SYRACUSE – Wawasee fans would have to look pretty hard to find something to worry about after their no-doubt-about-it 48-7 thrashing of West Noble at Warrior Field on Friday night. The Warriors scored early and often. Early, as in 37 seconds into the game, when Cole VanLue ran down the south sideline for a 76-yard touchdown on the second play of the game. Often, as in 34 first-quarter points from five touchdowns. And they scored via the big play, too. Junior Alec Rosbrugh took a short pass from senior quarterback Tyler Smith and turned it into a 62-yard touchdown for Wawasee’s third score. Of Wawasee’s seven touchdowns, all but one came from at least 15 yards out. Unofficially. the Warriors had 11 plays of 10 yards or more in the first half. By comparison, West Noble ran just 22 plays, including punts, in the opening half. “There’s always opportunity every time we play, that every run could be a long run,” Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich said. “Would I have thought we’d have that many? Probably not. But we have some dynamic playmakers that can put us in position for big plays like that, and we obviously want to take advantage of that when we can.” Meanwhile, the first-team Warrior defense extended its scoreless streak to seven quarters to open the season. West Noble had just five first downs through three quarters, and one of those came on a penalty. Wawasee keyed on West Noble junior running back Draven Rasler, holding him to eight yards total offense. The Warriors also picked off Charger junior quarterback Chase Wroblewski three times, with Dylan Hepler getting two of the interceptions. “I think our boys worked hard, and the defensive coaches worked hard to get a good game plan going on,” Ekovich said. “We did a lot of film study and I think that showed tonight.” The worst part of the otherwise stellar Wawasee performance was penalties; the Warriors were flagged nine times for 80 yards, including a trio of 15-yarders. But Wawasee took care of its business and showed that, at least in 2016, they were the better team. “Hats off to West Noble; they worked hard and I know they have a lot of guys they’re trying to get varsity playing time,” said Ekovich. “But our defense played well, our offense played well, and on special teams I don’t think we had too many miscues. There were a couple of fumbles and a couple of things we need to clean up, but other than that I’m proud of the ways the boys played.” For the third straight season, Wawasee has won its first two games. The Warriors begin Northern Lakes Conference play Friday when former Warrior head coach Tom Wogomon brings his Northridge Raiders to Warrior Field.
