seven carries last week in Northfield's 40-0 win over Tippecanoe Valley. But Frieden ran for 183 yards, including a 71-yard romp, and a touchdown. To date he's rushed for 529 yards on 55 carries, a 9.6 average. Quarterback Layne Evans tried 14 passes against Peru in Week 2, but has just 14 attempts in the other three games. He was 5 of 7 against the Vikings last week, but two completions went for touchdowns. Junior John Schuler, along with Evans, support Frieden in the running game, averaging 71 and 49 yards per game, respectively. Manchester has more touchdowns passing (3) than rushing (1). Quarterback Hayes Sturtsman and wide receiver Devon Rooney, both juniors, have all three passing TDs, and Sturtsman has the rushing TD. Sophomore Delton Moore is the Squires' leading rusher, but is only at 18 yards a game. So while it seems Manchester would want to control the clock to pull off the upset, passing is the stronger part of its game.
Miller: "My staff and I have been around option football for a long time. There is no magic defense. Alignments just dictate who will carry the ball. To stop an option offense your players need to disciplined to maintain their gap responsibilities and their assignments. Offensively, we are working to do the little things right. We truly feel that we are right there. We need to correct some errors, but otherwise it comes down to making plays on Friday night. Our kids are upbeat and excited to be able to play this great game. We continue to preach that they need to believe in themselves and their ability. We feel that it's just a matter of time. We continue to work hard in practice to make that time come sooner than later."
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Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Middlebury
Coaches: Phil Jensen (Warsaw), Tom Wogomon (Northridge)
Records: Warsaw 2-2 (1-1 NLC), Northridge 1-3 (1-1 NLC)
Last Game: Warsaw 49, Elk. Memorial 6; Northridge 22, Plymouth 14
Last Year: Warsaw 14, Northridge 7
Matchup: With wins last week, the Warsaw Tigers and Northridge Raiders kept themselves alive in the battle for a Northern Lakes Conference championship. NorthWood leads the league with a 2-0 record, while Concord, Goshen, Plymouth, Northridge, Warsaw and Wawasee all have one NLC loss. Memorial, which fell 49-6 at Warsaw last week, is 0-3 in conference play. After a disappointing loss at Plymouth in Week 3, the Tigers were impressive against Memorial. Warsaw led 35-6 at halftime and held the Crimson Chargers to just 92 yards of total offense during the game. Through four games, Warsaw's Will McGarvey has rushed for 532 yards and three touchdowns on 73 carries. McGarvey is averaging seven yards per carry and 133 yards per game. Quarterback Michael Jensen has rushed for four TDs, while Mason Faas has three. Jensen has completed completed 48 of 90 pass attempts for 578 yards with sixth TDs and two interceptions. All of Jensen's touchdown passes have gone to the Street twins - 5 to D'Andre and 1 to Devin. Faas and Lane McClone lead the Tiger defense with 17 solo tackles each, while AJ Villarreal tops the team with two sacks. Northridge started the season with losses to South Bend Adams, Michigan City and Wawasee before beating Plymouth 22-14 last week. Camm Nickell kicked three field goals in the win for the Raiders, while Conner Graber rushed for 101 yards and quarterback Nick Hooley threw a 41-yard TD pass to Mason Troyer.
Jensen: "They beat Plymouth, which is something we didn't get done, and they did it the week after we played them. You can't just look at their record … they've played two good non-conference teams, and went two overtimes with Wawasee. The Hooley kid is a good quarterback. He's not as mobile as he used to be (because of a foot injury last year), but he's got the smarts. We did what we needed to do last week. After a disappointing loss to Plymouth the week before, I was really impressed with the way we responded last week. We played four quarters and we executed. Our approach was so much better. We need to do that all the time, not just when we're playing at home against a team that we should beat."
2A NO. 10 WHITKO AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Akron
Coaches: Jeff Sprunger (Whitko), Jeff Shriver & Aaron Norris (T. Valley)
Records: Whitko 4-0 (2-0 TRC), Tippecanoe Valley 0-4 (0-2 TRC)
Last Game: Northfield 40, T. Valley 0; Whitko 57, Rochester 14
Last Year: Whitko 12, Tippecanoe Valley 0
Matchup: Three Rivers Conference rivals Whitko and Tippecanoe Valley are on opposite ends of the spectrum heading into Friday's meeting in Akron. The Whitko Wildats are ranked 10th in Class 2A while sporting a 4-0 record overall and a 2-0 mark in the TRC. The Valley Vikings, on the other hand, are 0-4 overall, 0-2 in league play and have been outscored 207-27 through four games. In last week's 57-14 drubbing of Rochester, the Wildcats led 37-0 in the first quarter. Senior tailback Garrett Elder carried the ball just six times in the win, but tallied 198 yards and four touchdowns. Hunter Reed added 106 yards and two TDs on six carries. Through four games, Elder has rushed for 604 yards and 11 TDS on 42 carries, an average of 14 yards per carry, while Reed has tallied 378 yards and six TDs on 60 carries, an average of 6 yards per carry. As a team, Whitko has rushed for 1,209 yards and 19 touchdowns, while completing 5 of 13 passes for 40 yards with a touchdown and an interception. For Valley, Alec Craig has completed 21 of 54 passes for 389 yards with two scores and four INTs. DJ Heckman is Valley's leading rusher with 149 yards, 65 of which came on one carry, while Jaydin Conley and Craig have rushed for 87 and 82 yards, respectively. Whitko has won six of the last seven meetings with Valley, including the last three.
Sprunger: "When we watched film of the Valley team this week we saw an offense that mirrors almost exactly what we do offensively. We have been preparing our defense for this offense. That's something that our players have been doing since the very first day of practice. With that said, their coaching staff knows the weakness of our offense and will know exactly how to attack us. We just have to come out and execute what we do and play Wildcat football. Their players are going to be first up to play this week because of the fact that I taught may of the players in class and coached almost all of them at the JV level (when I was art Valley)."
Shriver: "They're ranked No. 10 in the state in their class. Coach Sprunger has a great thing going. He has two former head coaches on the staff, with his dad (Bryan Sprunger) and Wayne Swender. Jeff used to coach with us here at Valley, they run the Wing-T offense that we ran when I was the head coach here. We're familiar with each other, and it's a great offense for the kids he has. He moved his quarterback (Garrett Elder) to tailback this year, and we have a lot of respect for Garrett Elder. Their fullback, Hunter Reed, does a great job of getting some hard yards. And you can't forget about their quarterback, Collin Craig. They're having a lot of success right now … they hung 37 on Rochester in the first quarter last week. They're fast, physical and they believe in what they're doing. Our kids have responded well this week. One of the things we took away from the game at Northfield is that our conditioning was terrible. The score at the end of the game didn't tell the story. In the first quarter we played well, but when we got tired, we were gassed, and we were done. That's something we've worked on this week, our conditioning. The kids have put in tremendous effort this week to get in better shape and be ready to go."
4A No. 3 NORTHWOOD AT WAWASEE (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Syracuse
Coaches: Nate Andrews (NorthWood); Josh Ekovich (Wawasee)
Records: NorthWood 4-0 (2-0 NLC); Wawasee 3-1 (1-1 NLC)
Last week: NorthWood 35, Goshen 12; Concord 49, Wawasee 40
Last year: NorthWood 38, Wawasee 10
Matchup: As Class 4A's No. 3 team, the NorthWood Panthers will bring a very productive, well-balanced offense that leans a touch toward the pass. NorthWood senior quarterback Trey Bilinski has already passed for 1,250 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a team, NorthWood has also rushed the ball for 914 yards, better than 225 yards per game, and 13 more touchdowns. Sophomore Bronson Yoder and junior Payton Bear have rushed for 258 and 249 yards, respectively, with a 100-yard rushing game and two touchdowns each. Wawasee senior quarterback Tyler Smith is coming off, arguably, the best game of his career, having run for 311 yards in the Warriors' 49-40 loss at Concord. Smith attempted more passes Friday night (29) than in any other game over the past two seasons. Whether that trend continues remains to be seen. If it does, Paul Mendoza, Cole VanLue and Alec Rosbrugh will be primary targets for the Warriors. Having allowed 16 points on special teams last week, and given up field position that helped the Concord offense considerably, the Warriors have a bitter taste in their mouths after the loss.
Ekovich: "We haven't given up a kickoff return for touchdown in a long time. (The Concord game) helped us with confidence and gave us perspective on what we are capable of, and helped us focus on our weaknesses. Every week is a huge week in the NLC because of the depth of the conference. NorthWood is a storied program having a great year. They're very athletic, physical and dynamic."
CULVER COMMUNITY AT TRITON (HNAC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Mike Zehner (Culver Comm.); Ron Brown (Triton),
Records: Culver Comm. 3-1 (3-0 HNAC); Triton 0-4 (0-3 HNAC)
Last week: Culver Comm. 41, West Central 8; Bremen 42, Triton 0
Last year: Culver Comm. 19, Triton 0
Matchup: Opportunity may be knocking on the door for the Triton Trojans this week. While the Culver Cavaliers have a very respectable record, they've amassed only 464 yards of total offense in four games. Triton hasn't been anywhere near what Coach Brown wants them to be on offense. James Snyder has a relatively high completion percentage, but the Trojans' 25 points so far this season is next to last in the HNAC. (West Central has 24). Defense and turnovers will be the keys to victory in Bourbon Friday night.
Brown: "I see every week as a good opportunity for Triton to knock off a good conference opponent. They are a great team, and it will take an excellent effort to accomplish our goal of winning. Every week we add a little more brick and mortar to shore up our walls. Time will tell what blocks we’ve added. Trojan Nation should probably know that it takes time to build an actual program since we are not an after school activity. The boys are making great strides to accomplish building a solid foundation. Each grade that passes through our program, starting back to last year, will leave its mark and hopefully our Trojan Nation can be proud of how they do it."
MANCHESTER AT NORTHFIELD (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Wabash
Coaches: Greg Miller (Manchester); Brandon Baker (Northfield)
Records: Manchester 0-4 (0-2 TRC); Northfield 3-1 (2-0 TRC)
Last week: Peru 32, Manchester 7; Northfield 40, Tippecanoe Valley 0
Last year: Northfield 54, Manchester 6 (Northfield later had to forfeit)
Matchup: The Northfield Norsemen, Class 1A's 14th-ranked team, butters its bread with an option-based running game. Senior Jensen Frieden might be well-rested; he had just seven carries last week in Northfield's 40-0 win over Tippecanoe Valley. But Frieden ran for 183 yards, including a 71-yard romp, and a touchdown. To date he's rushed for 529 yards on 55 carries, a 9.6 average. Quarterback Layne Evans tried 14 passes against Peru in Week 2, but has just 14 attempts in the other three games. He was 5 of 7 against the Vikings last week, but two completions went for touchdowns. Junior John Schuler, along with Evans, support Frieden in the running game, averaging 71 and 49 yards per game, respectively. Manchester has more touchdowns passing (3) than rushing (1). Quarterback Hayes Sturtsman and wide receiver Devon Rooney, both juniors, have all three passing TDs, and Sturtsman has the rushing TD. Sophomore Delton Moore is the Squires' leading rusher, but is only at 18 yards a game. So while it seems Manchester would want to control the clock to pull off the upset, passing is the stronger part of its game.
Miller: "My staff and I have been around option football for a long time. There is no magic defense. Alignments just dictate who will carry the ball. To stop an option offense your players need to disciplined to maintain their gap responsibilities and their assignments. Offensively, we are working to do the little things right. We truly feel that we are right there. We need to correct some errors, but otherwise it comes down to making plays on Friday night. Our kids are upbeat and excited to be able to play this great game. We continue to preach that they need to believe in themselves and their ability. We feel that it's just a matter of time. We continue to work hard in practice to make that time come sooner than later."
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