Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Syracuse -ÊGenerally, the second play from scrimmage does not mean the difference between winning and losing. But the second play foretold the evening for the Wawasee's football team as it fell to the NorthWood Panthers 40-12 Friday.
On an unseasonably cool mid-September evening, NorthWood took full advantage of the opportunities Wawasee afforded, most notably a roughing the passer penalty on the game's second play.
NorthWood quarterback Mike Blosser completed a short pass to tight end Ryan Mast, who fumbled. The ball was consequently recovered by the Warriors. All was for naught as Wawasee roughed the passer, thus nullifying a huge early break.
"We were able to take advantage of that early break," said Panthers coach Rich Dodson. "It was important to score on the opening drive."
The Panthers scored in two different facets - early and often - as they rolled the remaining 47 yards after the penalty to grab a 6-0 lead on a 23-yard run by Ben Lehman.
"It (roughing the passer penalty) cost us at least seven points," said Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld. "It was a silly mistake and it cost us."
Potentially, the penalty cost the Warriors 14 points as NorthWood scored (the extra point was no good), and Wawasee never had the chance to capitalize on the fumble.
NorthWood scored on its first five possessions, all touchdowns, to grab a commanding 33-0 lead.
After the Lehman score, NorthWood used just one play to notch its second touchdown as Jesse Fink ran 77 yards on a dive play to give Northwood its second score and a 13-0 lead.
"We found some things in their defense we felt that we could exploit," said Dodson. "The best play is the dive."
NorthWood exploited the Wawasee run defense in the first half, as have most of this season's opponents, to the tune of 281 yards rushing.
Wawasee's running attack proved to be every bit as cold as the weather -Êthe Warriors gained only 25 yards in first-half play.
"We were shut down running the ball," said Rietveld. "It was 7 (gametime), and we were no-where to be found. We were not ready to play."
NorthWood was ready, as the Panthers racked up touchdowns three, four and five of the first half.
Blosser found Willy Will from 16 yards out. Blosser scored from 3 yards out. Tim Barrett plunged in from the 5-yard line at the 5:06 mark of the second quarter to give NorthWood a 33-0 lead.
The second half saw Wawasee have its chances but squander them with turnovers, the same as last week.
"We wanted to kick them in the rear coming out of halftime," said Rietveld. "We had them on their heels a little but they're (NorthWood) to good to be complacent."
NorthWood was too good this evening for Wawasee as it bent in the second half but did not break.
Wawasee fumbled inside the Panther 10-yard line. On the next possession, the Warriors were intercepted again inside the 10. The third possession saw Wawasee complete the hat trick in turnovers as Warrior quarterback Brent Doty was again intercepted.
Wawasee appeared to come to life in the second half, but too much early NorthWood offense settled the outcome.
NorthWood was led in rushing by Fink's 143 yards on just eight carries. Ben Lehman also had a big evening as he gained 139 yards on 17 carries.
The NorthWood victory moves its Northern Lakes Conference record to 3-0 and its overall record to 4-1, the lone loss a season opener to Jimtown.
Wawasee fell to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the NLC.
Wawasee will try to avoid a three-game losing streak next week at Plymouth as they play the Rockies.
"Plymouth is a very physical football team up front," said Rietveld. "They play hard and they run the same (type) offense as Northwood."
Rietveld need not look any farther than Friday's performance in order to improve before travelling to Plymouth.
NORTHWOOD 40
WAWASEE 12
NorthWood (4-1, 3-0) 12 21 0 7 - 40
Wawasee (2-3, 1-2) 0 6 6 0 - 12
NW W
First Downs 16 9
Rushes-yards 47-349 20-68
Yards Passing 72 178
Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-14-0 19-33-2
Total offense 421 246
Fumbles-lost 1-0 6-2
Punts-Ave. 4-26.5 4-28.5
First Quarter
NW - Ben Lehman 23 run (kick failed) 6-0, 8:08
NW - Jesse Fink 77 run (conversion failed) 12-0, 6:28
Second Quarter
NW - Willy Will 16 catch from Mike Blosser (Casey Lehman kick) 19-0, 10:55
NW - Blosser 3 run (C. Lehman kick) 26-0, 7:16
NW - Tim Barrett 5 run (C. Lehman kick) 33-0, 5:06
W - Bobby Likens 3 catch from Brent Doty (kick failed) 33-6, 1:37
Third Quarter
W - Travis Klenke 21 catch from Doty (conversion failed) 33-12, :27
Fourth Quarter
NW - B. Lehman 11 run (C. Lehman kick) 40-12, 8:10
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - NorthWood: Fink 8-143, B. Lehman 17-139, Blosser 13-52. Wawasee: Logan Lees 16-66, Likens 1-3, Doty 3- (-1).
Passing - NorthWood: Blosser 6-13-0-72. Wawasee: Doty 19-33-2-178.
Receiving - NorthWood: Will 3-50, Fink 2-19, Ryan Mast 1-3. Wawasee: Klenke 6-56, Peter Chang 3-69, Likens 3-26, Lees 3-5, Brian Adkins 1-14, Travis Speicher 1-4.
