SYRACUSE – After consecutive losses to Northridge and Concord by a combined 78 points, Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich wanted his team to put that behind them and push forward in the search for their first NLC victory of the season. Things didn’t get any easier for the Warriors either, as they hosted the NorthWood Panthers Friday night. Quarterback Gage Reinhard connected with Clayton Cook twice through the air and ran for one on the ground, but it took one incredible effort by Cook on defense to prevent a Panthers comeback, as the Warriors escaped with a 27-21 victory. “It was a great game, I told our boys that championship teams always find a way to win,” said Ekovich. “Credit NorthWood, those players did not quit. They kept playing hard and we were one tackle away from this being a different story.” The running game made a big impact, rushing for 242 yards against a very good Panthers defense that had been allowing only 10.3 points per game. “This is the first time since 2011 that an offensive line came up to me and said ‘Coach, let’s run the ball. Just run the ball,’” Ekovich said. “They wanted to put the team on their back.” Wawasee impressed early on both sides of the ball. Its defense stifled the Panthers on their first possession, forcing a turnover on downs. Wawasee marched down field, but was limited to a 26-yard field goal from Lucas Garza on the opening possession. Three points was not going to cut it for them the rest of the game, so they made sure to capitalize on their next opportunity. Reinhard found an open Cook, who turned up field and showed nifty footwork to elude tacklers en route to a 15-yard catch-and-run for a score. Garza tacked on another three points with less than two minutes remaining in the first half to increase their shutout lead to 13-0. However, the Panthers looked to stop the bleeding with a short window of time. Northwood was able to answer in 51 seconds as Travis Bear punched the ball in from four yards out to keep them within six points at the break. In the third quarter of action, the Panthers earned their first lead of the game when Bear ran it in from five yards out. A few minutes apart from the Panthers taking the lead, defensive back Kurtis Liston recorded an interception – setting up a Reinhard TD pass to Cook again on an 11-yard connection to retake a 20-14 lead. In the fourth quarter, Cook had plenty more to show. Wawasee’s stout defense forced a turnover on downs deep in their own territory, setting up a 75-yard touchdown run from Cook on the first play of scrimmage. The Warriors looked to have put the game away, but the Panthers did not give up. With time dwindling down to four minutes of regulation left, the Panthers were facing a fourth-and-16 after a flurry of self-inflicted penalties. NorthWood’s Trey Bilinski passed to Bear for a 30-yard touchdown, bringing the Panthers within six points. On the ensuing kickoff, NorthWood was successful in its onside kick attempt, receiving the ball in Wawasee territory. The Panthers converted on fourth-and-2 on a Bilinski three-yard run. The next play, Bilinski found Bear again for a 25-yard pick up, placing them deep in the red zone. The Warrior defense stood its ground, holding NorthWood to short gains through the air and on the ground and forcing another fourth-down scenario with just seconds remaining. NorthWood coaches looked deep into the playbook for a way to break hearts in Syracuse, calling a reverse play from Bilinski to Trent Sellers. Sellers had an open field in front of him, but the young man with three scores on the night looked to make a big stop as a free safety. Cook sprinted to the opposite side of the field to catch up to Sellers, hurling himself at the runner and knocking him out a yard short of the first down marker and effectively ending the game in thrilling fashion. “We made big stops in key situations,” said Ekovich. “Our defense stood up, held strong and did not get pushed back.” The Warriors will travel to Plymouth next Friday to take on the Rockies, while NorthWood will look to rebound against Northridge.
