Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 120, Number 41, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 8 October 1997 — Page 7

Panthers pull out win on nifty, last-minute play

North Wood’s varsity football Panthers took football, Indianastyle, across the state line to Dowagiac, Michigan, Friday night, returning home with a lastminute, surprise-play victory, 3332, over the host Chiefs. The win moved Coach Rich Dodson and company to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference competition, while the previously undefeated Chiefs, ranked No. 6 in Class BB in Michigan, fell to 4-1. Dodson stated after the contest, “I’ve been coaching for 28 years, and I’d have to flip back quite a few pages, more than I care to remember, to find one as exciting as this.” It .looked gloomy for the Panthers as the second half started with their hosts up 21-7, but six points in the third stanza, to just three for the Chiefs, and an additional 20 in the final frame, with the hosts managing just eight, did it for the win, in spite of the fact that Dowagiac’s highly-touted Brent Lesniak totaled 324 yards of offense and scored four touchdowns on 27 carries. His first score came with just 13 seconds left in the opening period of play, on a 44-yard run, with the PAT kick failing. He scored twice in the second quarter, on runs of six and 90 yards, with a run for two and a good PAT kick putting the Chiefs in a comfortable position at halftime. North Wood’s lone score of the opening half came on a nice 67yard pass play from Charlie Roeder to Aaron Huber, with Justin Rogers’ kick good for the PAT. Peterson’s 23-yard field goal in the third put the lone points on the board in that quarter for the hosts, while the Panthers got six on a 60yard keeper run by Roeder, with the kick for extra point failing. In the fourth, Dowagiac added eight points, on a 70-yard run to paydirt by Lesniak, with a twopoint conversion. However, the Panthers were adding 20 of their own, on a Roeder to Blair

Organize adult leagues The women’s volleyball league, and the men’s basketball league will meet to organize, Tuesday, October 14. The men’s league will meet at 7p.m., at the south end of West Park pavilion. The women’s league meets at 7:30p.m., also at the south end of the pavilion. For further information, contact Bob Waters, Jr., 219-773-7098.

BH, * &J&- ■ ■ ■■■ *# . r < A. ' . •-*. .

EXCITING Panther QB Charlie Roeder drops back for the pass, during recent North Wood football competition. Friday night, Roeder and the Panthers surprised host Dowagiac with a come-from-behlnd 33-32 win. See related story for details. (AN photo by Kim Keiser)

Baumgartner pass play, good for a TD, a three-yard scramble into the end zone by Roeder, and a 34-yard pass from Roeder to Abel to Huber. The winning play came on fourth and 20 at Dowagiac’s 34yard line. Joe Abel caught a pass from Roeder and tossed the pigskin back across the field to Huber, who was all alone at the 10, and headed to the end zone on the crafty play. Following the score, the Panthers gambled on a twopoint conversion instead of going for the tie. Roeder’s pass to Abel was good for two, and the Panthers had the thrilling come-from-behind victory. “This is why North Wood has a tradition, guys, because of games like this, because of heart like this,” Dodson told his charges following the win. Later he stated, “Even if we’d have lost, I’d have been proud of this team. At halftime, we could have laid down like beaten pups, but we kept right in there.” Heritage dominates hosts The junior high boys’ and girls’ cross country teams hosted Heritage, October 2. The home team runners made a good showing but both teams fell short. The boys’ cross country team has a 3-8 record following the 1550 loss. Josh Bowers placed eighth for the Panthers. He was followed by Jeremy Chasley 15th, Dustin Shaw 17th, Ben Murphy 21st, and Joel Richard 22nd. The ladies’ team also fell to Heritage, 15-50. Ashley Bowmen led the Panther runners coming in 11th. Ashley Hummel followed close at 12th, Candance Doriot 15th, Kelly Easton 16th, and Heidi Schneider 18th. North Wood’s girls’ cross country team now has a £-9 record. Dart lists results The following results have been listed by the Torch Lounge Mixed Doubles Dart League, for play as of September 30. Mike Brown and Kay Stacy 5, Cass Sharp and Mary Frasure 5, Jon and Lori Anderson 4, Jay Shepherd and Paula Hand 4, Randy and Kary Richmond 3, Less Howard and Boots Miller 2, Rex Kowalcyk and Cathy Baer 1, Elmer Yoder and Sis 1, Bob Whitsel and Vi Brown 0, David Hostetler and Gina Vandusen 0. Hat Tricks by Cass Sharp and Bob Whitsel. White Horse by Kathy Richmond and Cass Sharp.

North Wood led in first downs on the night, 13-10, with a total offense of 417 yards, to 404 for their hosts. The Panthers fumbled once and lost it, while Dowagiac dropped the ball twice, losing one. North Wood received six penalties for 40 yards, and the Chiefs four for 50. On the night, Roeder was good on 12-26 passes for 263 yards and two scores, while Abel was 1-1 for the winning TD. Huber caught five passes for 154 yards, Baumgartner hauled in three for 77 and Jake Yoder two for 27. Abel, Roeder, Chad Knisley and Brad Greenlee each added a single catch. In rushing, Roeder kept the ball nine times, gathering in 89 yt. is, while Huber added 36 on 11 totes and Knisley 14 on three. For the Black Crunch defense, Doug Brown led the charge with 12 big tackles, while Andy Sheets had eight, and Corey Brown and Jon Lechlitner each added seven. Tim Rodgerson was good for five hits, including a sack and one tack-

Shutout LaVilles-0

The North Wood varsity tennis team blanked LaVille 5-0, September 30, in a match taking place on the Panther courts. The non-conference win moved the team to 11-3 on the season. Blaine Beehler was the winner at the No. 1 singles position, taking John Gilmer 6-2, 6-2. James Allen bested Jason Menting at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-1, while Gregg Tompos won over Ryan Cox, 6-2, 6-2. In doubles action, the team of Eric Bowers/Bobby Brown took out Jacob Clark/Harmeah Clark, 60, 6-3, while the team of Brad

Sports this week... THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 NWMS cross country, at Waraw, 4:30p.m. ,£, NWMS volleyball, seventh A and 6, at Goshen, 4:45p.m. NWMS volleyball, eighth A and B, Goshen, here, 4:45p.m. Fall coed softball: 6:15p.m. Fastec Industrial vs Goshen Sporting Goods; 7:20p.m. Goshen Sporting Goods vs Larry Herr Motors; B:2sp.m.—Fastec Industrial vs Larry Herr Motors. NWHS varsity and JV volleyball, at Wawasee, 6p.m. NWHS freshman volleyball, Wawasee, here, sp.m. NWHS boys’ varsity soccer, South Bend LaSalle, here, 6:30p.m. NWHS girls’ varsity soccer, Northridge, here, 4:30p.m. NWHS freshman football, at South Bend St. Joe, 4:30p.m. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10 NWHS varsity football, at Warsaw, 7:30p.m. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11 Girls’ state golf tournament, Indianapolis. NWHS boys’ JV soccer tournament, Plymouth, 10a.m. NWHS freshman volleyball, at Lakeland Invitational, 8:30a.m. Northern Lakes Conference cross country meet, Ox Bow County Park, 10a.m. Boys’ semi-state tennis tournament. JV football, at Warsaw, 10a.m. MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 NWHS varsity and JV volleyball, at Elkhart Central, 6p.m. Fall coed softball: 6:15p.m. — Miller Mfg. vs Larry Herr Motors; 7:2op.m.—Goshen Sporting Goods vs MS Construction; B:2sp.m.—Dal-Mar Catering vs Goshen Sporting Goods. NWMS volleyball, B at Elkhart Baptist, 4:30p.m. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14 NWMS volleyball, A at Wawasee, 4:30p.m. Fall coed softball: 6:15p.m. — Fred’s Flowers vs MS Construction; 7:2op.m.—Miller Mfg. vs Fred’s Flowers; B:2sp.m.—Maust & Assoc, vs Miller Mfg. Boys’ soccer sectional, Bethany Christian, 6p.m. NWHS freshman volleyball, Goshen/Whitko, here, sp.m. NWHS varsity and JV volleyball, Bethany Christian, here, sp.m. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15 NWMS football, eighth B, r Goshen, here, 4:30p.m. NWMS football, seventh B at Goshen, 4:30p.m. NWMS football, seventh and eighth, Wawasee, at North Wood High School, sp.m.

le for loss, while Huber and Trent Stump each had four and Yoder, Roeder and Tony Garl each added three. Rounding out the “D” were Abel, Kip Chamberlin, Brett Mikel, Bryon Jones, Chad Martin, Todd McDonald, Daryl Berger, Jason Brenneman and Chad Knisley, each with two hits, and Doty, Mast and Reed with one apiece. In Northern Lakes Conference action Friday, Plymouth topped Concord 42-19, Goshen blanked Northridge 28-0 and Warsaw downed Wawasee 28-7. Goshen sits atop the league standings with a 4-0 mark, while Plymouth, North Wood and Warsaw all sport 3-1 records, Wawasee is 2-3 and Concord and Northridge are 0-4 and 0-5 respectively. The Panthers play At Warsaw this Friday night, and then return home October 15, for the regular season finale against Plymouth. Kickoff for both contests is 7:30p.m.

Patches/Shawn Hoover took Dustin Shafer/Tom Conrad, 6-0,6-0. In JV singles action, Walt Fales won 8-0, Anthony McClung was victorious 6-3,3, Nick Abel won 10-0, and Chris McClung won 100, while the team of Chet Walters/Matt Sitek won 10-2, and the team of Keith Fishbum/Sean Clem was victorious 10-0.

Culver falls to varsity netters The North Wood varsity tennis team moved to 10-3 on the season with a September 29 victory over Culver Military Academy, 4-1, on a windy Panther court. Eric Bowers won the No. 1 singles competition 6-0, 6-1, over Jason Elson, while Peter Metz won at the No. 2 slot, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, over Rodrigo Farias. Blaine Beehler completed taking Dan Kaufman 6-4, 6-2, at No. 3 singles. The doubles team of Chet Walters/James Allen topped lan Ferry and Kaleb Smith 6-3, 6-4, while the Panther team of Bobby Brown/Shawn Hoover fell to Trey Packard and Joe Palmer 6-1,6-4. In JV action, Walt Fales won his singles match 8-3, while Gregg Tompos lost 8-2, and Anthony McClung fell 8-5. In doubles, the team of Brad Patches/Matt Sitek won 8-4, and the team of Nick Abel/Sean Clem won 8-4. Keith Fishbum lost an exhibition matchup 8-0, and the team of Nick Abel/Sean Clem won 8-4.

Eighth grade gridders defeat Discovery The eighth grade B football team at North Wood Middle School hosted Discovery, October 2. The home team earned a 14-0 victory and a perfect 4-0 record. The Panther offense was lead by the strong running of Chad Strange with a 47 yard touchdown. Adam Hochstetler added a seven yard touchdown, and Bret Beehler brought in a two-point conversion. Phil Hershberger, Rodney Miller, Andrew Moneyheffer, Bill Kurtz, and Jerome Bradford did a good job on the offensive line. The defense posted its fourth consecutive shutout lead by Chad Strange with a fumble recovery, and Jacob Rogers with an interception. Other defensive standouts were Harold Herr, Daron Dodson, Nate Martin, Chad Burkholder and Brandon Wiley. Seventh grade gridders traveled to Discovery Middle School for their game. The Panther B team didn’t fare as well as their older peers. Instead they fell to Discovery 12-6. Though the game ended up in a loss for the panthers, there were still some things to cheer about. Thanks to some good blocking by the offensive line Kyle Martin was able to rush for 161 yards, including a 75 yard sprint for a touchdown. The defense was led by Jack Stutzman with six tackles, and Ryan Bradley, Peter Widmer, Darla Antomori, and Aaron Henkley—each had three hits. The Panthers now have a 2-1-T record.

Nappance Advance New* Wednesday, October 8, 19971

Wk * 2 : I mm

ONE FOR THE BOOKS—Coach Rich Dodson stated after Friday night's big win over Dowagiac that he hadn't seen a game like that in a long time. The Panthers, down 24-13 at the end of the third quarter, came back with a surprise play to slip by the Dowagiac Chiefs, 33-32. See related article for details. (AN photo by Kim Keiser)

Panthers defeat Warsaw netters

North Wood High School’s varsity volleyball team hosted Warsaw to defeat October 2. The Panthers took the lead in the first game with a 15-9 win. Warsaw fought back in the second round earning a 15-13 victory. The home team responded by dominating the court in the third game and earning a 15-2 win. Leading the Panther efforts were servers Jamie Gill, Marla Yoder and Colleen Miller. Gill made good on all 16 attempts, added one ace and 24 spikes, as well as 12 kills and three blocks. Yoder had a perfect five of five serves, 26 setting assists, and 20 passing digs. Miller made 17 of 18 serving attempts, and 14 of 15 spikes with six kills. Angela Hattery made 13 setting assists, an equal number of spikes, nine kills, and 11 passing digs. Amy Zercher made good on 18 of her 19 spike attempts and had 11 kills. Zercher also added 11 digs. Natalie rounded out the winding effort with "14 successful spikes, nitie kills and six blocks. The victory over Warsaw leaves the netters with a 20-2 team record and 5-0 conference record. North Wood’s junior varsity volleyball team also hosted Warsaw but fell short of victory 15-13 and 15-10. Kasey Chamberlin led the serving effort with 10 of 11 attempts and five aces. She was followed by Amy Hughes with a perfect six and Anna Metz with five of five and one ace. Chamberlin also made four setting assists, 12 spikes, one kill and

j I | Jpllr* Hjj. ft aii 4 MPSU amu limL % ", wm " H v y-vyth/IhHHBb

| jl i.iAi

MUNCHKIN RACING—LocaI race team, 'Munchkin* Racing,* has completed another great year. Street stock * car dnver, Jim Ryan, finished second in points, set the fast * time and broke the track record. He also received the Best> Looking Car Award for 1997 (top photo). Mini stock driver, *5 David Cassel, finished seventh in points, making a feature ; each week, and taking two heat wins, (bottom photo).J Munchkin Racing is sponsored by Curtis TV & Appliance, * Gold Crown Lanes. Myers Tax Service, Joy Belle, Skynaid's> Pizza and Milo, all of Nappqnee; Four Winds InternationaL ; Elkhart, and Sue Wert Photo, Milford. Owners are Todd and * TinaStutzman. •

four digs. Erin Newcomer made five assists, 13 spikes and two kills. Sarah Harter made seven of eight spike attempts, one kill, one block and six digs. Shelly Stichter made two blocks and Jessica Yoder had three digs. Undefeated Milford wins matches The seventh “B” volleyball team met up with Milford last week, with the Panthers losing in three games, 15-12, 1-15, 6-15. North Wood is 4-13 on the season. Whitney Lechlitner, Kelly Yoder, Jenny Barr, Justine Stouder, Alisha Yoder, Emily Herr and Reeva Parson all scored points for NW. According to coaches, “The girls played extremely well —they gave tremendous effort, winning the first , game. £ven though they lost,the.peS&JWQ games, they never gave up.” In the eighth “B” match, the Panthers were also downed in three games, moving to a 1-6 mark. Scores were 15-13, 1-15, 12-15. In another close game the girls were losing to an undefeated Milford team. Julie Stutsman served seven points and Joanna Whitmer six, in what was an exciting, close contest. Stephanie Flora played a great game, according to coaches, and Erin Richard stepped in when she was needed.

Page 7