SYRACUSE — After implementing a strong passing game over the past couple of years, Wawasee head football coach Josh Ekovich and his staff are putting more emphasis on the Warrior running game while still keeping defenses thinking about an air attack. The results Friday were 54 rushes for 309 yards, while still getting two touchdown passes en route to a hard fought 28-32 victory by Wawasee (4-4, 3-3 NLC) over Elkhart Memorial (2-6, 1-5 NLC) in Syracuse. The effort was somewhat marred by 90 yards in penalties against the home team, stalling out a trio of 10-play Warrior drives without scoring. So how does Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich feel about winning ugly? “I hate it,” smiled Ekovich. “I mean, a win’s a win, but we did things that were frustrating at times. We did rush the ball extremely well – probably the best we have all season. I told our offensive line ‘We’ll win on you guys the rest of the season,’ and they answered the challenge. I’m really proud of those guys.” Wawasee scored touchdowns on its opening two drives of the game, and seemed on the verge of blowing out the Crimson Chargers. First Braxton O’Haver rolled into the end zone from 12 yards out, then Jordan Elliott scored on a 7-yard catch and run. However, the visitors used athleticism, fourth down conversions and the occasional big play to keep themselves in the game. Memorial quarterback Nathan Troutman constantly escaped pressure with his speed, and found David Doyle for a 61-yard reception just 50 seconds after Wawasee’s second trip to the end zone. “They’re a very athletic team, and a very, very dangerous team,” Ekovich said. “They give a lot of teams a lot of problems.” Troutman concluded Memorial’s initial drive in the second half with a 34-yard touchdown run, but the extra point was blocked, leaving Wawasee ahead 14-13. Thanks to turnovers on its next three possessions, Memorial gave Wawasee opportunities to expand its lead. After a strong first half, Warrior Brandin McCullouch handled the ball on 10 of 11 plays in a 64-yard scoring drive, capped with a 1-yard push across the goal line. Following an O’Haver interception of Troutman, Warrior quarterback Gage Reinhard found Elliott for a second touchdown connection, expanding the lead to 15, at 28-13 with 3:35 left in the third quarter. From there, the Warrior running game kept the Memorial offense off the field, and McCullouch kept churning out yardage, finishing with 218 yards on 38 carries. By comparison, Memorial rushed for 132 yards on 28 carries as a team. “McCullouch had a heck of a game,” Ekovich said. “Everybody thinks it’s ‘Air Ekovich’ out here, but we can still run the ball.” Still, it was hard not to look at the nine penalties called on Wawasee, and wonder what could have been. Ekovich would like to find the balance between aggressive line play and avoiding the official’s flags. “I ask the kids to play on that fine line,” he said. “If you sit back, play passively and are afraid to get a penalty, (that’s bad). That’s something I picked up from (former head coach Tom) Wogomon. At the same time, we can’t keep hurting ourselves. We have three 10-play drives that we didn’t finish on. We could have easily (scored more points). It’s something we’re always going to strive to get better.” Wawasee closes out its regular season at winless Goshen this Friday.
WAWASEE 28, ELKHART MEMORIAL 20 M 7 0 6 7 — 20 W 14 0 14 0 — 28
M W 1st downs 9 21 Rushing yds 132 309 Passing yds 115 127 Comp-Att-Int 5-16-2 9-19-0 Total yds 247 436 Fumbles/lost 3/2 3/2 Penalties/yds 5/45 9/80
First Quarter W – Braxton O’Haver 12 run (Nate Prescott kick) 8:58, 7-0 W – Gage Reinhard 8 pass to Jordan Elliott (Prescott kick) 2:24, 14-0 M – Nathan Troutman 61 pass to David Doyle (Doyle kick) 1:24, 14-7 Third Quarter M – Troutman 34 run (kick blocked) 9:55, 14-13 W – Brandin McCullouch 1 run (Prescott kick) 5:26, 21-13 W – Reinhard 43 pass to Elliott 43 pass from Reinhard (Prescott kick) 3:35, 28-13 Fourth Quarter M – Kaleb Summers 15 run (Doyle kick) 3:25, 28-20
