New-Look Warriors Fall To Raiders
September 2, 2017 at 5:57 a.m.
By Steve Krah-
Quarterback Evan Eshbach is lost for the season – he had surgery Tuesday. Running back Keyan Peele is also banged up, along with others on first-year coach Mike Eshbach’s “M*A*S*H unit.”
But that didn’t keep the Warriors from taking it to Northridge early in a Northern Lakes Conference contest Friday at Raider Field.
Wawasee scored the game’s first points and led 12-7 at one stage before falling 37-12.
“Our identity has changed a little bit,” said Eshbach. “I don’t expect anybody to feel sorry for us. We’ve just got to get better at what we do.”
A 75-yard punt return by Jacob Hand and his 15-yard touchdown catch from Aaron Evans accounted for all of the Warriors’ points.
Northridge led 17-12 at halftime, with Kyle Carson catching touchdown passes from Nick Hooley of 28 and 44 yards, and Nolan Laughlin booting a 28-yard field goal on the last play of the first half. The Raiders were able to move to ball, but not sustain some of its drives in the opening half.
“We gave them the momentum,” said Eshbach after his team fell to 1-2 and 0-1 overall and the Raiders moved to 3-0 and 1-0. “You can sum the game up by saying we made too many mistakes. We were trying to establish some of that momentum and build on it.
“Give credit to Northridge. They didn’t panic. They stayed the course. They made some plays when they needed to and controlled the clock a little bit. We have to be better in all phases of the game.”
A pooch kickoff to open the third quarter gave Wawasee the ball in Raider territory, only for Northridge to take it back on an interception and long return by Mason Troyer that led to a 15-yard Hooley scoring run.
The Raiders outscored the Warriors 20-0 in the second half. Julius Graber (4 yards) and Conner Graber (6 yards) had touchdown runs for the hosts in the fourth quarter.
“The game didn’t start the way we wanted it to,” said Northridge coach Tom Wogomon, who previously coached at Wawasee. “The credit goes squarely on the visitor’s side. They came out ready to play. They gave us some really good looks.
“We just weren’t able to take control like we wanted to (early on). They did a real good job of stopping what we wanted to do, which was run inside.”
Wogomon saw his team loosen up in the second half.
“We stopped playing so tight,” said Wogomon.
The Concord Minutemen, who upset No. 1 NorthWood Friday, visit Wawasee in Week 4, while Northridge travels to Plymouth for a battle of unbeatens.
NORTHRIDGE 37, WAWASEE 12
W 6 6 0 0 – 12
N 7 10 7 13 – 37
W N
1st downs 6 19
Rushing yds 43 255
Passing yds 127 160
Comp-Att-Int 9-13-2 5-12-1
Total yds 170 325
Fumbles/lost 2-0 1-0
Penalties/yds 3/15 9/88
Punts/avg. 6/35.0 3/41.0
First Quarter
W – Jacob Hand 75 punt return (conversion pass failed) 2:10, 6-0
N – Kyle Carson 28 pass from Nick Hooley (Nolan Laughlin kick) :14, 7-6
Second Quarter
W – Hand 15 pass from Aaron Evans (conversion run failed) 6:41, 12-7
N – Carson 44 pass from Hooley (Laughlin kick) 3:05, 14-12
N – Laughlin 28 field goal, :00, 17-12
Third Quarter
N – Hooley 12 run (Laughlin kick) 10:20, 27-12
Fourth Quarter
N – Julius Graber 4 run (Laughlin kick) 8:12, 31-12
N – Conner Graber 6 run (kick blocked) 3:19, 37-12
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Wawasee, Alec Rosbrugh 15-29, Aaron Evans 10-18, Jacob Hand 1-4, Dylan Hepler-Fink 1-(-2); Northridge, Conner Graber 13-59, Tug Modglin 8-57, Nick Hooley 9-42, Mason Troyer 8-36, Brad Schwartz 2-32, Julius Graber 4-25, Kyle Carson 1-4, Terry Vincent 1-1, Nick Logan 2-(-1)
Passing: Wawasee, Evans 9-13-127, 1 TD, 2 Int.; Northridge, Hooley 5-12-160, 1 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving: Wawasee, Hand 5-92, Rosbrugh 1-16, Dalton Pearish 2-16, Raymond Torres 1-3; Northridge, Carson 2-72, Schwartz 2-48, Conner Utley 1-40
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Quarterback Evan Eshbach is lost for the season – he had surgery Tuesday. Running back Keyan Peele is also banged up, along with others on first-year coach Mike Eshbach’s “M*A*S*H unit.”
But that didn’t keep the Warriors from taking it to Northridge early in a Northern Lakes Conference contest Friday at Raider Field.
Wawasee scored the game’s first points and led 12-7 at one stage before falling 37-12.
“Our identity has changed a little bit,” said Eshbach. “I don’t expect anybody to feel sorry for us. We’ve just got to get better at what we do.”
A 75-yard punt return by Jacob Hand and his 15-yard touchdown catch from Aaron Evans accounted for all of the Warriors’ points.
Northridge led 17-12 at halftime, with Kyle Carson catching touchdown passes from Nick Hooley of 28 and 44 yards, and Nolan Laughlin booting a 28-yard field goal on the last play of the first half. The Raiders were able to move to ball, but not sustain some of its drives in the opening half.
“We gave them the momentum,” said Eshbach after his team fell to 1-2 and 0-1 overall and the Raiders moved to 3-0 and 1-0. “You can sum the game up by saying we made too many mistakes. We were trying to establish some of that momentum and build on it.
“Give credit to Northridge. They didn’t panic. They stayed the course. They made some plays when they needed to and controlled the clock a little bit. We have to be better in all phases of the game.”
A pooch kickoff to open the third quarter gave Wawasee the ball in Raider territory, only for Northridge to take it back on an interception and long return by Mason Troyer that led to a 15-yard Hooley scoring run.
The Raiders outscored the Warriors 20-0 in the second half. Julius Graber (4 yards) and Conner Graber (6 yards) had touchdown runs for the hosts in the fourth quarter.
“The game didn’t start the way we wanted it to,” said Northridge coach Tom Wogomon, who previously coached at Wawasee. “The credit goes squarely on the visitor’s side. They came out ready to play. They gave us some really good looks.
“We just weren’t able to take control like we wanted to (early on). They did a real good job of stopping what we wanted to do, which was run inside.”
Wogomon saw his team loosen up in the second half.
“We stopped playing so tight,” said Wogomon.
The Concord Minutemen, who upset No. 1 NorthWood Friday, visit Wawasee in Week 4, while Northridge travels to Plymouth for a battle of unbeatens.
NORTHRIDGE 37, WAWASEE 12
W 6 6 0 0 – 12
N 7 10 7 13 – 37
W N
1st downs 6 19
Rushing yds 43 255
Passing yds 127 160
Comp-Att-Int 9-13-2 5-12-1
Total yds 170 325
Fumbles/lost 2-0 1-0
Penalties/yds 3/15 9/88
Punts/avg. 6/35.0 3/41.0
First Quarter
W – Jacob Hand 75 punt return (conversion pass failed) 2:10, 6-0
N – Kyle Carson 28 pass from Nick Hooley (Nolan Laughlin kick) :14, 7-6
Second Quarter
W – Hand 15 pass from Aaron Evans (conversion run failed) 6:41, 12-7
N – Carson 44 pass from Hooley (Laughlin kick) 3:05, 14-12
N – Laughlin 28 field goal, :00, 17-12
Third Quarter
N – Hooley 12 run (Laughlin kick) 10:20, 27-12
Fourth Quarter
N – Julius Graber 4 run (Laughlin kick) 8:12, 31-12
N – Conner Graber 6 run (kick blocked) 3:19, 37-12
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Wawasee, Alec Rosbrugh 15-29, Aaron Evans 10-18, Jacob Hand 1-4, Dylan Hepler-Fink 1-(-2); Northridge, Conner Graber 13-59, Tug Modglin 8-57, Nick Hooley 9-42, Mason Troyer 8-36, Brad Schwartz 2-32, Julius Graber 4-25, Kyle Carson 1-4, Terry Vincent 1-1, Nick Logan 2-(-1)
Passing: Wawasee, Evans 9-13-127, 1 TD, 2 Int.; Northridge, Hooley 5-12-160, 1 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving: Wawasee, Hand 5-92, Rosbrugh 1-16, Dalton Pearish 2-16, Raymond Torres 1-3; Northridge, Carson 2-72, Schwartz 2-48, Conner Utley 1-40
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