NorthWood Settles Down, Defeats Warsaw 42-21
September 17, 2022 at 3:52 a.m.
NorthWood Settles Down, Defeats Warsaw 42-21
By Chip Davenport-
“The tide… turned, and we didn't respond well,” Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis remarked. “We found out we're not the ’85 Bears on defense, and we're not the Oklahoma Sooners from the 70s on offense.”
NorthWood’s opening possession was cut short when junior quarterback Owen Roeder’s pass attempt to 6’3” junior wide receiver NiTareon Tuggle was too high and too short. Warsaw’s cornerback Colt Van Houten intercepted the errant pass and returned it to the Panther 38-yard line.
The Tiger pick set up Bryson Brown’s 25-yard touchdown four plays later at the 10:14 mark in the opening frame. Mason Smythe’s extra point kick put Warsaw ahead 7-0.
The Panthers adjusted quickly for the remainder of the night, however, to contain Warsaw’s perimeter running game by applying the same defense Concord used the prior week. Although the Minutemen were shut out by Warsaw, last week’s hosts held the Tigers to 19 points.
The Tiger defense appeared poised to stuff NorthWood’s second possession and maintain their 7-0 advantage. A Warsaw offside penalty, however, moved the Panthers form third and five at their own 25-yard line to a first down at the Panther 30.
This miscue breathed new life into the Panthers, and Roeder immediately found scatback Wes Yoder (119 receiving yards, 2 TD catches, 91 rushing yards) in the left flat. The 5’10” 155 lb. junior sprinted through most of the defensive backfield for a 47-yard gain to the Tiger 23-yard line.
Roeder, on the ensuing play, pitched to Kaden Lone, who played quarterback in three previous seasons for NorthWood. The senior, lined up at scatback on this particular play, found Parker Filley for a 23-yard score to tie the ballgame at 7 points with 9:04 left in the first period.
Facing third and nine on their 41, Warsaw’s Grady Nolin connected on a 35-yard pass setting up German Flores-Ortega’s powerful 20-yard TD run. The 5’10 200-lb. B-back punctuated the run by trampling over a Panther defender enroute to paydirt, moving his orange and black squad ahead 14-7 with 2:32 in the first stanza.
The drive chewed up 6:32 in the first frame.
NorthWood, ranked #5 in IHSAA Class 4A, entered the contest exploiting its previous opponents with the 6’3” Tuggle and 6’4” Payne, two NCAA Division I caliber receivers.
Tuggle also showcased his running skills on a 19-yard reverse run to the right side of the Tiger defense to reach the Warsaw one-yard line. Ethan Evers, a Ball State commit, punched in a one-yard score to tie the fray 14-14 with 6:48 left before halftime.
The Tiger defense was challenged with stopping the Panthers on the short side of the field later in the second frame. Tuggle’s leaping TD catch from 29 yards out put NorthWood in the lead for good, 21-14 with 4:31 showing on the game clock.
Payne was shut out last night, so the Panthers’ switched their weapon of choice to the scatback Yoder on their ensuing scoring series. Yoder racked up all 44 of NorthWood’s yards on capped by a 13-yard screen pass with 1:32 remaining to carry the hosts’ 28-14 lead into halftime.
Parker Filley caught his second touchdown pass of the evening (9 yards) in the third quarter (4:44) to move NorthWood ahead 35-14.
Sophomore QB Drew Sullivan responded for Warsaw with a three-yard TD strike to Flores-Ortega in the final period with just under nine minutes remaining, returning the orange and black deficit to two scores, 35-21.
Roeder audibled to Yoder to move from scatback to flanker and found him open over the middle for a 63-yard catch-and-run TD – his fourth scoring strike of the night - with 6:08 left in the ballgame to close out the contest’s scoring.
The Panthers now stand at 5-0 overall, tied with IHSAA Class 5A #2 Mishawaka for the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) lead at 3-0.
NorthWood outgained Warsaw in total offense 342 yards (123 rushing, 219 passing) to 281 (244 rushing, 37 passing).
“They're a quality outfit,” Curtis said about the Panthers, his high school alma mater. “They play with a lot of pride and emotion, and we didn't match that. I'm really, really disappointed in how I prepared the kids for this. I take full responsibility 'cause it was not indicative of what these kids are capable of.”
The Tigers (4-1, 2-1 NLC) were led on offense by Flores-Ortega’s (148 rush yds., 1 rush TD, 1 rec. TD)
Mishawaka (5-0, 3-0 NLC) will put its unblemished record on the line in Warsaw’s Homecoming game this Friday at 7 p.m.
“The tide… turned, and we didn't respond well,” Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis remarked. “We found out we're not the ’85 Bears on defense, and we're not the Oklahoma Sooners from the 70s on offense.”
NorthWood’s opening possession was cut short when junior quarterback Owen Roeder’s pass attempt to 6’3” junior wide receiver NiTareon Tuggle was too high and too short. Warsaw’s cornerback Colt Van Houten intercepted the errant pass and returned it to the Panther 38-yard line.
The Tiger pick set up Bryson Brown’s 25-yard touchdown four plays later at the 10:14 mark in the opening frame. Mason Smythe’s extra point kick put Warsaw ahead 7-0.
The Panthers adjusted quickly for the remainder of the night, however, to contain Warsaw’s perimeter running game by applying the same defense Concord used the prior week. Although the Minutemen were shut out by Warsaw, last week’s hosts held the Tigers to 19 points.
The Tiger defense appeared poised to stuff NorthWood’s second possession and maintain their 7-0 advantage. A Warsaw offside penalty, however, moved the Panthers form third and five at their own 25-yard line to a first down at the Panther 30.
This miscue breathed new life into the Panthers, and Roeder immediately found scatback Wes Yoder (119 receiving yards, 2 TD catches, 91 rushing yards) in the left flat. The 5’10” 155 lb. junior sprinted through most of the defensive backfield for a 47-yard gain to the Tiger 23-yard line.
Roeder, on the ensuing play, pitched to Kaden Lone, who played quarterback in three previous seasons for NorthWood. The senior, lined up at scatback on this particular play, found Parker Filley for a 23-yard score to tie the ballgame at 7 points with 9:04 left in the first period.
Facing third and nine on their 41, Warsaw’s Grady Nolin connected on a 35-yard pass setting up German Flores-Ortega’s powerful 20-yard TD run. The 5’10 200-lb. B-back punctuated the run by trampling over a Panther defender enroute to paydirt, moving his orange and black squad ahead 14-7 with 2:32 in the first stanza.
The drive chewed up 6:32 in the first frame.
NorthWood, ranked #5 in IHSAA Class 4A, entered the contest exploiting its previous opponents with the 6’3” Tuggle and 6’4” Payne, two NCAA Division I caliber receivers.
Tuggle also showcased his running skills on a 19-yard reverse run to the right side of the Tiger defense to reach the Warsaw one-yard line. Ethan Evers, a Ball State commit, punched in a one-yard score to tie the fray 14-14 with 6:48 left before halftime.
The Tiger defense was challenged with stopping the Panthers on the short side of the field later in the second frame. Tuggle’s leaping TD catch from 29 yards out put NorthWood in the lead for good, 21-14 with 4:31 showing on the game clock.
Payne was shut out last night, so the Panthers’ switched their weapon of choice to the scatback Yoder on their ensuing scoring series. Yoder racked up all 44 of NorthWood’s yards on capped by a 13-yard screen pass with 1:32 remaining to carry the hosts’ 28-14 lead into halftime.
Parker Filley caught his second touchdown pass of the evening (9 yards) in the third quarter (4:44) to move NorthWood ahead 35-14.
Sophomore QB Drew Sullivan responded for Warsaw with a three-yard TD strike to Flores-Ortega in the final period with just under nine minutes remaining, returning the orange and black deficit to two scores, 35-21.
Roeder audibled to Yoder to move from scatback to flanker and found him open over the middle for a 63-yard catch-and-run TD – his fourth scoring strike of the night - with 6:08 left in the ballgame to close out the contest’s scoring.
The Panthers now stand at 5-0 overall, tied with IHSAA Class 5A #2 Mishawaka for the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) lead at 3-0.
NorthWood outgained Warsaw in total offense 342 yards (123 rushing, 219 passing) to 281 (244 rushing, 37 passing).
“They're a quality outfit,” Curtis said about the Panthers, his high school alma mater. “They play with a lot of pride and emotion, and we didn't match that. I'm really, really disappointed in how I prepared the kids for this. I take full responsibility 'cause it was not indicative of what these kids are capable of.”
The Tigers (4-1, 2-1 NLC) were led on offense by Flores-Ortega’s (148 rush yds., 1 rush TD, 1 rec. TD)
Mishawaka (5-0, 3-0 NLC) will put its unblemished record on the line in Warsaw’s Homecoming game this Friday at 7 p.m.
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