On The Gridiron Capsules
August 31, 2017 at 4:05 p.m.
By Staff Report-
PLYMOUTH AT WARSAW (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Warsaw
Coaches: John Barron (Plymouth), Phil Jensen (Warsaw)
Records: Plymouth 2-0 (0-0 NLC), Warsaw 1-1 (0-0 NLC)
Last Game: Plymouth 50, Hammond Morton 13; East Noble 28, Warsaw 7
Last Year: Plymouth 17, Warsaw 10
Matchup: One of the oldest rivalries in the state will add another chapter Friday at Fisher Field when the Warsaw Tigers and Plymouth Rockies meet for the 98th time. Friday's contest will re-air on TV as the WHME Ch. 46 Game of the Week. The teams first met in 1924 in a game Warsaw won 39-7. Plymouth leads the overall series 51-44 and there were ties in 1949 (7-7) and 1965 (7-7). In the last 30 meetings, each team has won 15 times, with the Rockies currently on a three-game win streak against Warsaw. The Tigers opened the 2017 season with a home win over Columbia City before falling 28-7 last week at East Noble. Plymouth beat East Noble 22-18 in Week 1 and then throttled Hammond Morton 50-13 last week. Warsaw's running game is led by seniors Tristan Larsh and Will McGarvey. Larsh, the quarterback, has carried the ball 26 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns. McGarvey, a three-year starter at running back, has 188 yards and a TD on 36 carries through two games. McGarvey needs 96 yards to reach 2,000 career yards. Larsh has completed 14 of 22 passes for 96 yards with one score and one interception. The TD pass went to Trevor York, who leads the team with four receptions for 53 yards. The Rockies average 325 rushing yards per game and are led by Benji Nixon (121 ypg, 4 TDs) and Blake Reed (104 ypg, 2 TDs). Plymouth has attempted just six passes in two games, completing four of them for a total of 89 yards and one TD with no interceptions.
Jensen: "Plymouth is very physical, led by Jeremy Drudge, a 6-4, 200-pound safety. They run their offense very effectively. They attack you where they see your weaknesses. They're very simple on defense, but very sound and aggressive. We've shown that we can be a solid football team if we stay with it mentally. There were seven key plays in last week's game that were mental errors on our part. The first week of the NLC is huge."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT NORTH MIAMI (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Denver
Coaches: Steve Moriarty (Valley), Joe Grant (North Miami)
Records: Valley 0-2 (0-0 TRC), North Miami (1-1 (0-1 TRC)
Last Game: Culver Academy 33, Valley 7; Central Noble 26, North Miami 17
Last Year: North Miami 55, Valley 13
Matchup: Looking for their first win in the Steve Moriarty coaching era, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings travel to Denver Friday to meet fellow Three Rivers Conference school North Miami. The teams are in different divisions of the 10-team league, so the result will not count toward the conference record. Valley has won 18 of the last 30 meetings with North Miami, though the Warriors have won six of the last 10. Valley sophomore Tanner Trippiedi has completed 17 of 37 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Three of Trippiedi's picks came last week in a 33-7 loss to Culver Academy. Alex Morrison leads Valley's ground game with 20 carries for yards 80 yards in two games, while Jace Potter has 15 attempts for 56 yards. Wes Melanson leads Valley with six receptions for 70 yards.
Moriarty: "I wish we had two wins instead of two losses, but we showed improvement from the first week to the second, so I'm pleased about that. I think the schools being so close helps (this rivalry). We always get North Miami's best game. They have always played very well against us. The conference, over the years, has been decided in this game. They have very good coaching. They run the option with the best of them. Their QB is a three-year starter and does a great job controlling the tempo of the game. The key for us to win on Friday is controlling the line of scrimmage, and playing assignment football, making sure everyone does their job on defense."
MACONAQUAH AT WHITKO (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
Coaches: Mark Hartman (Maconaquah), Jeff Sprunger (Whitko)
Records: Maconaquah 0-2 (0-0 TRC), Whitko 0-2 (0-0 TRC)
Last Game: Shenandoah 35, Maconaquah 0; Columbia City 48, Whitko 6
Last Year: Whitko 36, Maconaquah 7
Matchup: It won't count toward the Three Rivers Conference standings, as the teams are in different divisions of the 10-team league, but one team is going to get their first win of the season Friday when the Maconaquah Braves meet the Whitko Wildcats at Ryan Huff Memorial Stadium in South Whitley. The teams have met on the gridiron three teams, with Whitko winning twice, including last season's 36-7 victory. The Wildcats have struggled to put points on the board in their two games this season and have been outscored 104-6 by Whitley County rivals Churubusco and Columbia City. Maconaquah has been outscored 51-6 by North Miami and Shenandoah. Whitko quarterback Cade Bechtold has completed 10 of 25 pass attempts this season for 97 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions. Hunter Reed, a 1,000-yard rusher last year, leads the team with 37 carries for 77 yards and a score. Zach Gardner has tallied 66 yards on 27 attempts. Maconaquah averages 156 rushing yards per game, led by Aaron Sedwick's total of 103 yards and Gemini Williams' 98.
Sprunger: "The team is progressing well, but we are nowhere near where we want to be. We are getting a better picture of which players are capable of playing on a Friday night and who needs time to develop their skills. We are still looking for players to fill and step up to spots, but overall the team is getting better. The scores of our games are not indicative of what this team is capable of achieving. Maconaquah is a very large team that gets off the ball and attacks their opponent very well. They can run the ball between the tackles and will challenge our defensive line and linebackers this week."
CASTON AT TRITON (HNAC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Troy Slocum (Caston); Ron Brown (Triton)
Records: Caston 1-1 (0-1 HNAC); Triton 2-0 (1-0 HNAC)
Last Game: North Judson 38, Caston 22; Triton 22, LaVille 14
Last Year: Caston 6, Triton 0; Triton 50, Caston 0 (2016 sectional)
Matchup: Triton's 2017 football team may lead to a lot of references to the 2008 Trojan team, as this year's team goes after marks not attained since the season nine years ago. For example, the last time Triton football started a season 3-0, had a winning record and won a sectional title were all back in 2008. Junior quarterback Bo Snyder has been very effective, completing half of his 22 passes so far and averaging almost 150 yards a game. Snyder is getting plenty of help from his friends; senior Max Slusser is rushing for an average of seven yards every time he gets the ball, and junior Delano Shumpert has shown a knack for the big play. He has just four catches, but is averaging more than 40 yards a reception and has scored every time he's caught a pass. Caston will run the ball; senior quarterback Tayt Cowell has only eight passing attempts in the Comets' first two games, completing three for 31 yards. Kasey Ault is the workhorse of the Caston backfield, with more carries and twice the rushing yards than classmate and second-leading rusher Brady Hartman. Ault is also leading the way on defense for Caston with 14 solo and six assisted tackles, eight more total tackles than senior Brandon Kisner. Caston has fumbled the ball six times so far this season, but also recovered three loose balls and has an interception to its credit.
Brown: "We had a lot of things go our way (Friday night against LaVille). That was nice to have, and we got some extra momentum that we needed, because if it had changed back to the LaVille side, it would have made a hard game even more difficult. The mood's been pretty good around the locker room this week as we move our focus to Caston and wanting to avoid any letdown. I don't know that you can say that any team in our conference is going to be a trap game. As I look at state rankings, and we have quite a few teams in the HNAC that are getting votes. I don't know that anyone is an easy out. We'll want to win the battle up front, read our keys and fly to the ball like we've been doing. Caston runs a bunched-up offense, and it'll be the first time we see it. They have some good athletes on their team with good speed."
WAWASEE AT NORTHRIDGE (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Middlebury
Coaches: Mike Eshbach (Wawasee); Tom Wogomon (Northridge)
Records: Wawasee 1-1 (0-0 NLC), Northridge 2-0 (0-0 NLC)
Last Game: West Noble 31, Wawasee 14; Northridge 27, S.B. St. Joseph 10
Last Year: Wawasee 21, Northridge 20, 2OT
Matchup: The Warrior offense never really got going last week in Ligonier, thanks in no small part to an injury to senior RB Alec Rosbrugh, who has yet to play a snap in 2017. Wawasee's two touchdowns against West Noble came on big plays; a 71-yard pass and a 65-yard run after the game's outcome was secure. Take out those two plays, and Wawasee had two first downs in the West Noble game. Eshbach said Rosbrugh is questionable for the Northridge game. Like most high school teams, Northridge runs the ball about 75 percent of the time. Seniors Connor Graber and Mason Troyer are getting around six yards a carry, and Graber is on pace to rush for 1,500 yards this season. Raider senior QB Nick Hooley is completing half his passes, and averages just under 13 yards a completion. Three senior receivers, Jordan Contreras, Brad Schwartz and Kyle Carson, are dividing up the catches evenly, with none having fewer than three nor more than five receptions. Contreras is also leading the Raiders with 20 tackles, 15 of those of the solo variety.
Eshbach: "When you have your starting running back out, and he's a top-quality kid, your No. 2 is going to struggle, no matter what team you're on. Rosbrugh being out has hurt us; he's a difference-maker. When you can't run the ball, you become one-dimensional, and with a sophomore quarterback, that's not a good recipe. We have some other injuries, especially in our offensive line, and we can't ignore the fact that we just didn't come to play. Northridge is a team that studies film and takes advantage of what their opponents don't do well. In their first two games they've done a good job of running the football and running the clock, One way to control the game is to run more plays than the other team, and they've run more plays than their opponents. For us to win, we're going to have to run more plays than they do, control the clock and be able to run the football."
WABASH AT MANCHESTER (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in North Manchester
Coaches: Floyd McWhirt (Wabash); Greg Miller (Manchester)
Records: Wabash 0-2 (0-0 TRC); Manchester 0-2 (0-0 TRC)
Last Game: Alexandria 27, Wabash 18; Bluffton 8, Manchester 0
Last Year: Wabash 28, Manchester 14; Wabash 40, Manchester 22 (TRC playoff)
Matchup: Manchester has moved the ball well, but that hasn't translated to points on the scoreboard. The Squires' passing game has been effective, with senior QB Hayes Sturtsman completing 23 of 54 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the first two games. Senior Devon Rooney and sophomore Trey Clark have 13 receptions between them, and junior Andrew McAtee has both TD receptions. Delton Moore has rushed for 124 yards in the last two weeks, but no one else on the team is in double digits, an area Miller said he's addressed in practice this week. Wabash started last season winning its first four games, including a win over the Squires in the third game, but is 1-7 since with the lone victory coming over Manchester in the TRC playoff. Sophomore QB Jared Holley has similar stats to Sturtsman, but with one less touchdown and two picks. Holley is also the leading rusher, with Kallen Kelshimer and Cody Beeks combining for 99 yards rushing in the Apaches' first two games. Logan Vander Velden is Holley's favorite target; so far he has 12 catches for 107 yards. Austin Wieland has just two catches, but they went for 84 yards and a touchdown. With the two teams so pass-happy, this game might take a while to finish.
Miller: "When we get in the red zone, we gotta put it in, no ifs, ands or buts about it. We need to get a more consistent running game, and we need to control the line of scrimmage. We've had an emphasis on being more physical and assignment-sound up front. It's tougher when three of our five linemen are sophomores, we'd like for them to have more experience, but it's time for them to step up and play varsity football. Defensively we played pretty well last week, but our linebackers need to do better with their reads. We held (Bluffton) to minus three yards passing, so I'm happy with that; it was "A Tale of Two Cities" between week one and week two in that area. We have some veteran defensive linemen; we just need to make sure we're reading our keys and making plays. Wabash has had our number the last couple of years (three losses by a combined score of 110-36) so our kids are pretty fired up about that. We don't feel like we're an 0-2 team. We've built some confidence the last couple of weeks, but like always, we need to control the line of scrimmage. If we do that, it's a good night for the Squires and we get our first victory."
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PLYMOUTH AT WARSAW (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Warsaw
Coaches: John Barron (Plymouth), Phil Jensen (Warsaw)
Records: Plymouth 2-0 (0-0 NLC), Warsaw 1-1 (0-0 NLC)
Last Game: Plymouth 50, Hammond Morton 13; East Noble 28, Warsaw 7
Last Year: Plymouth 17, Warsaw 10
Matchup: One of the oldest rivalries in the state will add another chapter Friday at Fisher Field when the Warsaw Tigers and Plymouth Rockies meet for the 98th time. Friday's contest will re-air on TV as the WHME Ch. 46 Game of the Week. The teams first met in 1924 in a game Warsaw won 39-7. Plymouth leads the overall series 51-44 and there were ties in 1949 (7-7) and 1965 (7-7). In the last 30 meetings, each team has won 15 times, with the Rockies currently on a three-game win streak against Warsaw. The Tigers opened the 2017 season with a home win over Columbia City before falling 28-7 last week at East Noble. Plymouth beat East Noble 22-18 in Week 1 and then throttled Hammond Morton 50-13 last week. Warsaw's running game is led by seniors Tristan Larsh and Will McGarvey. Larsh, the quarterback, has carried the ball 26 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns. McGarvey, a three-year starter at running back, has 188 yards and a TD on 36 carries through two games. McGarvey needs 96 yards to reach 2,000 career yards. Larsh has completed 14 of 22 passes for 96 yards with one score and one interception. The TD pass went to Trevor York, who leads the team with four receptions for 53 yards. The Rockies average 325 rushing yards per game and are led by Benji Nixon (121 ypg, 4 TDs) and Blake Reed (104 ypg, 2 TDs). Plymouth has attempted just six passes in two games, completing four of them for a total of 89 yards and one TD with no interceptions.
Jensen: "Plymouth is very physical, led by Jeremy Drudge, a 6-4, 200-pound safety. They run their offense very effectively. They attack you where they see your weaknesses. They're very simple on defense, but very sound and aggressive. We've shown that we can be a solid football team if we stay with it mentally. There were seven key plays in last week's game that were mental errors on our part. The first week of the NLC is huge."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT NORTH MIAMI (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Denver
Coaches: Steve Moriarty (Valley), Joe Grant (North Miami)
Records: Valley 0-2 (0-0 TRC), North Miami (1-1 (0-1 TRC)
Last Game: Culver Academy 33, Valley 7; Central Noble 26, North Miami 17
Last Year: North Miami 55, Valley 13
Matchup: Looking for their first win in the Steve Moriarty coaching era, the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings travel to Denver Friday to meet fellow Three Rivers Conference school North Miami. The teams are in different divisions of the 10-team league, so the result will not count toward the conference record. Valley has won 18 of the last 30 meetings with North Miami, though the Warriors have won six of the last 10. Valley sophomore Tanner Trippiedi has completed 17 of 37 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Three of Trippiedi's picks came last week in a 33-7 loss to Culver Academy. Alex Morrison leads Valley's ground game with 20 carries for yards 80 yards in two games, while Jace Potter has 15 attempts for 56 yards. Wes Melanson leads Valley with six receptions for 70 yards.
Moriarty: "I wish we had two wins instead of two losses, but we showed improvement from the first week to the second, so I'm pleased about that. I think the schools being so close helps (this rivalry). We always get North Miami's best game. They have always played very well against us. The conference, over the years, has been decided in this game. They have very good coaching. They run the option with the best of them. Their QB is a three-year starter and does a great job controlling the tempo of the game. The key for us to win on Friday is controlling the line of scrimmage, and playing assignment football, making sure everyone does their job on defense."
MACONAQUAH AT WHITKO (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
Coaches: Mark Hartman (Maconaquah), Jeff Sprunger (Whitko)
Records: Maconaquah 0-2 (0-0 TRC), Whitko 0-2 (0-0 TRC)
Last Game: Shenandoah 35, Maconaquah 0; Columbia City 48, Whitko 6
Last Year: Whitko 36, Maconaquah 7
Matchup: It won't count toward the Three Rivers Conference standings, as the teams are in different divisions of the 10-team league, but one team is going to get their first win of the season Friday when the Maconaquah Braves meet the Whitko Wildcats at Ryan Huff Memorial Stadium in South Whitley. The teams have met on the gridiron three teams, with Whitko winning twice, including last season's 36-7 victory. The Wildcats have struggled to put points on the board in their two games this season and have been outscored 104-6 by Whitley County rivals Churubusco and Columbia City. Maconaquah has been outscored 51-6 by North Miami and Shenandoah. Whitko quarterback Cade Bechtold has completed 10 of 25 pass attempts this season for 97 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions. Hunter Reed, a 1,000-yard rusher last year, leads the team with 37 carries for 77 yards and a score. Zach Gardner has tallied 66 yards on 27 attempts. Maconaquah averages 156 rushing yards per game, led by Aaron Sedwick's total of 103 yards and Gemini Williams' 98.
Sprunger: "The team is progressing well, but we are nowhere near where we want to be. We are getting a better picture of which players are capable of playing on a Friday night and who needs time to develop their skills. We are still looking for players to fill and step up to spots, but overall the team is getting better. The scores of our games are not indicative of what this team is capable of achieving. Maconaquah is a very large team that gets off the ball and attacks their opponent very well. They can run the ball between the tackles and will challenge our defensive line and linebackers this week."
CASTON AT TRITON (HNAC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon
Coaches: Troy Slocum (Caston); Ron Brown (Triton)
Records: Caston 1-1 (0-1 HNAC); Triton 2-0 (1-0 HNAC)
Last Game: North Judson 38, Caston 22; Triton 22, LaVille 14
Last Year: Caston 6, Triton 0; Triton 50, Caston 0 (2016 sectional)
Matchup: Triton's 2017 football team may lead to a lot of references to the 2008 Trojan team, as this year's team goes after marks not attained since the season nine years ago. For example, the last time Triton football started a season 3-0, had a winning record and won a sectional title were all back in 2008. Junior quarterback Bo Snyder has been very effective, completing half of his 22 passes so far and averaging almost 150 yards a game. Snyder is getting plenty of help from his friends; senior Max Slusser is rushing for an average of seven yards every time he gets the ball, and junior Delano Shumpert has shown a knack for the big play. He has just four catches, but is averaging more than 40 yards a reception and has scored every time he's caught a pass. Caston will run the ball; senior quarterback Tayt Cowell has only eight passing attempts in the Comets' first two games, completing three for 31 yards. Kasey Ault is the workhorse of the Caston backfield, with more carries and twice the rushing yards than classmate and second-leading rusher Brady Hartman. Ault is also leading the way on defense for Caston with 14 solo and six assisted tackles, eight more total tackles than senior Brandon Kisner. Caston has fumbled the ball six times so far this season, but also recovered three loose balls and has an interception to its credit.
Brown: "We had a lot of things go our way (Friday night against LaVille). That was nice to have, and we got some extra momentum that we needed, because if it had changed back to the LaVille side, it would have made a hard game even more difficult. The mood's been pretty good around the locker room this week as we move our focus to Caston and wanting to avoid any letdown. I don't know that you can say that any team in our conference is going to be a trap game. As I look at state rankings, and we have quite a few teams in the HNAC that are getting votes. I don't know that anyone is an easy out. We'll want to win the battle up front, read our keys and fly to the ball like we've been doing. Caston runs a bunched-up offense, and it'll be the first time we see it. They have some good athletes on their team with good speed."
WAWASEE AT NORTHRIDGE (NLC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Middlebury
Coaches: Mike Eshbach (Wawasee); Tom Wogomon (Northridge)
Records: Wawasee 1-1 (0-0 NLC), Northridge 2-0 (0-0 NLC)
Last Game: West Noble 31, Wawasee 14; Northridge 27, S.B. St. Joseph 10
Last Year: Wawasee 21, Northridge 20, 2OT
Matchup: The Warrior offense never really got going last week in Ligonier, thanks in no small part to an injury to senior RB Alec Rosbrugh, who has yet to play a snap in 2017. Wawasee's two touchdowns against West Noble came on big plays; a 71-yard pass and a 65-yard run after the game's outcome was secure. Take out those two plays, and Wawasee had two first downs in the West Noble game. Eshbach said Rosbrugh is questionable for the Northridge game. Like most high school teams, Northridge runs the ball about 75 percent of the time. Seniors Connor Graber and Mason Troyer are getting around six yards a carry, and Graber is on pace to rush for 1,500 yards this season. Raider senior QB Nick Hooley is completing half his passes, and averages just under 13 yards a completion. Three senior receivers, Jordan Contreras, Brad Schwartz and Kyle Carson, are dividing up the catches evenly, with none having fewer than three nor more than five receptions. Contreras is also leading the Raiders with 20 tackles, 15 of those of the solo variety.
Eshbach: "When you have your starting running back out, and he's a top-quality kid, your No. 2 is going to struggle, no matter what team you're on. Rosbrugh being out has hurt us; he's a difference-maker. When you can't run the ball, you become one-dimensional, and with a sophomore quarterback, that's not a good recipe. We have some other injuries, especially in our offensive line, and we can't ignore the fact that we just didn't come to play. Northridge is a team that studies film and takes advantage of what their opponents don't do well. In their first two games they've done a good job of running the football and running the clock, One way to control the game is to run more plays than the other team, and they've run more plays than their opponents. For us to win, we're going to have to run more plays than they do, control the clock and be able to run the football."
WABASH AT MANCHESTER (TRC)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in North Manchester
Coaches: Floyd McWhirt (Wabash); Greg Miller (Manchester)
Records: Wabash 0-2 (0-0 TRC); Manchester 0-2 (0-0 TRC)
Last Game: Alexandria 27, Wabash 18; Bluffton 8, Manchester 0
Last Year: Wabash 28, Manchester 14; Wabash 40, Manchester 22 (TRC playoff)
Matchup: Manchester has moved the ball well, but that hasn't translated to points on the scoreboard. The Squires' passing game has been effective, with senior QB Hayes Sturtsman completing 23 of 54 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the first two games. Senior Devon Rooney and sophomore Trey Clark have 13 receptions between them, and junior Andrew McAtee has both TD receptions. Delton Moore has rushed for 124 yards in the last two weeks, but no one else on the team is in double digits, an area Miller said he's addressed in practice this week. Wabash started last season winning its first four games, including a win over the Squires in the third game, but is 1-7 since with the lone victory coming over Manchester in the TRC playoff. Sophomore QB Jared Holley has similar stats to Sturtsman, but with one less touchdown and two picks. Holley is also the leading rusher, with Kallen Kelshimer and Cody Beeks combining for 99 yards rushing in the Apaches' first two games. Logan Vander Velden is Holley's favorite target; so far he has 12 catches for 107 yards. Austin Wieland has just two catches, but they went for 84 yards and a touchdown. With the two teams so pass-happy, this game might take a while to finish.
Miller: "When we get in the red zone, we gotta put it in, no ifs, ands or buts about it. We need to get a more consistent running game, and we need to control the line of scrimmage. We've had an emphasis on being more physical and assignment-sound up front. It's tougher when three of our five linemen are sophomores, we'd like for them to have more experience, but it's time for them to step up and play varsity football. Defensively we played pretty well last week, but our linebackers need to do better with their reads. We held (Bluffton) to minus three yards passing, so I'm happy with that; it was "A Tale of Two Cities" between week one and week two in that area. We have some veteran defensive linemen; we just need to make sure we're reading our keys and making plays. Wabash has had our number the last couple of years (three losses by a combined score of 110-36) so our kids are pretty fired up about that. We don't feel like we're an 0-2 team. We've built some confidence the last couple of weeks, but like always, we need to control the line of scrimmage. If we do that, it's a good night for the Squires and we get our first victory."
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