WARSAW AT PLYMOUTH (NLC) Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Plymouth Coaches: Phil Jensen (Warsaw), John Barron (Plymouth) Records: Warsaw 1-1/0-0 NLC; Plymouth 1-1/0-0 NLC Last Game: Homestead 63, Warsaw 7; Plymouth 28, Rochester 0 Last Year: Plymouth 29, Warsaw 13 Matchup: A Labor Day weekend tradition continues Friday when the Warsaw Tigers and Plymouth Rockies meet on the football field. This is the 93rd meeting in the series, which began in 1924. The Rockies have won eight of the last nine meetings and own a 48-42-2 record. Both teams have a clean slate now, so to speak, as they begin Northern Lakes Conference play. Warsaw enters the third game of the season on the heels of a 63-7 loss to Homestead, while Plymouth pulled out a 28-20 win over Rochester. In the first two weeks of the season, the majority of Warsaw’s offense has come from the ground game. Junior Tristan McClone has carried the ball 60 times for 339 yards and three touchdowns. No other Tiger ball carrier has more than 60 yards rushing. Austin Head has completed 13 of 20 passes for 128 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns. Senior Taylor Cone leads Warsaw’s receivers with nine catches for 82 yards. In last week’s win over Rochester, Plymouth’s Sam Stevens carried the ball 23 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns, while Kyle Lacefield completed 6 of 11 passes for 84 yards and threw two interceptions. Plymouth’s lineup could get a spark in the second half of Friday’s game, as a number of Rockies that were suspended and haven’t played yet this season will be eligible to play in the third and fourth quarters. Jensen: “A lot of people think the Wawasee game is big, and it is with the W Trophy and every thing, but the game with Plymouth is a big, big deal to a lot of people. Warsaw and Plymouth just plain don’t like each other, it doesn’t matter if it’s football, basketball, soccer, whatever. A lot of that goes back when this rivalry started, just two small towns. They’re going to run the ball. They want to physically take over the game on both sides of the ball. They play to and through the whistle. We’ve got to move the ball, and when we do, we have to get points out of it.”
NORTHRIDGE AT WAWASEE (NLC) Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Syracuse Coaches: Jon Kirkton (Northridge), Tom Wogomon (Wawasee) Records: Northridge 0-2, Wawasee 1-1 Last Game: East Noble 48, Northridge 7; SB. St. Joe 35, Wawasee 7 Last Year: Wawasee 34, Northridge 6 Matchup: The Wawasee Warriors will look to get their third-straight win over Northridge in the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams Friday in Syracuse. Wawasee comes in fresh off a loss to a talented St. Joe squad, ranked No. 7 in Class 3A this week, while Northridge was thrashed 48-7 last week at East Noble. In their loss, Northridge, a loser of 13-straight games, mustered 230 total yards, 109 on the ground and 121 in the air. In Wawasee’s loss, the Warriors posted 248 yards, but did show an ability to run the ball, tallying 138 on the ground. Against the Raiders, the Warrior offense may look a little better. In losses to South Bend Adams and East Noble, Northridge has surrendered 47 points a game, while scoring just 13.5. The Warriors are also scoring 13.5 points in their first two games, but have given up just 21 a game. Leading the Wawasee offense will be the rushing attack of running back Derrick Sorensen and quarterback D.J. Semon. Through two games, Semon has rushed for 186 yards and Sorensen has 163. Wogomon: “When you look at Northridge, all you have to do is look at their first drive at East Noble. They opened the game on a 15-play drive that got them a touchdown, and put them up 7-0 using up half to two-thirds of the first quarter. A poor team suffers break downs and can’t get a drive like that going. They’ll be dangerous if they are allowed to put together drives like that. If they get drives like that, all of a sudden they get confidence and don’t play like a team that’s lost 13-straight games. Defensively, we’re going to have to be disciplined. They like to run a lot of sweeps and get their backs to the the outside. But they are also dangerous passing the ball, using quick strikes. They run a 3-5 defense, meaning they have three linemen and five linebackers, which is a different look and you don’t know where the blitz is going to come from. We’re going to need to establish the line of scrimmage and get a push. We also have to throw the ball better. That’s going to be a challenge for us this week.“
MANCHESTER AT TIPPY VALLEY (TRC) Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Akron Coaches: Brandon Baker (Manchester), Jeff Shriver (Tippy Valley) Records: Manchester 0-2, Tippy Valley 1-1 Last Game: Bluffton 26, Manchester 22; Tippy Valley 21, Bremen 7 Last Year: Tippy Valley 42, Manchester 14 Matchup: Playing at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Saturday, the Tippecanoe Valley football team turned things around with a win over Bremen. However, the Manchester Squires are still looking for that turnaround, having fumbled the ball six times, losing three, in a home loss to Bluffton Friday. Valley opened its season by being outmanned by the Culver Military Academy, but following CMA’s win at NorthWood in Week 2, Valley coach Jeff Shriver is feeling better about that 27-22 defeat in Week 1. Against Bremen, Valley’s junior quarterback Ben Shriver threw four interceptions, but the elder Shriver credits some torn cartilage in his son’s ribs for the errant throws. Also against Bremen, Valley’s skill players came through, as junior wide receiver Tanner Andrews was named the MVP, catching four passes for 34 yards and also throwing a 73-yard touchdown to junior Nolan Sponseller. The Valley defense also flexed its muscle in Indianapolis, giving up just 118 yards. Of those 118 yards, 46 came on the ground, and that doesn’t bode too well for a Manchester team that must run it to be successful. Against Bluffton, Manchester ran for 254 yards, with Jacob Casper accounting for 113 of those on just nine carries. Baker: “We played very hard in both games so far. We just haven't executed the way we should. We had six fumbles and lost three last game. We have put it on the ground 10 times so far and that is unacceptable. If we can execute as well as play hard, we can compete with anyone. Valley is a big physical team with good athletes. We have to be able to eliminate big plays. If we can control the ball and the clock, we'll be alright. We must stay disciplined on defense and fly to the football.” Shriver: “Manchester is a much-improved team. They run an option offense, which is a great equalizer. They want you to make mistakes and put you on your heels. We have to play our assignments. We got a win over Bremen at Lucas Oil Stadium, bottom line, nothing heels a loss like a win. It felt good to go to Indy and win. But with that being said, we can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t overlook a team. The only thing worse than thinking you can’t win is thinking you already did. It’s conference season, and if we wanna win the TRC, we have to come ready to play every week.” CULVER AT TRITON (NSC) Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Bourbon Coaches: Andy Thomas (Culver), Rodney Younis (Triton) Records: Culver 0-2, Triton 0-2 Last Game: South Central 46, Culver 21; Northfield 32, Triton 20 Last Year: Culver 33, Triton 3 Matchup: The Triton Trojans will look to snap a four-game skid against the Culver Cavaliers Friday in Bourbon. In its two losses this season, Triton senior quarterback Bryson Mosier has played well, completing 22 of 41 passes for 304 yards and five touchdowns. Mosier’s also proven to be a dual threat, rushing for 82 yards in those two losses. But Mosier isn’t alone in the running game, as junior Cody Shively has run for 169 yards this year and also posted 18 tackles in last week’s loss at Northfield. As a linebacker, Shively will most likely be focusing on Culver’s rushing attack, led by Tucker Schultz, who has 104 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Culver’s Bradley Beaver, Preston Hansel and Allen Betts have also been effective on the ground, going for 46, 47 and 39 yards, respectively. Younis: “We have one turnover in two games and our penalties have been low. We have battled the first two games, but defensively we need to improve. We have five defensive starters out for one reason or another. We will start getting a couple back this week. Culver is a rivalry game. This will be our home opener. Both teams will be ready to play.”
SOUTHWOOD AT WHITKO (TRC) Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley Coaches: Dan Snyder (Southwood), Wayne Swender (Whitko) Records: Southwood 0-2/0-0 TRC, Whitko 0-2/0-0 TRC Last Game: Oak Hill 61, Southwood 21; Columbia City 43, Whitko 13 Last Year: Whitko 45, Southwood 0 Matchup: The Three Rivers Conference opener for both teams, Friday’s game will result in the first win of the season for either the Southwood Knights or Whitko Wildcats. Both teams are reeling from big losses last week, Southwood a 40-point loss to Oak Hill, and Whitko a 30-point loss to county rival Columbia City. In last week’s loss, the Wildcats turned the ball over six times. They tallied 209 yards of total offense, 177 of which came on the ground. Sophomore running back Tanner Hughes led Whitko’s attack with 12 carries for 87 yards, while senior quarterback Alex Stoddard rushed seven times for 37 yards and completed 4 of 5 passes for 32 yards. Both Hughes and Stoddard ran for a touchdown. Whitko has won four of the last five meetings with the Knights.
