Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 48, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 1 December 2016 — Page 8

Advance News • Thursday, December 1, 2016

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Panthers fall to Roncalli in state final

By Steve Sutler Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS there on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, one way or another. Unfortunately, the way the North Wood Panthers would have preferred a state championship was not to be, as the previously unbeaten Gass 4A No. 2-ranked Panthers fell to the No. 1-ranked Roncalli Rebels 34-22 in the state championship game. "We'd find a way to get some momentum to make a comeback, but we just couldn't grasp it enough to get over the hump," said a disappointed North Wood head coach Nate Andrews. "We've handled every stage we've had to deal with all season long, but we didn't handle this stage as well as I had hoped. We'll learn from it, and we'll be back." The first quarter was a defensive struggle, as the Panthers punted on both of their possessions while making just one first down, while forcing Roncalli to turn the ball over on downs at the North Wood 25-yard line. Finally, as the second quarter began, the Rebels finished off a long drive that ended with a 2-yard TD run by Roncalli quarterback Derek O'Connor. Patrick Sandler drilled the PAT kick, and the Rqbels tqok ft 7-0 lead that they would never relinquish. On North Wood's next series, the Panthers picked up a first down by fumbling the ball forward on fourth down, but on the next play, Roncalli's Matthew Gaskill intercepted a Trey Bilinski pass at his own 21-yard line. The Rebels proceeded to grind out an 11-play, 79-yard drive (aided by a questionable pass interference penalty on North Wood), capped by a 1-yard run by O'Connor to make it 14-0 Roncalli with just 3:39 to play in the half. Determined not to be shut out in the opening half for the first time this season, North Wood rallied behind a pair of passes from Bilinski to Bronson Yoder that netted 54 yards, allowing the Panthers to cross midfield for the first time in the game. On third and goal from the

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North Wood's Brayton Yoder turns upfield off a great block from teammate DeAndre Smart (background) on his way to a 31-yard touchdown run, the second of his two scores on the night, in the Panthers'34-22 state finals loss to Indianapolis Roncalli.

Rebel 2-yard line, Bilinski executed a masterful read-option fake and waltzed into the end zone untouched. The PAT run was no good, but the Panthers cut the Roncalli lead to 14-6 going to halftime. After the half, the Rebels struck back quickly with a 50-yard kickoff return by Michael Dill getting things started. Four plays later, Luke Smock went 34 yards around right end on a reverse, and Roncalli expanded its lead to 21-6. After a nice kickoff return by Jacob Chupp, North Wood answered with a five-play, 68-yard drive that was aided by a pass interference penalty. Brayton Yoder the Panthers' leading rusher on the year with more than 1,300 yards bolted to the end zone from 36 yards out for the TD, and Landen Gessinger

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smashed his way in through three Roncalli defenders for the two-point PAT, narrowing the Rebel advantage to 21-14. It stayed that way for less than two minutes as O'Connor unleashed a bomb on the Rebels' fourth play to wide receiver Jacob Luedeman, who went 70 yards for the touchdown, putting Roncalli back in front by two scores at 28-14. The Panthers could not answer, punting the ball back to Roncalli on their next possession, but after yielding a pair of first downs, the Black Crunch defense forced a fumble near midfield that was recovered by senior Andrew Miller. North Wood took advantage of the miscue, quickly punching it in for a score on another long run by Brayton Yoder, this one a 31-yarder down the right sideline. Bilinski hit DeAndre Smart with for the two-point PAT, and the Panthers trailed 28-22 with 1:48 to play in the third period. With the Panther fans howling in the stands, North Wood forced a three-and-out by Roncalli and on the punt attempt, the snap sailed over the head of Dill, resulting in the Panthers getting the ball at the Roncalli 18-yard line. Unfortunately, after failing to pick up any yardage on three plays, a fourth-down pass attempt was intercepted by Rebel safety Dylan Williams, who returned the pick to midfield. Five plays later, Roncalli was in the end zone again on a 22-yard run by O'Connor, his third score of the night, pushing the lead back to 12 at 34-22. North Wood turned the ball over on downs at the Rebel 31-yard line on the next series, and Roncalli then burned up the last 6:43 of the game on a drive that featured 10 straight running plays, followed by two "victory formation" kneel-downs to seal the win and their ninth state championship. The North Wood offense, which came into the state finals averaging nearly 500 yards per game, managed just 252 total yards against the stout Roncalli defense. As he has done all season, Brayton Yoder led the rushing attack with

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DAT photos ABOVE: A pumped up young North Wood fan leaves no doubt where her heart lies at the 2016 Class 4A state championship game between the Panthers and the Roncalli Rebels. LEFT: North Wood fans cheer on their Panthers during last Friday's Class 4A State Football Final at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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DAT photos North Wood quarterback Trey Bilinski waltzes untouched into the end zone for the Panthers' first touchdown in the state championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. North Wood fell to Roncalli 34-22 in the final. 78 yards and two scores on just eight carries. Bilinski, who threw for more than 3,100 yards and 39 TDs on the year, suffered through a subpar game, completing just 9 of 22 passes for 117 yards. The Black Crunch defense was paced by 12 tackles from the relentless Drew Minnich, who also made the Wa-Nee community proud by earning the Phil Eskew Mental Attitude Award. Bronson Yoder chipped in with 10 tackles, and Chupp and Garrett Griffin added eight apiece. Roncalli was led in all aspects by the senior O'Connor, who rushed for 160 yards and three TDs, most of it in the pivotal second half. O'Connor also completed,ll of his 19 passes for 151 yards and another score, accounting for nearly 75 percent of the Rebel offensive attack. The Roncalli defense was led by six tackles from Cade Morgan. • RONCALLI 34, NORTHWOOD 22 At Lucas Oil Stadium Roncalli: 01414 6 North Wood: 0 6 16 0— 22 R - Derek O’Connor 2 run (Patrick Sandler kick) R - O’Connor 1 run (Sandler kick) NW - Trey Bilinski 2 run (run failed) R - Luke Smock 34 run (Sandler kick) NW - Brayton Yoder 36 run (Landen Gessinger run) L - Jacob Luedeman 70 pass from O’Connor (Sandler kick) NW - Brayton Yoder 31 run (DeAndre Smart pass from Bilinski) R - O'Connor 22 run (pass failed) North Wood Roncalli Yards Rushing: 135 278 Yards Passing: 117 ,151 Passing (Comp/Att/Int):9-22-2 11-19-0 Penalties (NoTYds.): 545 8-80 Fumbles (NoVLost): 1-1 2-1 Punts (NoVAvg.): 3-35 2-32 Rushing: North Wood (Brayton Yoder 8-78, 2 TD; Bronson Yoder 8-35; Bear 2-12; Bilinski 3-10, TD); Roncalli (O’Connor 31-160,3 TD; Gillum 14-71; Smock 444, TD; McManama 1-3) Passing: North Wood (Bilinski 9-22-2, 117 yds.); Roncalli (O’Connor 11-19-0,151 yds.,TD) Receiving: North Wood (Smart 2-15; Bronson Yoder 3-56; Brayton Yoder 1-8; Bear 1-8); Roncalli (Parker 3-15; Luedeman 2-85, TD; Gillum 2-7; McManama 1-5; Ftyar 1-24; Fischer 1-5; Smock 1-10)