Raiders dominate Tigers 24-0 on wet, sloppy Fisher Field
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Coach Tom Wogomon said he expected Friday night’s Northern Lakes Conference game at Warsaw to be physical. His Northridge High School football team was up to the challenge and then some, as the visiting Raiders spoiled the Tigers’ Homecoming by beating them 24-0 on a wet, sloppy Fisher Field. Northridge, which improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the NLC under its new head coach, bottled up Warsaw standout running back Tristan McClone and held the Tigers to four first downs and just 119 yards of total offense. “We knew we were going to be playing against a power football team,” said Wogomon, the former coach at Wawasee. “When you play against a Warsaw offense, they want to come right at you. It’s fun playing that way.” A year ago in Middlebury, McClone ran for a school-record 322 yards and tied a school record with five touchdowns in a 35-21 win. Friday night, the Raiders held him to 70 yards on 23 carries, as Warsaw fell to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the NLC. It was just the fourth time in 22 years Northridge has topped the Tigers on the gridiron. It was the fourth-straight year a Wogomon-coached team has defeated Warsaw, as Wawasee has come out on top of the Tigers the past three seasons. “I’m in charge of the special teams and the offense,” said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen, getting straight to the point. “I need to fix me. The buck stops with me.” After allowing the Raiders just two yards of offense on the game’s first possession, the Tigers went to work on the Northridge 43-yard line. Warsaw, however only managed five yards on its first offensive series. And to make matters worse, when the Tigers went to punt, the snap sailed over junior Justin Arscott’s head. Northridge took over on Warsaw’s 18-yard line. Warsaw’s defense held its ground, though, and the Tigers dodged a bullet when Northridge senior Jerry Burciaga missed a 30-yard field goal. After failing to get a first down on their next possession, the Tigers lined up in punt formation again. And again the snapped sailed over Arscott’s head. This time, the Raiders took over on Warsaw’s 2-yard line. While the Tigers held strong on defense again, Northridge was able to capitalize when Burciaga connected on a 24-yard field goal with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter. “Coach (Kris) Hueber and his defense played an outstanding first half,” said Jensen. “They just got worn out because we couldn’t do anything on offense and special teams hurt us a couple times tonight.” Northridge added to its lead with 3:22 left in the first quarter when senior quarterback Tanner Love scored on a three-yard rush. Burciaga’s extra-point kick gave the Raiders a 10-0 lead. There was no scoring in the second stanza, and as bad as things seemed, the Tigers only trailed 10-0 at halftime. “I talked to the whole team at halftime, and as bad as the first half was, there was a lot of good that came out of it. We were only down 10 (points) at halftime.” The Raiders pushed the lead to 17-0 with 10:20 remaining in the game when Love tossed a 23-yard scoring strike to Sam Ahonen. With 7:48 left in the game, junior Travis Schlabach extended the Raiders’ advantage to 24-0 with a 59-yard touchdown run. “The offensive line figured some things out in the second half and we were able to establish the run game,” said Wogomon. While the Tigers were held to 77 yards on 34 carries, Northridge racked up 239 yards on 42 attempts. Schlabach led the way with 12 carries for 101 yards, while Cam Ridenour pounded out 41 yards on nine attempts, Craig Kasten chipped in with 37 yards on seven rushes and Love finished with five carries for 36 yards. “As head coach, it’s my job to help them be successful,” Jensen said of his players. “I didn’t get it done tonight. Coach Wogomon is doing a great job at Northridge. Coach (Mike) Logan, their defensive coach, was a teammate of mine. He’s doing a great job with their defense.” In the wet conditions, neither team had much success with the passing game, as Warsaw completed just 6 of 20 passes for 42 yards and Northridge was 3 of 11 for 50 yards. In the end, the Raiders’ running game, as well as its defense and the Tigers’ miscues were more than enough. “We didn’t expect this,” Wogomon said of the 24-point margin. “We knew we had to come out and play physical. It’s so important to get an early lead in the NLC.” With a win over Goshen Friday night, Concord is 4-0 in the NLC standings, while Northridge and Warsaw are 2-1 and Plymouth, NorthWood, Wawasee and Elkhart Memorial all have one conference win. The Tigers hit the road Friday, travelling to Foreman Field in Goshen, while Northridge hosts NorthWood.
NORTHRIDGE 24, WARSAW 0 NR 10 0 0 14 — 24 W 0 0 0 0 — 0
NR W 1st downs 11 4 Rushing yds 239 77 Passing yds 50 42 Comp-Att-Int 3-11 6-20 Total yds 289 119 Fumbles/lost 2/2 5/0 Penalties/yds 6/35 5/35 Punts/avg 5/41 7/31
First Quarter NR – Jerry Burciaga 24 field goal 4:50, 3-0 NR – Tanner Love 3 run (Burciaga kick) 3:22, 10-0 Fourth Quarter NR – Love 23 pass to Sam Ahonen (Burciaga kick) 10:20, 17-0 NR – Travis Schlabach 59 run (Burciaga kick) 7:48, 24-0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Northridge, Schlabach 12-101, Cam Ridenour 9-41, Craig Kasten 7-37, Love 5-36; Warsaw, Tristan McClone 23-70, Jason Taylor 4-8, Tanner Balazs 4-(-2), Ross Armey 1-(-3). Passing — Northridge, Love 3-10-50, 1 TD, 0 Int, Conner Lantz 0-1-0, 0 Int; Warsaw, Austin Head 5-19-42, 0 Int, Jake Mangas 0-1-0, 0 Int. Receiving — Northridge, Ahonen 1-23, Jake Wargo 1-14, Cody Miller 1-13; Warsaw, Conner McCammack 3-30, Zach Webb 1-7, Tanner Balazs 1-5
