Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NAPPANEE- In the wide world of sports, all streaks - winning or losing - must come to an end.
The Jimtown Jimmies came into Friday night's football game boasting a 30-game win streak, which included a 21-20 win over NorthWood last year. They entered the contest ranked No. 1 Class 2A.
But when it came down to it, No. 2 (3A) NorthWood turned to experience.
NorthWood starting quarterback Charlie Roeder, with three years of experience behind the line, led his team to a 14-0 win over Jimtown. Roeder completed 8 of 18 passes for 168 yards. Though he tossed four interceptions, Jimtown failed to put points on the board.
With a new scoreboard on Andrews Field, NorthWood coach, Rich Dodson was extremely happy his defense never allowed Jimtown to light up the visitors' score side.
"I guarantee we beat the odds-makers on this one," Dodson said, "a complete shutout of such a good program."
Defense was the key in this football game as each defense put stops to all offensive attacks. With the game scoreless through the first three quarters, both teams pulled out all of the stops to try to score in the fourth.
Midway through the fourth quarter, NorthWood put together a solid drive with 19 plays and three first downs that they capped off with a 10-yard touchdown run by Roeder.
With 7:19 left on the clock, Jimtown had plenty of time to put together a drive.
And drive the Jimmies did. After getting into a first-and-goal on the 9-yard line, they fumbled the football. The Jimmies had three costly turnovers throughout the game.
"We played hard, but not well,"Jimtown coach Bill Sharpe said. "You just have to put some points on the scoreboard to win it."
The last time Jimtown was held scoreless was in a regular-season game against Concord in 1991. The Jimmies lost that game 31-0, but they did win the state title that year.
With a solid defense and an experienced offense, NorthWood is staking its claim in the Northern Lakes Conference in 1999.
"The key this season is to stay fired up and disciplined at the same time," Dodson said, "If we can do that, we will be successful."
NorthWood (1-0) hosts Bremen (1-0) next Friday.
NORTHWOOD 14, JIMTOWN 0
NorthWood 0 0 0 14 - 14
Jimtown 0 0 0 0 - 0
N J
First downs 15 15
Rushing yards 29-217 34-177
Passing yards 168 38
Comp.-Att.-Int. 8-18-4 4-11-1
Total offense 385 215
Fumbles lost 1-0 4-2
Punts/avg. 5-34.2 5-23.2
Penalties/yards 2-20 4-20
Fourth Quarter
N -ÊCharlie Roeder 10 run (kick failed), 7:19, 6-0 N
N - Jason Brennaman 49 run (Roeder run good), 3:49 N
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - NorthWood: Brennaman 9-108, Roeder 13-92, Jimtown: Rider 5-41, Bauer 7-39.
Passing -ÊNorthWood: Roeder 8-18-4 168. Jimtown: Robert Menchinger 4-10-0 38.
Receiving -ÊNorthWood: Ian Reed 3-51, Brennaman 1-42. Jimtown: Josh Smith 1-9, Ryan Vest 1-7.
