SYRACUSE – A week after getting its first sectional win since 2006, the Wawasee football team is gearing up to face a familiar foe. Standing in the way of Wawasee and a trip to the Class 4A Sectional 11 championship game are the NorthWood Panthers. In the 7 p.m. sectional semifinals in Syracuse, the Wawasee Warriors face a NorthWood squad that defeated them 35-14 on the same field on Sept. 14. According to Wawasee head coach Tom Wogomon, however, this Warriors team is different than the one NorthWood played the first time around. “All you have to do is sit back and look at our starting lineup,” Wogomon said. “There’s definitely been changes in the way we line up and it starts on defense.” One of the biggest changes has been junior Brandin McCulloch’s move from corner back to free safety. “In the last month, he’s become one of our best defensive backs,” Wogomon said of McCulloch. “He gives them a big spark.” Along with that change, junior Braxton O’Haver has moved to middle linebacker, senior Brian Clark is now a lineman after playing linebacker and senior Brayton Bartman has transformed himself from a role player to the starting defensive end. “Just on defense, we have about seven players either in different positions or they weren’t playing earlier in the season,” Wogomon said. Along with the changes on defense, Wawasee was also without starting running back Derrick Sorensen earlier this year. “I feel he’s one of their best offensive players,” NorthWood coach Scott Hoover said about Sorensen, who’s averaging 55 rushing yards per game. Wawasee’s loss to NorthWood was followed by a 53-14 drubbing at Plymouth, which left the squad at 2-4. But then, something changed in Wawasee as it defeated Warsaw, which was 4-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference at time, by a score of 14-13. That victory kick-started a four-game winning streak that continues into the sectional semifinal. “Our team has learned to overcome,” Wogomon said. “You look at us being 2-4 after the Plymouth game. They just mauled us. Then, we had Warsaw who was running the ball well. That Warsaw game was a turning point for us. Going into that game, some may have packed it in and would have said the season was over. These kids really showed some wherewithal.” And while it was facing the toughest portion of its schedule early, the Wawasee defense went from giving up 34.5 points a game during its 2-4 start to just 12.5 during the winning streak. Offensively, the Warriors have also gone from averaging 15.5 points a game to 20.8 in its last four. A reason for the rise in offensive production is sophomore quarterback Gage Reinhard. Opening the season as a backup to senior D.J. Semon, the 6-foot, 140-pound Reinhard was thrown into the starting role after Semon was dismissed after the second game of the year. “When you look back at it, the players had worked during the offseason and during training camp with a running quarterback,” Wogomon said about playing with Semon. “Then, Gage was put in and we’re still in a little bit of a transition, going from a running quarterback to a pocket-passing quarterback. It definitely changed our offensive philosophy. We got rid of the tight end and went to a true spread look.” At quarterback Reinhard has 1,148 passing yards to go with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and classmate Clayton Cook has been his favorite target. Along with averaging 28 yards a kick return, Cook’s hauled in 37 passes for 668 yards. “Clayton’s a special kid,” Wogomon said of the 6-2, 160-pound receiver. “He has so many intangibles. He’s an amazing route runner, has great hands, has size and can go up and take the ball away. He has a lot of tools.” Hoover’s also aware of Cook, and knows he will need to limit his opportunities. “We need to take away the big play,” Hoover said. “We need to watch Cook, because he’s good and getting quick slants and other things.” And with Cook opening it up in the passing game, Sorensen may get some better looks on the ground. “We’ve gone from a team that would run the ball at will, to one that knows it needs to open up the running game with the pass,” Wogomon said. And against NorthWood’s Black Crunch defense, Sorensen will need some of those linebackers to back off the line of scrimmage a little bit. On defense, Wawasee is going to need to concentrate on another option run attack, as freshman running back Tanner Cleveland has 876 yards, while his junior brother Blake Cleveland has 484 yards and junior quarterback Will Kirkwood has run for 355, while passing for another 935. “We know what NorthWood is going to do, but stopping it is another story,” Wogomon said. “We’ve had weeks of defending the option, but its also taken its toll on us.” If his defense can limit the option one more time, Wogomon believes his team can advance to the Oct. 26 sectional championship against Northridge or Concord. “We’ve gotta play better,” Wogomon said. “We need to play assignment football. If we do, I like our chances.”
