SYRACUSE — Wawasee moved the football against NorthWood. But the Class 4A No. 3-ranked Panthers made defensive stops at key times on the way to a 53-30 Northern Lakes Conference football victory Friday at Warrior Field. NorthWood did most of its damage in the first half. The Panthers (5-0, 3-0) gained 330 of their 576 total yards in the first two periods. Trey Bilinski completed 12 of 18 passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns (two each to Bronson Yoder and DeAndre Smart). Bilinski finished the night 18 of 28 for 345 yards and one interception (by Alec Rosbrugh). “They’re one of the best NLC teams I’ve seen in awhile,” Wawasee coach Josh Ekovich said. “NorthWood has a lot of weapons. They have overall team speed. They are fast.” Tyler Smith ran for two touchdowns and passed for another for Wawasee (3-2, 2-2). Smith rushed 18 times for 65 yards with a pair of 1-yard scoring runs before intermission and wound up with a game-high 111 ground yards. His TD pass – an 11-yard toss to Jacob Hand – helped pull the Warriors within 38-22 in the third quarter. After a successful onside kick (Michael Katzer recovered the ball), Wawasee marched all the way to the NorthWood 9 before giving it up on downs. With NorthWood’s high-scoring offense, Ekovich said he decided to try for a TD rather than settle for a field goal attempt. Ekovich gave more of his take after the loss. “(NorthWood) out-physicaled us on our offense and our defense,” Ekovich said. “That was the difference.” Panthers coach Nate Andrews came away knowing his team had been in a hard-hitting clash. “That was a physical ball game,” Andrews said. “Wawasee’s got a bunch of really tough kids. That was really fun. “I’m sure it was fun for the fans. A lot of good and a lot of bad.” After falling behind 16-0 early, the Warriors used scoring drives of 16 and seven plays to trail 30-14 at halftime, with each possession ending in a Smith TD plunge. The second score came after Gavin Barker recovered a muffed punt return by NorthWood deep in Panther territory. Wawasee had 161 total yards at halftime and finished with 321. Besides the catch by Hand, Paul Mendoza broke loose for a 54-yard touchdown run with 2:47 remaining in the game. It was another high-scoring affair involving the Warriors, who lost 49-40 at Concord in Week 4. Next up for Wawasee is a trip to Plymouth Friday. The Rockies squeaked out a 19-17 win at Elkhart Memorial Friday. “We’re going to prepare for them like they’re the best team in the state,” Ekovich said. Northridge plays at NorthWood in Week 6.
First Quarter NW – Bronson Yoder 6 pass from Trey Bilinski (Bilinski run), 9:08, 8-0. NW – DeAndre Smart 21 pass from Bilinski (Drew Minnich pass from Bilinski), 2:43, 16-0. Second Quarter W – Tyler Smith 1 run (Ryan Edington kick), 8:57, 16-7. NW – Smart 41 pass from Bilinski (Bilinski run), 7:03, 24-7. NW – Bro. Yoder 47 pass from Bilinski (run failed), 5:18, 30-7. W – Smith 1 run (Edington kick), 1:06, 30-14. Third Quarter NW – Bilinski 4 run (Bilinski run), 4:54, 38-14. W – Jacob Hand 11 pass from Smith (Hand pass from Smith), :59.4, 38-22. Fourth Quarter NW – Payton Bear 6 run (Jake Stump pass from Bilinski), 3:14, 46-22. W – Paul Mendoza 54 run (Cole Value run), 2:47, 46-30. NW – Brayton Yoder 42 run (Kyle Luster kick), 1:52, 53-30.
