Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 42, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 19 October 2017 — Page 8

News * Thursday, October 19, 2017

Page A8

Smart plays propel Panthers past Plymouth sf* _ _ _ . _ . . .

By Steve Srma Correspondent NAPPANEE Senior wide receiver/ defensive back DeAndre Smart caught two touchdown passes and made 11 tackles on defense as the Class 4A #ll-ranked North Wood Panthers pounded Plymouth 30-6 on senior night at Andrews Field in Nappanee. North Wood finished the regular season at 6-3, 4-3 in the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) and bid a fond farewell to 19 senior players and one senior manager in pre-game festivities. After a shanked North Wood punt on the game's opening possession gave Plymouth the ball at the Panther 24-yard line, the Black Crunch defense held and forced a 27-yard Rockies field-goal attempt which was long enough but wide right. North Wood's Bronson Yoder then ripped off a 70-yard run on the third play of the ensuing series for an apparent touchdown, but the play was called back on a holding penalty. Not to be denied, Yoder promptly hit Smart with a 40-yard.pass into Plymouth territory, and on third and goal from the Rockies 23-yard line, found Smart again for a 23-yard TD strike. Yoder tacked on the PAT run and North Wood had an 8-0 lead. A long Plymouth drive on the next series ended at the Panthers' eight-yard line on a big tackle of Rockies running back Benji Nixon by North Wood senior lineman Will Ingle. North Wood then turned the ball over on downs at its own 18-yard line on a fourthdown gamble by the Panthers coaching staff, and Plymouth took advantage of the decision when quarterback Cole Filson hit Braxton Bennitt with a 19-yard TD pass. Fortunately, the PAT run was stuffed by Brayton Yoder and North Wood remained in front at 8-6. The Panthers answered on the next series on a patented long TD run up the middle by Brayton Yoder. The 56-yard jaunt, followed by another PAT run by Bronson Yoder, made it 16-6 North Wood with 4:39 to play in the half. Plymouth managed to drive into Panthers' territory again but Smart broke up a thirddown pass attempt, forcing a long field goal by the Rockies that was nowhere dose. With just 1:14 to play, the Panthers then struck once more on another long play when Landen Gessinger found Smart deep on the left side and the lanky wideout leaped over Rockies' defender Bennitt to snag the ball, then raced 69 yards to pay dirt for his second score of the night. Bronson Yoder's third PAT run made it 24-6 North Wood at the half. After a spectacular halftime show by the Regiment, marching band, Plymouth fook the second half kickoff and ate six minutes off the dock on a 15-play drive that ended up amounted to nothing when Smart

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DAT photos ABOVE: Panthers wide receiver DeAndre Smart dances down the sideline on one of his receptions, past Plymouth's Braxton Bennitt. Smart caught three passes for 132 yards and two TDs, and also made 11 tackles on defense as North Wood downed Plymouth 30-6. BELOW: North Wood's Bronson Yoder (with football) rips free from two Plymouth defenders on his way to a 53-yard touchdown run. Yoder also threw for a score and added three rushing PATs in the Panthers' 30-6 victory over the Rockies.

broke up a fourth-down pass attempt at the Panthers 19-yard line. North Wood then had a three-and-out on offense, their only plays of the third quarter, before killing yet another Plymouth drive on a fourth-down pass breakup by Spencer Brubacher. After punting the ball back to Plymouth on the first series of the fourth quarter, Panthers senior Jacob Chupp ripped the ball away from Plymouth's Bennitt at the North Wood 39-yard line and three plays later, Bronson Yoder broke several tackles and outran the Rockies secondary on a 53-yard TD scamper. The PAT kick was wide left but North Wood had a commanding 30-6 lead, which held up for the remainder of the contest. The Panthers rushed for 244 yards, led by 123 yards and a TD on 19 carries by Brayton Yoder. Bronson Yoder had 74 yards on just five totes including a score. Through the air, Gessinger was one of two for 69 yards and a TD, while Bronson Yoder completed both of his pass attempts for 63 yards and a score. The Black Crunch defense was paced by 11 tackles from Smart, with Ingle and Bronson Yoder adding seven stops each. Evan Bonne pitched in with five tackles including a sack.

Sports

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Plymouth finished with 151 hard-earned yards on the ground, led by 122 yards on 20 carries from Nixon. Filson completed 10 of 17 passes for just 69 yards, with Nixon also completing his only pass attempt for three yards. The Rockies defense was led by four tackles each from Elijah Almon, Cameron Frick and Kendall Himes. North Wood (6-3) hosts Dekalb (3-6) in the first round of the Qass 4A sectional on Oct. 20. Plymouth (6-3) hosts East Noble (7-2) in its sectional opener. If the Panthers win, they would host the winner of the AngolaWawasee contest on Oct. 27. • NORTHWOOD 30, PLYMOUTH 6 At Andrews Field, Nappanee Plymouth 0 6 0 0 - 6 North Wood 8 16 0 6 - 30 NW - DeAndre Smart 23 pass from Bronson Yoder 55 run (Bronson Yoder run) P- Braxton Bennitt 19 pass from Cole Filson (run failed) NW - Brayton Yoder 56 run (Bronson Yoder run) NW - Smart 69 pass from Landen Gessinger (Bronson Yoder run) NW - Bronson Yoder 53 run (kick failed) North Wood Plymouth Yards Rushing 244 151 Yards Passing 132 72 Passing (Comp/Att/Int) 3-4-0 11-184) Penalties (No./Y ds.) 6-50 4-30 Fumbles (No./Lost) 1-0 1-1 Punts (No./Avg.) . 3-29 1-39 Rushing - North Wood (Brayton Yoder 19-123, TD; Gessinger 8-19; Bronson Yoder 5-74, TD; Chupp 2-19; Newcomer 2-2; Mestach 1-7); Plymouth (Nixon 20-122; Reed 5-15; Filson 9-3; Bennitt 6-12; Pesak 1-10; Vanlue l-i-n) Passing - North Wood (Gessinger 1-2-0, 69 yds., TD; Bronson Yoder 2-2-0, 63 yds., TD); Plymouth (Filson 10-17-0,69 yds.; Nixon 1-1-0, 3 yds.) Receiving - North Wood (Smart 3-132, 2 TD); Plymouth (Bennitt 6-25. TD; Nixon 4-38; Pesak 1-7).