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Squires Take Route 66 In Rout

NORTH MANCHESTER - The last game of the regular season is a time when teams want to finish strong to carry momentum into the postseason. The Manchester Squires entered Friday night's football matchup against the Northfield Norsemen looking to gain another win on this last Three Rivers Conference game. They did it in a big way, blasting Northfield 66-0. With the shutout of the Norsemen, Manchester improved to 5-2 in the TRC, earning the Squires third place. Josh Peden and John Sommer each gained more yards on the ground than Northfield did in total offense. "Peden and Sommer both are good backs, good blockers and, most of all, good runners, and they have been like that all year for us," Manchester head coach Al Bailey said."They did a great job carrying the ball tonight." Manchester outplayed their opponent in virtually every aspect of the game.The Squires tallied 636 total offensive yards, while their defense held the Norsemen to 73.
ANDREW J. TRUDELL, Times-Union Sports Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

Marquette Ends Triton's VB Season

BOURBON -ÊAlthough the Triton volleyball team did not win the regional Saturday, the Trojans made school history by winning the regional semifinal match over Adams Central 2-15, 15-11, 15-6.The Trojans fell to Michigan City Marquette in the regional final match 15-7, 15-2. After losing the first game to Adams Central 2-15, Triton fought back in the second game.The Trojans jumped out to an early 4-2 lead after Beth Workman, Rachel Speicher and Janell Salisbury combined to serve the Triton points. "We had a lot of trouble in the first game," said Triton coach Gayle Perry."We played not to lose instead of playing to win.Some of it was nerves, but we were busy beating ourselves.
Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Writer- | July 28, 2016

Marian Ends Warriors' Soccer Season

VALPARAISO - The Wawasee girls soccer team ran into a buzzsaw Saturday morning in the form of Mishawa Marian. The Knights, led by five Division I soccer players, scored three second half goals and won 5-0 to advance to the Valparaiso semistate final where they fell to Portage 2-1 Saturday night. Marian jumped out on top early when Rachel Byron scored off an Erin Davis assist in the 18th minute to go up 1-0. An offside call took a potential Wawasee goal off the board then Marian put the match out of reach when they scored with just 46 seconds left in the first half. Byron intercepted a ball that Wawasee was trying to clear in its own end and tucked the ball into the back of the net to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.
DANIEL RIORDAN, Times-Union Sports Writer- | July 28, 2016

Minutemen Prove To Be Too Much For Warsaw

Friday night's football matchup between the Concord Minutemen and the Warsaw Tigers was a matchup of two very similar teams. Both teams came into the contest with records of 4-4 and 2-3 in the NLC. Besides having identical records, both teams have dangerous running backs.Concord's Rickey McKenzie and the Tiger's Jose Esquivel are both all-NLC material. McKenzie had the better night rushing with 217 yards as he led his Minutemen to a 31-17 win at Fisher Field. Early in the game it was Concord QB Russ Mann's arm, not McKenzie's legs, doing the damage.After McKenzie rushed the ball two straight times on Concord's first possession for no yards, Mann air-mailed a pass to senior wideout Matt Myers for 20 yards that placed the Minutemen on the Warsaw 26- yard line. Four plays later, Mann capped off the eight-play, 46- yard drive by hitting fullback Josh Staley from nine yards out.
DAN RIORDAN, Times-Union Sports Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

Valley Tames Eagle Offense

CONVERSE - The Oak Hill offense entered Friday's game with Tippecanoe Valley scoring 35.5 points per game.The Tippecanoe Valley defense entered allowing an average of just 10 points per game. And Valley's defense won out over Oak Hill's offense as the Vikings edged the Golden Eagles 7-6.Oak Hill finished the game with 158 total yards to Valley's 102, but Valley's defense got the job done with a strong second half. The Vikings shut down Oak Hill's playmakers on offense, quarterback Ben Dalrymple and running back Nathan King. After allowing 154 yards in the first half, the Viking defense allowed Oak Hill only four yards the entire second half. Dalrymple, who entered the game as the No.2 quarterback in the state with more than 1,000 passing yards, threw his first two interceptions of the year.He completed only 1-of-9 passes in the second half.
Staff Report- | July 28, 2016

Warriors Wake Up In Second Half

SYRACUSE - After playing as sluggish a half of football they had all year, the Wawasee Warriors followed it with perhaps their best. Wawasee (8-2) trailed East Noble (6-4) 21-7 at halftime of Friday night's sectional opener at Warrior Field on the campus of Wawasee High School. The Warriors came out in the final 24 minutes and scored on every possession they had in the second half to come away with a 45-28 win over the Knights. While he may not drive the team bus or tape ankles, Wawasee quarterback Joe Leach continued to be Mr.Everything for the Warriors. Leach got the Warriors' second-half scoring barrage started when he found fellow senior Andrew Mock from 27 yards out at the 10:31 mark of the third quarter to pull the Warriors to within a touchdown at 21-14. Three minutes later, Leach scampered into the endzone from 16 yards out to tie the contest at 21-21.
DANIEL RIORDAN, Times-Union Sports Writer- | July 28, 2016

Rochester Holds On To Bell Trophy For Sixth Straight Season

AKRON - The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings squared off against their rivals the Rochester Zebras for the right to the Bell Trophy Friday night. Going into the game, the Zebras had retained the trophy and bragging rights for five straight years.Despite Valley's best efforts and their own worst efforts, the Zebras extended their winning streak to six with a 7-0 victory. The game was filled with miscues and questionable decisions on both ends. It was also played in winds normally reserved for hurricanes and tropical storms.Mother Nature affected the air attack of both squads.That boiled the game down to the big uglies on the line. On Friday night, the Zebras' linemen were just a tad uglier than Valley's.The only score of the game came when Rochester senior fullback Jeff Byers rumbled behind his blockers from 47 yards out to give his team the lead and eventually the win. Valley threatened on its second drive of the game.
DAN RIORDAN, Times-Union Sports Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

No. 8 NorthWood Ditches Lakeland

LIGONIER - If NorthWood had any thoughts that a sectional title would be easy, they are gone now. There won't be any free rides.Teams aren't going to just lie down and let the No.8 Panthers' volleyball team stroll to the West Noble Sectional Championship. NorthWood definitely knows that now. The Panthers fought off jitters and eventually Lakeland (19-10) Thursday 15-12, 15-2 in the first round of the Class 3A sectional. "We really weren't prepared and ready to play," NorthWood coach Peg Bough said."I didn't say much to the girls before the game.I thought the girls needed to see for themselves.
Greg Jones, Times-Union Sports Editor- | July 28, 2016

Warsaw, Carroll Matchup Put On Hold

COLUMBIA CITY - This hasn't been a good week for Warsaw soccer teams and suspended sectional games. Three days after the Tiger girls had their sectional game (in a shootout) with Columbia City suspended because of darkness, the Tiger boys got the same fate when their sectional game with the Carroll Chargers was suspended because of impending inclement weather Thursday. Unlike the girls, though, the boys won't have much time to think about the continuation as their game will be completed tonight at 7:30 p.m.The girls had their Monday game suspended until Saturday at 10 a.m. The game was suspended just as the second half was about to begin and Carroll leading 1-0.It was a little windy when play was about to begin again, but tournament officials knew the storm was on its way and took no chances in starting the second half.
Greg Jones, Times-Union Sports Editor- | July 28, 2016

Willingness Spurs Wildcats On

SOUTH WHITLEY - The way Whitko football coach Bryan Sprunger figures it, the success of this year's team can be traced back to a speech he gave to his team when grueling two-a-day practices were common and cool weather was welcomed rather than dreaded. "I told the kids early this year 'There's nothing this football team can give you,'" he recalls."It's the players and the coaches.It comes down to what they're willing to give to the program. "If they're willing to give to it, then they'll receive from it." The players put in their effort.What they have received is a 7-2 record and a trip to the second round of the sectional.They will be at No.6 (3A) Harding, another 7-2 team, at 7:30 p.m.Friday. How much have the players given to the program? Practices that were detested under the hot August sun are, if you can believe it, "boring" now. That's what Sprunger says, anyway.
Jeff Holsinger, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Grace Volleyball Team Wins MCC Championship

MISHAWAKA -ÊThe Grace College volleyball team clinched its second consecutive regular season Mid-Central Conference Championship Tuesday night by defeating Bethel 15-10, 14-16, 15-9, 16-14. Combined with an Indiana Wesleyan victory over Taylor, the Lancers won the title outright as the lone 6-1 team in the conference. For the second season in a row, the Lancers went on the road to win the championship.Last year, Grace upset Indiana Wesleyan on the road in the final conference match of the year to win the championship. Tricia Doyle led the Lancers with 23 kills and 20 digs.Jamie Gill added 20 kills and Kate Millen had 14 kills and 13 blocks.Jessica Zaugg added 60 assists. In a match with large momentum swings, the Lancers never had the match sewn up until the final point.
Jason Knavel, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Whitko Escapes Against Rochester

ROCHESTER - Teams just can't be expected to come up with big play after big play the way Whitko did Friday night against the Rochester Zebras.Facing what seemed like insurmountable odds time after time, the Wildcats met the challenge in a thrilling 18-17 victory. Rochester kicker Josh Smith missed a 21 yard field goal attempt wide right with two seconds to play that gave Whitko a wild come-from-behind victory on Senior Night in Rochester. Consider the opportunities Rochester had to put the final touches on the game before the field goal attempt: • In the second quarter, Rochester led 14-6 and just regained the ball with two minutes to play after stopping Whitko on a fourth-and-one.The Wildcats stopped them six times inside the twenty-yard line, and held them to a field goal to close out the half and stay close.
JASON KNAVEL, Times-Union Sports Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

'Ridge Blanks Valley

MENTONE - It had been 13 years since Valley last played Northridge.That night, the Vikings knocked off the Raiders 27-8. It may be another 13 years until Valley wants another shot at Northridge after the Raiders shut out Valley 17-0 in a sectional semifinal on Friday. Coaches often talk about turnovers being the key to a football game.Although the Vikings did not have any in the opening half, a number of penalties cost Valley in much the same way that turnovers would. Northridge put together a 15-play, 84-yard drive that started with 5:16 to play in the first quarter and ended 38 seconds into the second after quarterback Jody Weldy kept the option around end for an 8-yard score.On the extra point attempt, Northridge and Valley exchanged five-yard penalties before Valley's James Dawson broke through the line and blocked the extra point to keep the score 6-0. That's when the trouble began.
Jason Knavel, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Warsaw Whips Central Noble

COLUMBIA CITY - First-year Warsaw volleyball coach Jamie Byron didn't have to wonder very long how a season-ending slump would affect her team in the sectional. The Tigers (20-14) jumped all over Central Noble in the second game of the Columbia City Volleyball Sectional and never looked back in cruising past the Cougars, 15-1, 15-2, Thursday. The match took a little over a half hour to finish as the Tigers completely dominated the overmatched Cougars.
Greg Jones, Times-Union Sports Editor- | July 28, 2016

Warsaw Girls CC Team Earns First Trip To State

NORTH MANCHESTER - Paul Sibray clapped his hands, raised his arms and let out a yell. The coach had just watched his Warsaw girls cross country team run its best race of the season at Saturday's Manchester Semistate.The results were not official, but he believed they ran well enough to go to Saturday's state finals in Bloomington. The Tigers did and will. West Noble, ranked No.5, won with a score of 91.Warsaw, ranked No.19, took second with 113.The Tigers leapfrogged ranked teams like No.12 Fort Wayne Northrop (fifth), No.13 Northridge (seventh) and No.18 DeKalb (eighth). The trip to state as a team is the first for the Warsaw girls cross country program.
Jeff Holsinger, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Wawasee Girls Finish As Runners-up

ELKHART - Even in a sport that appears to be as individual-oriented as cross country, depth can play a big part. The Wawasee girls' squad has been living with that theme all season and proved it to be a big factor once again at the Elkhart Central Cross Country Sectional Saturday at Ox Bow Park. Despite having their No.1 runner, Aubrey Coy, battling illness all season and No.2 runner Mary Cockburn out of action with an injury, the Warriors still had enough good, healthy runners to finish as runners-up to powerhouse Northridge in the girls' portion of the sectional. "We knew there were some good girls teams here," Wawasee co-coach Dave Stookey said."Northridge is head and shoulders above everybody else, but looking at the rest of the teams, we thought we had a good shot at finishing second." Northridge ran away with the team title with 30 points.Wawasee was second with 94.
Greg Jones, Times-Union Sports Editor- | July 28, 2016

Wawasee Wired For Regional

SYRACUSE - Excitement is in the air at the Wawasee High School track. Why? Maybe it's because the boys cross country team placed first in the sectional last week. Maybe it's because it is the team's first sectional title in school history. Or maybe it's because excitement is infectionus.These guys are just plain excited to be where they are. The Warrior runners are not excited because they are surprised to be where they are - they've earned their spot at the top of the heap. With honors including an NLC title and a 15-1 record, the Warrior cross country team has worked hard to get where it is. "This is a hard-working team," said senior Curtis Shoemaker."We're also a close-knit team." Wawasee's boys cross country team does not just run together, they spend much of their free time together - by choice, not because they are forced to.
Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Writer- | July 28, 2016

Warsaw To Host Baseball Regional Tuesday

After capturing the Fort Wayne Carroll Sectional title, several Warsaw baseball players dumped a jug of ice water on first-year head coach Mike Hepler. It seems like the Tigers are getting pretty good at leaving others with a cold feeling. Warsaw fell to Columbia City in both ends of a doubleheader early in the season.The Tigers then came back Thursday night to upend the Eagles 1-0 for their first sectional crown since 2003 and third since 1996. Revenge is sweet. That 2003 squad had the likes of seniors Ryan DeGeeter, Josh Stork, William Knepper and Berto Nunez. This year's Warsaw squad is led by seniors Kyler Mylin, Bryan Brumbaugh, Matt Ransbottom, Evan Lancaster and Mark Sudhoff. Mylin scored Warsaw's lone run against Columbia City while Ransbottom was masterful for six innings before running into some control issues in the bottom of the seventh.
DANIEL RIORDAN, Times-Union Sports Writer- | July 28, 2016

NorthWood Spikers Secure NLC Title

SYRACUSE - You would think Peg Bough would be happier. She just watched her No.8 (3A) NorthWood volleyball team get past Wawasee 15-7, 7-15, 15-5 Thursday.The win gave the Panthers a perfect 6-0 mark in the Northern Lakes Conference plus the school's first NLC volleyball title.And NorthWood continued its record-setting season by upping its mark to 25-3. But Bough was probably thinking about the big picture, and that means the postseason, which opens up in six days. Bough was thinking how the Panthers were outscored 22-12 by the Warriors (17-14, 2-4 NLC) after opening up an 11-0 lead in the first game.Bough was also thinking about how the Panthers' play had become lackluster during that stretch and allowed the underdog Warriors to gain some confidence and play with her talented Panther squad.
Greg Jones, Times-Union Sports Editor- | July 28, 2016

Woodlan Edges Manchester 7-6

NORTH MANCHESTER - The game plan for both Woodlan and Manchester Friday night in the first round of sectional action was simple, run right, run left and run up the middle.With such simple schemes, one play can often times make a difference. That was the case Friday night. The game was decided on the right toe of Woodlan kicker Brandon Wells.His extra point after the only score of the night for the Warriors was the deciding factor as Woodlan eliminated the Squires 7-6. "Little things make a difference," said Manchester head coach Al Bailey."Our defense put us in position to win." The Squires defense did more than put the team in position to win, they scored the team's only points. With Woodlan looking at a long second down and 29 yards to go, Warriors quarterback Justin Gay dropped back for a screen pass.But the play was read perfectly by the Manchester defense.
Travis Stahl, Times-Union Sports Correspondent- | July 28, 2016
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