On The Gridiron
September 22, 2016 at 4:27 p.m.
By Staff Report-
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Warsaw
Coaches: Kyle Park (Goshen), Phil Jensen (Warsaw)
Records: Goshen 4-1 (2-1 NLC), Warsaw 3-2 (2-1 NLC)
Last Game: Goshen 28, Concord 25; Warsaw 34, Northridge 2
Last Year: Warsaw 35, Goshen 7
Matchup: For the third consecutive week, the Warsaw Tigers line up against a Northern Lakes Conference rival from Elkhart County, this time the Goshen RedHawks for homecoming at Fisher Field. In the past two games, Warsaw has defeated Elkhart Memorial 49-6 and Northridge 34-2. The Tigers have won the last eight meetings with the RedHawks, and have held Goshen scoreless in three of the past five meetings. Under third-year head coach Kyle Park, a former Goshen standout quarterback, the RedHawks are certainly on the right path - going 0-10 in his first year, 5-5 last season, and 4-1 in the current campaign. Goshen has outscored its opponents this season 138-116, and have outscored NLC foes Memorial, Concord and NorthWood 75-74. Goshen's only loss is a 35-12 setback to 4A No. 2 NorthWood on Sept. 9. The Tigers have outscored their five opponents 165-79, which includes outscoring NLC foes Plymouth, Memorial and Northridge 93-25. Warsaw quarterback Michael Jensen has completed 64 of 113 passes for 830 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. D'Andre Street has caught six of those TD passes, and has 24 catches in all for 314 yards. Jeremy David has made 18 catches for 232 yards and a TD. Devin Street and AJ Villarreal have one touchdown catch each. Warsaw's ground game is led by Will McGarvey, who has 91 carries for 576 yards and three scores.
Jensen: "(Kyle Park) is a great young coach from a great football family. It's the same situation as NorthWood. Those guys have come home and re-lit the fire in those programs. Up front offensively and defensively Goshen reminds me of their old teams … they have big, physical linemen. They run the ball well. They've gone to their backup quarterback because of an injury, but he runs the read-option well. For us, the whole team thing is coming together. We've been able to score some points.The defense has done well stopping the run. And the special teams are playing pretty good. It's homecoming week, and I told the kids our job is to take care of the football game Friday night. Everyone is excited about the activities this week, and it all end up at the football game. Our job is to win Friday night."
SOUTHWOOD AT 2A NO. 8 WHITKO (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
Coaches: Dave Snyder (Southwood), Jeff Sprunger (Whitko)
Records: Southwood 3-2 (1-2 TRC), Whitko 5-0 (3-0 TRC)
Last Game: Southwood 54, Wabash 29; Whitko 44, T. Valley 20
Last Year: Southwood 21, Whitko 20
Matchup: With the program's best record since 1990, the 5-0 Whitko Wildcats climbed two spots in the Class 2A Associated Press poll to No. 8 this week, and to No. 7 in the coaches' poll. Whitko enters Friday's game against Southwood on the heels of a 44-20 win at Tippecanoe Valley. In that game, running back Garrett Elder rushed for 360 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries. In the last two weeks, Elder has 558 yards and eight scores on just 16 carries. For the season, Elder has 964 yards and 15 TDs on 52 carries, an average of nearly 19 yards per attempt. Hunter Reed has tallied 441 yards and seven scores on 71 rushing attempts, while Robby Owsley has 178 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. As a team, Whitko has outrushed its five opponents 1,664 to 523. Through the air, the Wildcats have just 55 yards this season. Whitko has won six of the last seven meetings with Southwood, with the Knights' win in the span being a 21-20 victory last year.
Sprunger: "Southwood is a tough opponent playing solid football right now. They have the capabilities to throw the football around the field, but also drive the football right up the gut of your defense. They have a quarterback than can throw the ball very well, and multiple receivers that run crisp routes and have great hands. It will be a challenging week for our secondary, however, I believe the "bomb squad" will be up for the challenge. Ultimately, we don't get too focused on one or a couple particular people on their team. More or less, we're focused on the schemes they are trying to run, and not on a player."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT MANCHESTER (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in North Manchester
Coaches: Jeff Shriver & Aaron Norris (T. Valley); Greg Miller (Manchester)
Records: Tippecanoe Valley 0-5 (0-3 TRC); Manchester 0-5 (0-3 TRC)
Last week: Whitko 44, T. Valley 20; Northfield 27, Manchester 7
Last year: Tippecanoe Valley 36, Manchester 27
Matchup: Fans of both schools have probably had this game underlined on the schedule for a while, with each team taking their lumps in the first five weeks of the season. Both squads are coming off losses to ranked teams. The Squires are coming off a 27-7 loss at 1A No. 14 Northfield, while Valley comes in off a home loss to 2A No. 10 Whitko. Manchester has had some success throwing the ball, with junior quarterback Hayes Sturtsman completing 44 percent of his passes for 470 yards. On the other hand, the Squires have yet to clear 100 yards rushing for the season. Defensively, Trey McNall and Nick Wagner, both juniors, lead the Squires with 39 and 35 tackles this season. For Valley, senior quarterback Alec Craig has completed 34 of 76 pass attempts for 425 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. DJ Heckman leads the Vikings in rushing with 188 yards this season, while freshman Jaydin Conley has 98 and Craig 88. Junior tight end Bryce Webster leads Valley in receiving with 11 catches for 152 yards. The Vikings have won five of the last six meetings with the Squires.
Miller: "Homecoming is always a big game that gets everyone excited. Defensively, we need to build on our game last Friday. We need to stop conversions on third and long or fourth and medium/short. Containing the Valley offense will be critical Friday. Offensively, we need to control the kine of scrimmage and get our run game rolling. Short yardage downs are a must to convert, and we need to come away with points in the red zone. We must control the tempo of the game for four quarters."
Shriver: "Our dedication and focus is on fundamentals. We know we have a ways to go, but our blocking and tackling was better last week. We just have to keep getting better. Manchester is 0-5 as well. They're hungry for a win. Their coaches are hungry for a win. Their community is hungry for a win. Somebody is gonna get their first win. They're a formidable opponent, and we think we are too. Taking care of the football is going to be important."
WAWASEE AT PLYMOUTH (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Plymouth
Coaches: Josh Ekovich (Wawasee); John Barron (Plymouth)
Records: Wawasee 3-2 (1-2 NLC); Plymouth 3-2 (21 NLC)
Last week: NorthWood 53, Wawasee 30; Plymouth 19, Elkhart Memorial 17
Last year: Plymouth 29, Wawasee 20; Plymouth 66, Wawasee 7 (sectional)
Matchup: Plymouth is playing a lot more close games this year in conference; they blew out Bremen (before forfeiting for using an ineligible player) and Rochester, but all three of the Rockies' Northern Lakes Conference games have been decided by eight points or less. Northridge upset the Rockies in the second week of the conference season, meaning the Rockies will have to run the table to repeat as NLC champions. Currently, Plymouth is one of three teams with one loss in the conference (Goshen and Warsaw are the others) while Wawasee is among three teams with two losses in the NLC. The Rockies, like the Warriors, are a run-first team this year. Plymouth averages just over five passing attempts per game. Senior Tristen McMillen leads Plymouth with 307 yards on 48 carries, and junior Benji Nxon will get his share of action, too. Wawasee's offense continues to revolve around quarterback Tyler Smith, the team's leading rusher. The Warriors have shown a greater willingness to pass the ball in conference play in an effort to keep defenders from keying on Smith. Cole VanLue continues to be a big-play threat in both the passing and running games, and Paul Mendoza has become a reliable backup to Noah Wadkins. For the second time in as many years, Plymouth enters the regular-season matchup with Wawasee with a student death on the minds of everyone with any connection at all to the school, but it's hard to say how that situation will affect the game. Plymouth did postpone this week's homecoming activities.
Ekovich: "The NLC has a lot of parity this year. The conference race is wide open, with all but one team within two games of first. Our scout teams are able to give a better look considering we have the same philosophy in the run game as Plymouth. We have a few bumps and bruises, but other than that we are fairly healthy. Our hearts go out to the Plymouth community in their time of loss."
WINAMAC AT TRITON (HNAC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Tim Roth (Winamac); Ron Brown (Triton),
Records: Winamac 1-4 (1-4 HNAC); Triton 0-5 (0-4 HNAC)
Last week: Winamac 40, North Judson 14; Culver Comm. 40, Triton 26
Last year: Winamac 43, Triton 12
Matchup: Triton's 2016 schedule has been top-heavy, with 1A No. 3 Pioneer and No. 8 LaVille already in the Trojans' rear-view mirror, along with a pair of 4-1 teams in Bremen and Culver Community. (Recognizing Bremen benefitting from a forfeit by Plymouth.) Of Triton's four remaining regular-season games, Knox had one more win than North Judson, West Central and Winamac combined. Coach Brown said his team isn't looking to win just one game, but to put together a string of victories to close out the year. The Trojans have more than twice as many passing yards as rushing yards, and Brown is looking for his team to get into more of an offensive rhythm the second half of the season. Sophomore quarterback James Snyder has completed about 47 percent of his passes for 349 yards and a touchdown, and senior Zac Pitney leads the Triton receiving corps with 113 yards and a touchdown. Brown said he also wants the Trojan defense to shore up quite a bit. Junior Drew Stichter is the Trojans leading tackler with 39 stops, and sophomore Tye Orsund is next with 25 stops. Orsund also returned a fumble for a touchdown last week. Winamac will throw the ball about 40 percent of the time. Senior quarterback Jack Degroot has completed around 54 percent of his attempts for 653 yards and five touchdowns. Senior Matt Shorter and junior Ethan Rogers average better than five years per carry, and have five of the Warriors' six rushing touchdowns.
Brown: "We're about where people expected us to be. We weren't able to beat Caston but we had an opportunity to do that. Moving forward, i think we'll see more of what we're going to be, getting our sophomore more experience and getting some guys back from injury will help. With our schedule, if we were to win our last four games, people might think we suddenly got better. I'd say 'we were what we always were, we just played different competition. We know Winamac is a well-coached team, and Knox is sitting up there (in the standings). But there's multiple game sour there that I believe we can win. Last year we gave up a lot of big plays, this year teams are having to work down the field, but our defense needs to force the other team to punt."
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Warsaw
Coaches: Kyle Park (Goshen), Phil Jensen (Warsaw)
Records: Goshen 4-1 (2-1 NLC), Warsaw 3-2 (2-1 NLC)
Last Game: Goshen 28, Concord 25; Warsaw 34, Northridge 2
Last Year: Warsaw 35, Goshen 7
Matchup: For the third consecutive week, the Warsaw Tigers line up against a Northern Lakes Conference rival from Elkhart County, this time the Goshen RedHawks for homecoming at Fisher Field. In the past two games, Warsaw has defeated Elkhart Memorial 49-6 and Northridge 34-2. The Tigers have won the last eight meetings with the RedHawks, and have held Goshen scoreless in three of the past five meetings. Under third-year head coach Kyle Park, a former Goshen standout quarterback, the RedHawks are certainly on the right path - going 0-10 in his first year, 5-5 last season, and 4-1 in the current campaign. Goshen has outscored its opponents this season 138-116, and have outscored NLC foes Memorial, Concord and NorthWood 75-74. Goshen's only loss is a 35-12 setback to 4A No. 2 NorthWood on Sept. 9. The Tigers have outscored their five opponents 165-79, which includes outscoring NLC foes Plymouth, Memorial and Northridge 93-25. Warsaw quarterback Michael Jensen has completed 64 of 113 passes for 830 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. D'Andre Street has caught six of those TD passes, and has 24 catches in all for 314 yards. Jeremy David has made 18 catches for 232 yards and a TD. Devin Street and AJ Villarreal have one touchdown catch each. Warsaw's ground game is led by Will McGarvey, who has 91 carries for 576 yards and three scores.
Jensen: "(Kyle Park) is a great young coach from a great football family. It's the same situation as NorthWood. Those guys have come home and re-lit the fire in those programs. Up front offensively and defensively Goshen reminds me of their old teams … they have big, physical linemen. They run the ball well. They've gone to their backup quarterback because of an injury, but he runs the read-option well. For us, the whole team thing is coming together. We've been able to score some points.The defense has done well stopping the run. And the special teams are playing pretty good. It's homecoming week, and I told the kids our job is to take care of the football game Friday night. Everyone is excited about the activities this week, and it all end up at the football game. Our job is to win Friday night."
SOUTHWOOD AT 2A NO. 8 WHITKO (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
Coaches: Dave Snyder (Southwood), Jeff Sprunger (Whitko)
Records: Southwood 3-2 (1-2 TRC), Whitko 5-0 (3-0 TRC)
Last Game: Southwood 54, Wabash 29; Whitko 44, T. Valley 20
Last Year: Southwood 21, Whitko 20
Matchup: With the program's best record since 1990, the 5-0 Whitko Wildcats climbed two spots in the Class 2A Associated Press poll to No. 8 this week, and to No. 7 in the coaches' poll. Whitko enters Friday's game against Southwood on the heels of a 44-20 win at Tippecanoe Valley. In that game, running back Garrett Elder rushed for 360 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries. In the last two weeks, Elder has 558 yards and eight scores on just 16 carries. For the season, Elder has 964 yards and 15 TDs on 52 carries, an average of nearly 19 yards per attempt. Hunter Reed has tallied 441 yards and seven scores on 71 rushing attempts, while Robby Owsley has 178 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. As a team, Whitko has outrushed its five opponents 1,664 to 523. Through the air, the Wildcats have just 55 yards this season. Whitko has won six of the last seven meetings with Southwood, with the Knights' win in the span being a 21-20 victory last year.
Sprunger: "Southwood is a tough opponent playing solid football right now. They have the capabilities to throw the football around the field, but also drive the football right up the gut of your defense. They have a quarterback than can throw the ball very well, and multiple receivers that run crisp routes and have great hands. It will be a challenging week for our secondary, however, I believe the "bomb squad" will be up for the challenge. Ultimately, we don't get too focused on one or a couple particular people on their team. More or less, we're focused on the schemes they are trying to run, and not on a player."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT MANCHESTER (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in North Manchester
Coaches: Jeff Shriver & Aaron Norris (T. Valley); Greg Miller (Manchester)
Records: Tippecanoe Valley 0-5 (0-3 TRC); Manchester 0-5 (0-3 TRC)
Last week: Whitko 44, T. Valley 20; Northfield 27, Manchester 7
Last year: Tippecanoe Valley 36, Manchester 27
Matchup: Fans of both schools have probably had this game underlined on the schedule for a while, with each team taking their lumps in the first five weeks of the season. Both squads are coming off losses to ranked teams. The Squires are coming off a 27-7 loss at 1A No. 14 Northfield, while Valley comes in off a home loss to 2A No. 10 Whitko. Manchester has had some success throwing the ball, with junior quarterback Hayes Sturtsman completing 44 percent of his passes for 470 yards. On the other hand, the Squires have yet to clear 100 yards rushing for the season. Defensively, Trey McNall and Nick Wagner, both juniors, lead the Squires with 39 and 35 tackles this season. For Valley, senior quarterback Alec Craig has completed 34 of 76 pass attempts for 425 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. DJ Heckman leads the Vikings in rushing with 188 yards this season, while freshman Jaydin Conley has 98 and Craig 88. Junior tight end Bryce Webster leads Valley in receiving with 11 catches for 152 yards. The Vikings have won five of the last six meetings with the Squires.
Miller: "Homecoming is always a big game that gets everyone excited. Defensively, we need to build on our game last Friday. We need to stop conversions on third and long or fourth and medium/short. Containing the Valley offense will be critical Friday. Offensively, we need to control the kine of scrimmage and get our run game rolling. Short yardage downs are a must to convert, and we need to come away with points in the red zone. We must control the tempo of the game for four quarters."
Shriver: "Our dedication and focus is on fundamentals. We know we have a ways to go, but our blocking and tackling was better last week. We just have to keep getting better. Manchester is 0-5 as well. They're hungry for a win. Their coaches are hungry for a win. Their community is hungry for a win. Somebody is gonna get their first win. They're a formidable opponent, and we think we are too. Taking care of the football is going to be important."
WAWASEE AT PLYMOUTH (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Plymouth
Coaches: Josh Ekovich (Wawasee); John Barron (Plymouth)
Records: Wawasee 3-2 (1-2 NLC); Plymouth 3-2 (21 NLC)
Last week: NorthWood 53, Wawasee 30; Plymouth 19, Elkhart Memorial 17
Last year: Plymouth 29, Wawasee 20; Plymouth 66, Wawasee 7 (sectional)
Matchup: Plymouth is playing a lot more close games this year in conference; they blew out Bremen (before forfeiting for using an ineligible player) and Rochester, but all three of the Rockies' Northern Lakes Conference games have been decided by eight points or less. Northridge upset the Rockies in the second week of the conference season, meaning the Rockies will have to run the table to repeat as NLC champions. Currently, Plymouth is one of three teams with one loss in the conference (Goshen and Warsaw are the others) while Wawasee is among three teams with two losses in the NLC. The Rockies, like the Warriors, are a run-first team this year. Plymouth averages just over five passing attempts per game. Senior Tristen McMillen leads Plymouth with 307 yards on 48 carries, and junior Benji Nxon will get his share of action, too. Wawasee's offense continues to revolve around quarterback Tyler Smith, the team's leading rusher. The Warriors have shown a greater willingness to pass the ball in conference play in an effort to keep defenders from keying on Smith. Cole VanLue continues to be a big-play threat in both the passing and running games, and Paul Mendoza has become a reliable backup to Noah Wadkins. For the second time in as many years, Plymouth enters the regular-season matchup with Wawasee with a student death on the minds of everyone with any connection at all to the school, but it's hard to say how that situation will affect the game. Plymouth did postpone this week's homecoming activities.
Ekovich: "The NLC has a lot of parity this year. The conference race is wide open, with all but one team within two games of first. Our scout teams are able to give a better look considering we have the same philosophy in the run game as Plymouth. We have a few bumps and bruises, but other than that we are fairly healthy. Our hearts go out to the Plymouth community in their time of loss."
WINAMAC AT TRITON (HNAC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Tim Roth (Winamac); Ron Brown (Triton),
Records: Winamac 1-4 (1-4 HNAC); Triton 0-5 (0-4 HNAC)
Last week: Winamac 40, North Judson 14; Culver Comm. 40, Triton 26
Last year: Winamac 43, Triton 12
Matchup: Triton's 2016 schedule has been top-heavy, with 1A No. 3 Pioneer and No. 8 LaVille already in the Trojans' rear-view mirror, along with a pair of 4-1 teams in Bremen and Culver Community. (Recognizing Bremen benefitting from a forfeit by Plymouth.) Of Triton's four remaining regular-season games, Knox had one more win than North Judson, West Central and Winamac combined. Coach Brown said his team isn't looking to win just one game, but to put together a string of victories to close out the year. The Trojans have more than twice as many passing yards as rushing yards, and Brown is looking for his team to get into more of an offensive rhythm the second half of the season. Sophomore quarterback James Snyder has completed about 47 percent of his passes for 349 yards and a touchdown, and senior Zac Pitney leads the Triton receiving corps with 113 yards and a touchdown. Brown said he also wants the Trojan defense to shore up quite a bit. Junior Drew Stichter is the Trojans leading tackler with 39 stops, and sophomore Tye Orsund is next with 25 stops. Orsund also returned a fumble for a touchdown last week. Winamac will throw the ball about 40 percent of the time. Senior quarterback Jack Degroot has completed around 54 percent of his attempts for 653 yards and five touchdowns. Senior Matt Shorter and junior Ethan Rogers average better than five years per carry, and have five of the Warriors' six rushing touchdowns.
Brown: "We're about where people expected us to be. We weren't able to beat Caston but we had an opportunity to do that. Moving forward, i think we'll see more of what we're going to be, getting our sophomore more experience and getting some guys back from injury will help. With our schedule, if we were to win our last four games, people might think we suddenly got better. I'd say 'we were what we always were, we just played different competition. We know Winamac is a well-coached team, and Knox is sitting up there (in the standings). But there's multiple game sour there that I believe we can win. Last year we gave up a lot of big plays, this year teams are having to work down the field, but our defense needs to force the other team to punt."
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