Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 49, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 8 December 2016 — Page 7

A win short of perfection, Panthers ran still very special one

DAT PHOTO North Wood's football team poses for a pic following the Panthers' state runner-up finish at the Class 4A championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium Nov. 25.

By James Costello Spouts Editor NAPPANEE North Wood's football team may have just finished up one heck of a run, but as of last week, head coach Nate Andrews still wasn't in any real mood to celebrate. Sure, of the 321 teams that started the state tournament all the way back on Oct. 21, the Panthers made it further than all but 11 other programs. But to come so close only to fall just short of a state title North Wood suffered a 34-22 loss to Roncalli in the Qass 4A championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium Nov. 25 was a tough note to end on. Besides, the 11-year head coach knows just how rare the opportunity was. A lot of pieces had to fall in place just to get there, and you never know when you'll be back. "It leaves an empty feeling in my heart right now. I know how difficult it is to reach a championship game. So many things have to go right," explained Andrews. "First of all you have to be very, very good. You have to have unbelievable team chemistry. You need to have some breaks along the way, and you have to be able to be able to be in a tournament where the competition is maybe not off the charts. All those things considered makes it nearly impossible to make

“('//it thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” -/ Chronicles 16:34

HAPFAHEE ARIA CHURCHES Bethel Conservative Church 25402 CR 50 Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Worship Ssivice -10:30 a.m. Sunday Evening Service - 7:00 p.m. Pastor: Lyle Miller Bethel Missionary Church 63473 CR 7, Goshen, IN 862-2631 Bible Way Apostolic Church 26148 US 6 E • 773-7882 Sunday Morning -10:00 a.m. Sunday Evening - 6:00 p.m. Pastor J. L. Wyant Brethren In Christ Church 1601 N. Main, Nappanee 773-3365 Sunday School - 9:15 a.m. Sunday Worship -10:30 a.m. Pastor: Jeff T. Williams Calvary Baptist Church At corner of Market 8 Elm St 574-773-7454 Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship -10:30 a.m. Evening Worship -1:00 p.m. Pastor: Don Taylor Church of the Brethren 301 Mack Dr. • 773-4044 Sunday School - 9:00 a.m. Sunday Worship -10:00 a.m. Pastor: Byrl and Janet Shaver *•♦***♦♦**** Church of the Nazarene 67136 St Rd. 15, New Paris 574-831-6880 Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship -10:30 a.m. Pastor: Don Melner Compassion of Christ Fellowship 2673 E. Market St 546-5586 Sunday School -10:00 a.m. Sun. Worship -11:00 a.m. Pastor: Gary Kauffman *«**♦♦***« First Baptist Church Haney Dr. • 773-4816 First Brethren Church 1600 N. Main St • 7784252 Brethren Omaplenet net Contemporary Service - 8:00 a.m. Traditional Worship -10:30 am. Senior Pastor: Tom Shlefer

the championship game, and we were fortunate enough to be there. "I never wanted it to be a would've-should've-could've game, and, unfortunately, that's the way it feels right now." If the Panthers fell short of their ultimate goal, it was a long road just to get there and one that was paved with some stellar accomplishments all along the way. For starters, the team's 14-1 record was an all-time best for the program. The offense in particular grabbed headlines throughout the northern half of the state and pretty much rewrote the North Wood record books, scoring a prolific 89 touchdowns and averaging 44.6 points per game. Obviously, senior quarterback Trey Bilinski had a lot to do with the Panthers' success on that side of the ball, and he racked up better than 3,100 yards passing and 39 TDs on the year. But Bilinski credited his O line with much of his success, as well as a dynamic and deep group of skilled players to work with. "We had an unbelievable offensive line. Those guys did a great job for us all season," he said. "Then I think our skill guys were very dynamic this year. I think we had a lot of guys that were guys that could do different things for us. That's kind of what made us so dangerous is that it wasn't just one

First Church of God Corner of CR 7 6 54, Nappanee 773-7743 Sunday Services • 10:30 am. & 6:00 p.m. Sunday School • 9:30 a.m. Pastor: Sam Bennett First Mennonite Church 900 W. Market St >773-7294 Sunday School - 9:00 a.m. Sunday Worship -10:00 a.m. Pastor: Rev. Janet (McFall) Brown Grace Point Evangelical Presbyterian Church 1155 N. Main at Northwood 773-3773 Prayer Service ■ 9:45 a.m. Worship ■ 10:15 a.m. Children's Church -10:15 a.m. Hepton Union Church 9266 W. Hepton Road Church Phone - 574-707-7289 Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship -10:30 a.m. Pastor: Eric Eickhoff Iglesia De Cristo Elim 475 W. Randolph 574-3544)127 Domngo Culto General -11:00 a.m. Living Gospel Church 302 W. Walnut St • 773-7110 Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Morning Service -10:30 a.m. Pastor: Mike Raasch ♦♦****♦**♦** Maranatha Fellowship 9636 W. Hepton Rd. • 773-2740 Regular Services Sunday School (All Ages) - 9:00 a.m. Sunday Worship -10:00 aim. Pastor Michael Peterson Ministerios Cordero 5 58 W. Walnut St. - 7735253 Sunday Worship - 2:30 p.m. Brother In Christ: Mario Duran Mt Tabor Church of God 8424N800W, Etna Green 646-2725 Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Worship Service -10:30 a.m. Pastor: Jeremy Grueser Nappanee Family Worship Center-COG 158 E. Centennial SL 574-214-7433 Sunday Service - 10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. Pastor Justin Moon

Sports

guy that we would go to all the time; it was so many different guys that we had the ability to give the ball to." Take nothing away from North Wood's defense either. It was one of that unit's standout players that was singled out for individual accolades at the state finals, after all, as senior outside linebacker Drew Minnich received the Phil Eskew Mental Attitude Award following his 12-tackle performance against Roncalli. "I'm truly blessed. It was an amazing reward," said Minnich. "It's not really to show for me, but it's more about my parents and my family, how they've raised me, the community how great they've always backed me and God. Without those blessings, I wouldn't be where I'm at right now. Even the players and coaches, you know I wouldn't even be in this position that I'm at without their help and without everything that went on through the season. If we don't get to that game, I'm not recognized for it. So it means a lot, and I hope I did please a lot of people." If you want to know why North Wood was so good in 2016, you can look at a deep cast of talented, veteran players like Minnich and Bilinski. You simply can't have the run the Panthers did without those kinds of players to begin with.

Nappanee Missionary Church SRI9atCRSO Sunday Worship - 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:45 a.m. Senior Pastor: Dave Engbrecht New Beginnings Assembly of God 901 S. Main St., Nappanee 773-7509 Christian Discipleship - 9:30 a.m. Worship -10:30 a.m. www.newbeglnnlngsassembly. org Pastor: Mick Tomlinson New Life Church 2673 E. Market St. • Nappanee 574-354-1475 Sunday School - 2:00 p.m. Morning Worship - 3:00 p.m. Pastor: Dean Anglemyer North Main Street Mennonite Church 504 N. Main >773-4558 Sunday Worship - 9:30 a.m. Sunday School -10:45 a.m. Pastor: Ruben Chupp Northwood Chapel 28220 CR 52 •773-7895 Oak Grove Missionary Church Corner of 46 8 Beech Rd. 69009 Beech Road 574-6334517 Sunday School - 9:00 a.m. Worship -10:00 a.m. Pastor: Kevin Skaggs Spiritual Paradise, CGMA 751 W. Market SL, Nappanee Sunday School -10:00 a.m. Worship -11:00 a.m. Sunday Night - 6:00 p.m. Pastor: Rev. Steve Wilson Union Center Church of the Brethren 70535 County Rd. 11 7734295 www.unloncenterchurch.org Sunday Worship - 9:00 a.m. Sunday School -10:30 a.m. Pastor Fnnk Ramirez ************ Union Grove BIC 69954 County Rd. 11 574-773 GROVE (4768) Sunday Worship -10:30 a.m. Pastor: Darin Simms United Methodist Church 301 E. Market •7734183 Contemporary Worship-8:00 am Sunday School - 9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship -10:00 a.m. Pastor: Jim Davidson

But players and their coach agree that one thing that really set this group apart from others they've been a part of was the team's camaraderie. The bonds between players and coaches this year were rare ones, and they were also no accident "At our team camp, I told the kids that I felt like one thing as a program we really needed to work on next was our closeness, our togetherness, our family atmosphere, and our 'Unity Council' developed then the name and what we call our 2016 identity, and that is called 'The Brotherhood,'" recalled Andrews. "And The Brotherhood is based on respect and trust and love in one another. So to me as we continued to work, that was our focus, and the kids really bought into that. I think that is what allowed us to go on such a good run." "I definitely think that that was a huge emphasis in our program this year," echoed Bilinski. "We went to our team camp over the summer, and Coach sat down with all the captains and some other guys on the team and we came up with our team identity and what we wanted to be. We talked about how we needed to become more close-knit, become a brotherhood. That really set our identity for the year." "For me, I could talk to anybody on the team it doesn't matter who it was and I could carry on

WAKARUSA AREA CHURCHES Bethel Missionary Church 63473C.R. 7-Goshen 862-2631 Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Worship Service -10:30 a.m. Sunday Evening Service - 6:00 p.m. Joel Gentz, Pastor Bible Baptist Church 205 E. Waterford SL • Wakarusa 862-2214 Sunday School - 9:00 a.m. Worship -10:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. David Harper, Pastor Holdeman Mennonite Church 65723 CR 1-574-8624751 Sunday Service - 9:30 a.m. Sunday School -10:45 a.m. St. John United Church of Christ 63900 SR 331, Woodland 574-6334317 Worship - 9:00 a.m. JoAn Schaetzle, Pastor Wakarusa Missionary Church 202 W. Waterford SL • Wakarusa 862-2102 www.wakymc.org Worship - 9:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Wakarusa United Methodist Church 309 S. Elkhart SL • Wakarusa 862-2863 Worship Service (Contemporary) - 8:45 a.m. Sunday School -10:00 a.m. Worship Service (Traditional) - 11:00 a.m. Rev. Ed Geleske, Pastor Yellow Creek Church of the Brethren 65575 County Rd. 11 • Goshen 862-2672 Morning Worship -10:30 a.m. Sunday School - 9:30 a.m.

AdvanceJ|4ewsj^ThursdayDecemberß ; 2ol6

Tout word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path, " ~Psalm U9t105

piiMfe Ti» 1. Is the book of Malachi in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. Which king was stricken with leprosy because he disobeyed God’s command and burned incense on a holy altar? Uzziah, Solomon, Joab, Petra 3. Who was the first woman to be ashamed of her lack of clothing? Eve, Anna, Pilate’s wife, Miriam 4. From 1 Kings 19, what prophet experienced an earthquake while standing on a mountaintop? Paul, Ahab, Andrew, Elijah 5. Where did Jesus raise Lazarus from B _ the dead? Sinai, Bethany, Tarsus, Smyrna ~ 6. In Acts 9, what dressI maker was restored to ” ■ I life by Peter’s prayers? I Naomi, Priscilla, Lydia, Dorcas I "But seek first his kingdom I I and his righteousness, and fl all these things will be I given to you as well." -Matthew 6:33

any conversation with anybody," said Minnich. "I think that is rare, and whether that's just me being just a senior and a leader, I don't know. But I think there weren't really those I think this happens on teams a lot where people start to single out and they almost form those types of cliques that never happened." If you want to know when the Panthers started to realize just how good they could be, Andrews points to the team's back-tc-back wins over Warsaw and Plymouth in Weeks 8 and 9. For sure, the third-year North Wood skipper knew this group had a lot of potential before the Panthers ever kicked off this year. And Minnich and Bilinski both pointed to the Panthers' early 50-32 win over Concord in Week 3 as giving them an inkling of how good the team would become. But it was the regular-season closing wins over the Tigers and the Rockies that really crystallized it. North Wood entered its Week 8 game opposite Warsaw with a chance to clinch the Northern Lakes Conference title outright, and the Panthers did so, putting up 38 points in the second quarter en route to a lopsided 61-24 final margin of victory. Then, in the following week and with the See Run, Page AlO

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