On the Gridiron

ELKHART MEMORIAL AT WARSAW (NLC)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Warsaw

Coaches: Phil Teegarden (Elk. Memorial), Troy Akers (Warsaw)

Records: Elk. Memorial 1-2, 1-1 NLC; Warsaw 2-1, 0-1 NLC

Last Game: Elk. Memorial 35, Goshen 7; Plymouth 24, Warsaw 17

Last Year: Elk. Memorial 10, Warsaw 7

Matchup: After stellar defensive play in the first two games, Warsaw was unable to stop Plymouth's running game last week. The Tigers look to get back on track this week with a homecoming game against the visting Crimson Chargers, a team that graduated a plethora of offensive stars from a team whose only loss last year was to state runner-up Penn in the sectional. For Warsaw offensively, Antonio Castillo has seven catches through three games for 328 yards and three touchdowns. He enters week No. 4 averaging 46.9 yards per catch. Senior tailback Thomas Balestri has carried the ball 45 times for 239 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, and scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Michael Wienhorst has thrown for 521 yards and four touchdowns. Junior end Shaun Cabrera leads the Tiger defense with 29 tackles, including 13 for loss. Junior Jacob Buck has 25 tackles through three games, 10 of which were for a loss. As a unit, the Tiger defense has 64 tackles for loss through three games. This is the fourth meeting between these teams since Memorial joined the Northern Lakes Conference. Warsaw owns a 2-1 advantage in those games.

Akers: "Memorial has a lot of team speed, particuarly at the skilled positions. Their defense isn't the biggest group we've seen but they're fast and fly to the ball. Their offense is centered around senior Nick Corpe. He's 85 percent of their offense, and he's very good. They lost a great senior class from last year, but they still have a lot of athletes. Last week we were basically humbled by old fashioned between-the-tackles running. Our emphasis this week has been on toughening up in the middle. I think we're a good defensive unit, but we've got to tackle and be aggressive. Homecoming is good for the fans, school and community. We have a chance to win an NLC football game. That makes it a special night."

NO. 9 (4A) WAWASEE AT CONCORD (NLC)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Dunlap

Coaches: Joe Rietveld (Wawasee), Tim Dawson (Concord)

Records: Wawasee 3-0, 1-0 NLC; Concord 1-2, 1-1 NLC

Last Game: Wawasee 37, Northridge 7; NorthWood 23, Concord 13

Last Year: Wawasee 23, Concord 8

Matchup: In 13 meetings between these two teams since 1994, Concord holds an overwhelming 12-1 advantage. Wawasee's one win, however, was last year. The Warriors enter Friday's game with a 3-0 record and are ranked No. 9 in the latest 4A poll. Through three games, Warrior running back Jordan Swain has carried the ball 62 times for 569 yards and seven touchdowns. He averages 9.2 yards per carry and 189.6 yards per game. Kory Lantz has thrown for 500 yards thus far, completing 33 of 56 passes with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Ben Champoux leads the Wawasee receiving corps with 11 catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 18.4 yards per catch.

Rietveld: "Concord is a very good team. They got beat by the No. 2 team in the state, and then got beat by another ranked team in NorthWood. They're very good. I don't know what we can do against them, but what we need to do is stop their running game. That's the first little thing on our to-do list. The second thing, offensively we want to stay balanced. We need to establish a good rushing attack and then a good passing attack. We're going to have to be able to throw the ball more successfully this week. Nothing against our first three opponents, but on film Concord is the best team we'll have played to date. Their defensive front four is athletic, and they have an athletic secondary. Dairese Gary in the secondary is very athletic. At 6-1, 180 pounds, he's a very good athlete. I saw him play basketball last year. He's a very good athlete."

Dawson: "They're obviously deserving of their ranking. This is probably the best Wawasee team I've seen. They're a team to be reckoned with. With kids like Lantz, Swain and Champoux running that offense since they were sophomores, they're so skilled in what they do. We are a few plays from being 3-0 ourselves. Offensively, we've had some opportunities. It's a huge enough game for us to know we have a chance to remain in the hunt for the conference if we win. But with two losses you know you're pretty much out of things. It's a matter of being solid in all three aspects of the game. They have been very good at making the big plays. Those kids just have a lot of confidence."

VALLEY AT SOUTHWOOD (TRC)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Wabash

Coaches: Scott Bibler (Valley), Terry Siddall (Southwood)

Records: Valley 1-2, 1-0 TRC; Southwood 1-2, 0-1 TRC

Last Game: Valley 23, Manchester 7; Whitko 41, Southwood 12

Last Year: Valley 33, Southwood 6

Matchup: Valley has won three of the last four matchups with the 2002 1A state champions of Southwood. The Knights lost to Valley 33-6 last year in Death Valley. Southwood looks to return the favor at home. To do so, Southwood will need to stop the running game of Bryan Wong. Wong is second in the area in rushing with 343 yards on 59 carries. Wong has scored 30 of Valley's 39 points this year. Last week Viking coach Scott Bibler picked up his 85th win as coach at Valley, the only place Bibler has been a head coach.

Bibler: "Southwood has always been a good rivalry. We look for an intense football game. They have good coaches working their kids hard. Southwood is going to be hungry. Defensively, we're going to have to pursue the ball and hit better. On offense we need to get off the ball quicker from our line. Like us, they're off to a slow start. Our main goal, our main objective is to improve Tippecanoe Valley football every week."

Siddall: "We know that Bryan Wong is the man. We have to know where he lines up. The numbers, aside they have talent. You're not going to find a weak team in the TRC."

BREMEN AT TRITON (NSC)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon

Coaches: Richard Moren (Bremen), Rodney Younis (Triton)

Records: Bremen 0-3, 0-1 NSC; Triton 2-1, 1-0 NSC

Last Game: New Prarie 49, Bremen 6; Triton 26, Culver 7

Last Year: Bremen 35, Triton 0

Matchup: In the past 10 years, Triton is 0-10 against NSC foe Bremen. The Trojans have been shutout in five of those games. During those 10 losses, Triton hasn't come closer than 16 points. This year Bremen is led through the air by junior Rob Zeltwanger. Zeltwanger is 24-54 for 301 yards thru three games. Triton will be led by QB Cory McClarnon. McClarnon has rushed for 180 yards on 23 carries to go with 131 yards through the air. Bryon Overmyer adds to the Trojan rushing attack with 58 carries for 221 yards while Ben Bell has rushed for 154 yards on 28 carries.

Moren: "We are looking for a win. We're hoping that the strength of the teams we played helps us. First thing we look at after playing tough games like that is the injury factor and we're good there. We're going to try and find a balance of rushing and throwing the ball. Defensively we're going to run our typical 4-4 defense and make adjustments from that."

Younis: "Bremen is going to be hungry. I thought on film they looked good. We have to try and take that aggression and match their intensity. We're showing improvement each week. We can't control what other teams do, but we can control what we do. Defensively, we need to step up. Once we get the inside game going with our outside game, passing and opening things up on offense I think we can be pretty successful."

MANCHESTER AT WHITKO (TRC)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley

Coaches: Brandon Baker (Manchester), Bryan Sprunger (Whitko)

Records: Manchester 0-3, 0-1 TRC; Whitko 1-2, 1-0 TRC

Last Game: Valley 23, Manchester 7; Whitko 41, Southwood 12

Last Year: Whitko 40, Manchester 22

Matchup: Manchester hasn't beaten Whitko since 2001 when the Squires beat the Wildcats in a 22-20 double overtime thriller. This year, with new head coach Brandon Baker and a new offense, it will be a contrast in styles. Whitko is a run first, run second attack with Tyler Wilkinson and Jarad Eberly. Wilkinson has rushed for 315 yards, while Eberly has rushed for 208. Whitko's top four rushers have gone for nearly 800 yards this year. Manchester has adopted a pass-happy offense. With opening night starting quarterback Joe Egner out, Brian Runkel has stepped in and gone 12-26 for 212 yards in six quarters. Nick Poe leads the Squires in receiving with 13 catches for 94 yards.

Baker: "We had a great week of practice. It was really the first time all year we've put back-to-back days like that, so that's encouraging. When we do what we're supposed to do, we're a pretty good football team. But when we have those mental breakdowns, it leads to big plays for the other team and it's trouble for us. Whitko's pretty quick on both sides of the ball. On offense, we have to move our feet. Their down linemen aren't big, but they're quick, so we have to be aware of that. On defense, they have a good running attack, so we're going to have to tackle well."

Sprunger: "We're going to see a different Manchester team than we've seen before. They're wide open now and going down the field quite a bit more than they have in the past five or six years. Nate Stoops is an awful good running back. Like a lot of other teams, Manchester has made some mistakes early in the season, but it seems like they're making less every week. No matter who you play in our, conference you know they're going to be well prepared and well coached."