Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 126, Number 43, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 23 October 2003 — Page 9

Panthers Beat Rockies in Season Finale

by Mo* MU NorthWoodAlNetics.com NAPPANEE - In the final game of (he regular season for 2003 the North Wood Panthers defeated the Plymouth Rockies with a score of 42-20. Black Crunch head coach Rich Dodson missed the game to be in Alaska for his son Item's wedding, but the Panthers did not miss taking advantage of the opportunities offered them by the Rockies. Junior Andrew Huber intercepted a pass late in the second quarter with the Panthers leading 21-7. Plymouth had the ball 4th and 3 on the North Wood 17 yard line when Huber picked off an Andy Hutchinson pass and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. That play was a key in North Wood putting distance on a Plymouth team that racked up 347 yards of offense to North Wood’s 252 total yards. Plymouth has the Bth leading rusher in the state of Indiana in senior Nathan Bieska. Bieszka averages over 170 yards of rushing per game, but the stingy Black Crunch defense held him to 145 yards on Friday. Phil BeMiller led North Wood with 58 yards of rushing, but was also 8 for 15 passing for 172 yards. BeMiller’s passing totals were helped out by acrobatic catches by Huber, Michael Ramirez, and Trevor Shields. Gene Zercher, North Wood Offense Coordinator, took over the reigns of the Panther team in Coach Dodson’s absence. “It was a committee effort down here,” said Zercher after the game. “We had five or six people with input, and the kids played very hard.”

Basketball season ticket applications now available

WA-NEE Applications for North Wood High School boys basketball season tickets are currently available in the athletic office. Season tickets are $32 for adults, and $24 for students. The following rules apply: 1. Students in grades kindergarten through 6th grade MUST be accompanied by and seated with an adult while attending the basketball games. 2. Student season tickets for grades 7-12 will be sold at North Wood Middle School and at North Wood High School. 7th and Bth grade students will be seated in a special section unless they wish to purchase a student, reseavadj season ticket to beaeatedwrth fMHparents. All students should be. seato| while the game is in progress. 3. General admission tickets will be available for students and adults as in the past. Tickets purchased at

Panther Sports Update

By Mark MM NorthWoodAthletics.com VOLLEYBALL •VARSITY vs. BETHANY CHRISTIAN (Tuesday, Oct 14) The Red Slam defeated Bethany Christian 21-9, 21-10, 21-13. Amanda Gunn was a perfect 16-16 serving with 1 ace. Audrey Duncan had 10 kills, and Jessica Focht had 18 assists. •VARSITY vs. CENTRAL (Thursday, Oct 16) Varsity volleyball defeated Elkhart Central 21-13,21-18,21-8. Jess Focht was 14 for 14 serving, Audrey Duncan had 16 kills, and Focht had 20 assists. The Red Slam is now 19-11 for Coach Peg Bough. •JV vs. BETHANY CHRISTIAN (Tuesday, Oct 14) The JV defeated Bethany Christian 21-3,21-11. Amanda Kemp had 4 aces and Joslynn Focht had 6 assists. •JV vs. CENTRAL (Thursday, Oct 16) The JV Panthers defeated Central2l-14, 21-10. Amanda Sumpter had 2 aces, Joslynn Focht had 7 assists and 4 kills. •FRESHMAN @ NLC TOURNEY (Saturday, Oct 11) After beating Northridge, the freshman volleyball team was defeated by Concord and Warsaw at the NLC Freshman tournament. Top performers were Casey Bough with 10 for 10 serving and 2 aces and Steph Steiner 8 for 8 serving with 1 ace. GIRLS SOCCER •SECTIONAL (Monday, Oct 13) The North Wood Silver Streak season ended with a loss to Warsaw in the Sectional by a score of 3-0. The Panthers end their season with a record of 4-13-1. BOYS SOCCER •SECTIONAL (Monday, Oct 13) The Boys Soccer team defeated Mishawaka 3-1 in Sectional action. Nate Davidhizar, Rodrigo Dosal, and Zac Lechlitner each had goals while Jerimy Wise had two goals. Goalie Derrick Bunett had 6 saves. GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY •SECTIONAL MEET (Thursday, Oct 14) Coach Kilt Hunsberger’s Lady Panthers finished 6th at the Sectional Meet held at Ox Bow Park. They tied Concord with a score of 147, but Concord won the 3th Regional team spot by virtue of the 6th runner tie-breaker. Freshman Michelle Steffen led the Black Pack with a 11th place finish to qualify for Saturday’s Regional as an individual. BOYS CROSS COUNTRY •SECTIONAL MEET (Saturday, Oct 14) The Boys Cross Country team placed Bth at the Sectional Meet at Ox Bow Park. Senior Blain McDowell earned an individual spot in Saturday's Regional race by placing 7th in a season best time of 16:38 for the 3000 meter course. The girls race will be at 9:30, and the boys race will be at 10:00 a.m. FRESHMAN FOOTBALL •WARSAW (Thursday, Oct 16) Freshman Football lost to Warsaw 27-20. Mike Rowe scored on a 10 yard pass play from Brady Shively. Jordan Anglemeyer scored on a 14 yard pass from Brent Ehret, and Kent Shcaffer caught a 14 yard pass from Shively for a touchdown. Rowe had 10 tackles, Jed Beer 8. JV FOOTBALL •WARSAW (Saturday, Oct 11) The JV Black Crunch defeated Warsaw 32-14. Chad Haviland had 3 touchdowns. Kiser Chamberlain had 1. Brent Hollar had 6 tackles. Matt Hively had an interception.

Huber had a second interception and 54 yards of offense in receiving. “Huber is one of our experienced comers, and he’s an athlete. When given the opportunity our athletes make plays.” said Zercher of Huber's night Ramirez led the Panthers in receiving with 63 yards. Shields had 51 yards on two catches. Ramirez led North Wood in scoring with three touchdowns. The first was on a 23 yard reception from BeMiller to open up the 28-point second quarter. He added a 26 yard touchdown run in the second and caught another touchdown of 6 yards from BeMiller for his third TD. Shields caught a 16 yard pass for aTD from BeMiller and Chad Davis added a 13 yard run in the fourth quarter. The Panthers also scored a safety when Plymouth quarterback Andy Hutchinson intentionally grounded the ball while in his own end zone. On defense the Black Crunch was led by Landon Martin and Kirk Mast who each had tackles for loss and kept pressure on Hutchinson all night long. Austin Mattem and Joe Beer along with Martin had 7 tackles each. Trevor Shields and Blake Taylor broke up several passes. Senior Andy Mitschelen was outstanding on special team play on Senior Night. North Wood improves its regular season record to 6-3 and secures second place in the Northern Lakes Conference with a 5-2 record. Plymouth is now 6-3 and 4-3. All teams now move into the playoffs with sectional play beginning next Friday. The Panthers will open the sectional at Culver Academy in Culver at 7 p.m. Culver Academy brings a 72 record into the playoffs after defeating Fairfield 31-13.

the door are $4. 4. Ticket orders MUST be received at the North Wood Athletic Office no later than Oct. 31 at the close of school. 5. Enclose a check or money order with your ticket application for the number of tickets desired. $32 for adults and $24 for students. A limit will be enforced of 10 tickets per name. 6. Ticket orders will be pooled and drawn in the North Wood Athletic Office. As the letters are drawn, they will be numbered consecutively to determine the order in which you may select your reserved seats. 7. Order numbers and. ww* spending names will be published inthe Wakarusa Tribune <sh'Nov!J, and the Advance News on Nov. 6, along with the distribution time schedule. Distribution of tickets will start on Nov. 10.

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~ J 1 PHOTO BY BEVHARAMIA Michael Ramirez and cOrflpdny chase down Plymouth's A.J' Sullivan sh last Friday's game. s * h * . ■ *'

Panthers finish second in NLC

Bv Kan Fox Pilot Correspondent NAPPANEE When the final score of a football game is 42-20, one play usually doesn't make or break the contest. Friday at North Wood’s Jim Andrews Field, one huge play turned a potential barnburner into an easy victory. The North Wood Panthers used several big plays Friday night to pull away from Plymouth and clinch second place in the Northern Lakes Conference. The 42-20 loss was the second straight for the Rockies and dropped their regular season record to 6-3 and 4-3 in the NLC. North Wood had jumped out to a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter, but the Rockies appeared to be in position to take some momentum into halftime as they drove to the Panther 18. But on a fourth-and-three play, Plymouth quarterback Andy Hutchinson was rushed as he attempted to throw and his pass was intercepted by North Wood’s Andy Huber at the 2. Huber picked up a convoy of blockers along the sidelines and scampered 98 yards for a back-break-ing touchdown. “Obviously that took a lot of starch out of our sails,” Plymouth coach Tom Condon said. "If we score there and go into halftime just down seven, it really gives us something to chew on. Instead, they get the touchdown and all of a sudden we’re down 21.” “Huber is one of our experienced comers and he made a tremendous play,” North Wood acting coach Gene Zercher said. “It’s hard to even try to explain just how big that play was.” It would look even bigger early in the third quarter, as Plymouth took the opening kick of the second half and drove 73 yards in nine plays to cut into the Panther lead. Senior halfback Nate Bieszka, who rushed for 146 yards in the game, scored from nine yards out to make it 28-13.

Elkhart Sports Center has much to offer

ELKHART —Elkhart Sports Center provides one place where the community can go for sports activities and entertainment. We will strive to be the progressive leader in the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Our commitment is to maintain the finest indoor athletic facility, which will offer youth activities and a variety of sports for all ages. Leagues, Tournaments, Camps, Clinics and Sports Instruction in Basketball*Volleyball*Baseball*Softball*Flag Football & Soccer Field, Court and Baseball/Softball Training Areas are available for Rental. Reserve the facility for Special Events and Parties. Elkhart Sports Center is fully air-conditioned 50,000 sq. ft. building with state of the art playing surfaces. We

Sports

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PHOTO BY BEV HARAMIA North Wood Junior Michael Ramirez puts pressure on Plymouth quarterback Andy Hutchinson during Friday's win against Plymouth.

It appeared that the Rockies closed the gap even more on their next possession, when Bill Miller hooked up with Charlie McDonald for an apparent 37-yard touchdown pass on a reverse pass. However, a penalty for an illegal block in the back brought the play back and all but stalled Plymouth's hope for victory. “It was close. If the blocker had turned his shoulders a few more inches, it would have been a good block," Condon noted. "But it wasn't to be.” After the Rockie drive stalled, the Panthers drove 62 yards in 10 plays to push the lead back to 34-13. Junior Michael Ramirez, who had three touchdowns for North Wood, would score from six yards out on a pass from Phil BeMiller. Although Plymouth would score on another short Bieszka touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, the Rockie defense just couldn’t stop North Wood. A safety and another short touchdown run late in the fourth quarter put the game away. “With their offense, I wasn't relaxed until the final seconds went off the clock,” Zercher admitted. “Bieszka is a great back and we really didn't find their tight end (McDonald) all night. They had the ability to score every time there was a snap." Unfortunately for the Rockies, it seemed like in the final three quarters - it was 0-0 after the first - that North Wood could score at will. The Panthers took advantage of the smallish PHS secondary by throwing high passes and letting theii receivers go up after them. BeMiller completed nine of his 16 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns. Ramirez caught two of the TD passes, while Trevor Shields added one. Since they trailed for much of the contest. Hutchinson was forced to throw 29 times and completed 1 1 for 165 yards. He was also picked off twice by Huber. (Bieszka was l-l for 25 yards). Plymouth has now had six passes intercepted in their last two games.

feature Pro Green turf that looks and feels like real grass and regulation size hardwood courts. There is a full concession area with video games and a large upstairs viewing area with concessions and big screen televisions for watching your favorite teams. Come and check out what we have to offer our communities! For more information, contact Brett Eldridge 574-294-5050 Elkhart Sports Center 1162 Fremont Court Elkhart, In 46516 (off the 20 bypass, just north on CR 17) [email protected]

Advance News • Thursday. October 23, 2003 «

“You really have to give North Wood credit, they were just outstanding,” Condon said. “We caused some problems with our blitz early in the game, but it’s a double-edged sword because you leave some guys one-on-one. They were able to adjust pretty well and find the open guys and it turned into some big plays.” Plymouth will host South Bend Washington next Friday in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament. North Wood, now 6-3, will travel to Culver Academy. Score by quarter Plymouth 0 7 6 7—-20 North Wood 0 28 6 8—42 Scoring summary N - Michael Ramirez 23 pass from Phil BeMiller (Ryan Burkhart kick) N - Ramirez 26 run (Burkhart kick) P - Nathan Bieszka 1 run (Andrew Correll kick) N - Travor Shields 16 pass from BeMiller (Burkhart kick) N - Andrew Huber 98 interception return (Burkhart kick) P - Bieszka 9 run (kick failed) N - Ramirez 6 pass from BeMiller (kick failed) P - Bieszka 2 run (Correll kick) N - Safety N - Chad Davis 13 run (Burkhart kick) RUSHING: Plymouth 31 carries for 161 yards, Bieszka 26-146, Adam Morris 1-20. North Wood: 38 carries for 176 yards. Ramierez 4-35, BeMiller 6-38. PASSING: Plymouth: Andy Hutchinson 11 of 29 for 165 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs; Bieszka I of I for 25 yards. North Wood: BeMiller 9 of 16 for 183 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs. RECEIVING: Plymouth: Charlie McDonald 4 for 83, Bill Miller 3 for 67, Bieszka 1-31. North Wood: Ramirez 3 for 62, Huber 2 for 64. Shields 2 for 51.

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Boys and Girls ChibMYSL Hoveling Volleyball Girls Nappanee traveled to St. Joe where they were defeated 158, 14-16, 13-15, 15-8. and 15-13. Cathy Rohn led the team with two blocks. Boys Nappanee travled to TCC where they were defeated 8-15, 5-15, 15-9, 15-8 and 15-7. Malachi Randolf led the team in points.