NAPPANEE - The 90-degree two-a-days of early August have come and gone, as have the mild Fridays of September and October.Now the only thing that separates Class 3A No.5 NorthWood from its fourth trip to the climate-controlled RCA Dome in Indianapolis are 48 minutes with sixth-ranked Zionsville in the bitter November air. The possibility of snow and near 20-degree temperatures doesn't seem to bother NorthWood football coach Rich Dodson, whose 11-2 Panthers host the Eagles (10-3) tonight at 7:30 for the right to play either top-ranked Heritage Hills (13-0) or No.9 Indianapolis Roncalli (10-3) next Saturday in the 3A state championship game. "We're not going to let the weather bother us," Dodson, owner of a 97-17 record in nine years at NorthWood, said."If lousy weather is an advantage for us, the lousier the better." One thing is for sure, if the weather is lousy, both teams would be more than happy to keep the ball on the ground.
DALE HUBLER, Times-Union Sports Writer- | July 28, 2016