Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 121, Number 36, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 9 September 1998 — Page 8

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BIG NLC WlN—NorthWood started slow, but eame on like gangbusters in Friday's NLC contest with Concord, played at Andrews Field. In the top photo, senior standout Aaron Huber gains yardage for the Panthers, while, at bottom, the Black Crunch

Come from behind to take Concord in NLC contest

After trailing Northern Lakes Conference rival Concord 0-9 in the first quarter, North Wood’s varsity football Panthers came to and socked it to their visitors, opening up the garne in the final three stanzas to take an impressive 32-15 victory home from Andrews Field, Friday, September 4. “We made some adjustments,” stated Panther Coach Rich Dodson, “but I think the biggest was probably an emotional adjustment. Concord was really ready to play. I’m not saying we weren’t ready to play, but we did have some trouble compared to them.” Senior tailback Aaron Hoover sparked the Panthers with a careerhigh 220 yards on 18 carries. In addition, he caught three passes for 62 yards, scored three times and had a crucial fumble recovery. Charlie Roeder, North Wood’s junior QB, gained an additional 68 yards in eight keepers, while scoring once. He also completed 8-16 passes for 151 yards and two TDs. Os Huber, Dodson said, “He is a good back, and it helps him not having to play so much on defense. The coach also talked about Roeder, remarking “He ran the option well and drilled some key passes. This was a good game for him. It’s not that he has been struggling, but there are a lot of expectations on him and that puts pressure on a kid. I just want him to go out and enjoy playing football for North Wood.” Concord scored first, at 9:56 of the opening quarter, with McKenzie taking it in from the 11. Fowler’s PAT kick was good, and the visitors were out front. The Minutemen tacked on two more points on a safety intentional grounding in the end zone, and took a 9-0 lead as the teams

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defense puts it to Concord standout Rickey McKenzie. Shown closing in for the tackle are Panthers Matt Moser (62), Todd McDonald (82) and Corey Brown (28). See related story for details on NW's come-from-behind win. (AN photos by Kim Keiser)

entered the second period of play. North Wood came back with 13 points in the second, with Huber hauling in a 52-yard pass from Roeder. The PAT kick failed, but Brad Greenlee added six points for the home team on a 42-yard pass catch from Roeder, and Bill Mitschelen kicking the first of his two PAT markers. The Panthers added another 12 points in the third, on Huber’s 70yard TD run, with the pass for two PAT failing. Huber added yet another tally at 9:32 of the third, this one a 14-yard run. The PAT kick again failed, but the hosts had a turn-around 25-9 lead after three. In the final ppriod of play, Roeder scored on a 34-yard run, with Mitschelen nailing the PAT kick. McKenzie got his second score of the night for the Minutemen at 5:20 of the fourth, on a 74-yard run following a fumble recovery. The run for two failed, and the Panthers had their 32-15 NLC victory. On the night. North Wood led in first downs, 15-11, and in total offense, 480-224. The Panthers lost their lone fumble, while Concord lost 2-2. North Wood was penalized a whopping 12 times for 125 yards, while Concord was nailed with five for 55. Following Huber and Roeder on offense were Chad Knisley with 42 yards on six carries, Brown with 2-2 and Chaz Scherer with two totes for 10 yards. Huber punted twice for 73 yards and Mitschelen kicked off seven times for a 41.3 average. Huber ran back a punt for seven yards and a kickoff for 24. Huber and Greenlee led a host of Panther receivers, each hauling in 3-61 yards, followed by Baumgartner 1-19, Abel 1-6 and

Knisley 1-5. For the Black Crunch defense, Abel and Brown led the charge with nine hits each, while Sheets had eight, Sellon six, and Lantzer and Berger each four. Rounding out the “D” were Huber with two, and Doty, Martin, Mast, Mitschelen, Hartzell, Kemp and Mishler, each with a single hit. Sheets had two hits for loss, with Sellon, McDonald and Berger each getting one. Moser and Martin shared a QB sack, and Mitschelen and Huber each had fumble recoveries. Doty had a pass interception, good for 42 yards. Other Northern Lakes Conference results from Friday: Northridge over Wawasee 28-14, Plymouth over Warsaw 30-8, and Goshen over non-conference foe St. Joseph’s 20-7. Saturday, September 12, is the Northern Lakes Conference “Day at the Dome,” with Northridge taking on Plymouth, Concord meeting Wawasee, North Wood facing Goshen, and Warsaw playing South Bend St. Joseph’s in a nonconference matchup. The Panther/Goshen game kickoff is set for 4:30p.m. See related article for ticket information.

Frosh smack Ft. Wayne

North Wood’s freshman Panthers blasted visiting Ft. Wayne Homestead. 31-7, in a football contest played Thursday, September 3. The win moved the young gridders to ! -'1 on the season. Highlights for NW included Jesse Fink's 58 _,. \ run to paydirt, a 19-yard TD pass from Jason Rupp to Fink, Ben Lehman’s 46yard scoring scamper, Ryan Mast’s six-yard TD pass catch from Rupp, and Dustin Cray’s kick for the PAT. Cray also had a five-yard scoring run. Fink totaled 125 yards on eight carries to pace the offense, while Ben Lehman carried 10 times for 70, Cray three for 13. Rupp three for five and Jeff Hochstetler three for two yards. Rupp f/as 8-15 in passing, for a total of 108 yards. Fink caught four for 72 yards, Hochstetler one for 13 and Mast two for 12. Matt Unsicker led the “D” with 11 big tackles, while Hochstetler, Joey .Sheets and Chad Strange each had five.

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LEADS COMPETITION— Matt Miller leads the competition through the wooded portion of the cross country course at North Wood High School. (AN photo by Merrie Chapman)

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The Panthers will host Concord Thursday, September 10, in a

Still time to buy tickets for ‘NLC at Dome Day’

North Wood High School will continue to sell football tickets for the “Day at the Dome,” Saturday, September 12, through Friday, September 11. NWHS must sell 639 tickets to break even financially. North Wood will receive 40% of anv sales above 639 tickets.

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Northern Lakes Conference clash Kickoff is set for 6p.m.

Panther fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets at the high school, for $7 each. Tickets on sale at the Dome will be priced at $9 each. The tickets are good for all four Northern Lakes Conference football contests.