The Mail-Journal, Volume 29, Number 32, Milford, Kosciusko County, 19 September 1990 — Page 8

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THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., September 19,1990

Sports

Gridders improve in loss to North Wood

I By MITCHELL STINSON Sports Writer North Wood Panthers 36, Wawasee Warriors 6. In the box score it looked like another typical drubbing for the Warriors’ struggling football program. But looks can be deceiving. Last Friday’s contest did provide a significant season milestone for the Warriors because it marked the first time one of their games wasn’t already decided by halftime. “It was easy to see that it was our best game of the year, fundamentally,” said Wawasee coach Troy Akers. After witnessing early “knockouts” in the previous three games, Wawasee’s faithful home fans finally had something to cheer about as the Warriors were only down 12-6 at the end of the first half. It looked like business as usual for most of the half, as the Panthers built a 12-0 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run by Craig Croy and a 5-yard scamper by quarterback Chad Bontrager. But the Warriors used a tricky play to get the momentum going their way late in the second quarter. Facing a third-and-14 from their own 21-yard line, the Warriors decided to pull the halfback pass from their playbook. Tim Schwartz took the pitchout from Brandon Lozano and fooled North Wood’s secondary into thinking

w BIG FAN — The Wawasee Warriors football team had another tough outing in Syracuse last Friday but that didn't stop Colleen Hickey, 8, from showing her loyalty to the home team. She’s pictured here in the bleachers, chomping on a sucker while watching the game. Colleen’s big brother, John, is a lineman for the Warriors. (Photo byMitchell Stinson)

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it was a running play. That left Junior Cantu wide open down the middle of the field and Schwartz, who was a quarterback candidate at one time, fired a perfect strike to him. Cantu hauled in the pass and won the foot race into the end zone for a 79-yard touchdown reception. “That halfback pass . . . We sure got burned by that,” commented Panthers coach Jim Andrews. The Warriors hung tough in the third quarter, limiting North Wood to a 30-yard field goal by Rod Bradway. But the floodgates opened in the fourth quarter as the Panthers scored 21 unanswered points. The straw that broke the Warriors’ back occurred early in the fourth quarter as North Wood faced a fourth-and-goal inside the 1-yard line. After a pitched battle in the trenches. Chad Bontrager was able to get across the goal for the touchdown. But Akers claimed that his defense had the play stopped until fullback Craig Croy illegally pushed Bontrager into the end zone. Akers drew a penalty flag after running onto the field to argue the play with the referees. “I felt that was the turning point,” he said of the play. “It just snowballed after that. It got away from us after playing a good first half.” The score went to 22-6 after Jason Shafer made good on the ensuing extra-point kick. The

Panthers rounded out the evening’s scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run from Tong Inthivong and Shafer’s 1-yard plunge. Top Warrior Efforts Senior Tim Schwartz seemed to have his hand into everything during Friday’s game. In addition to the touchdown pass, he caught a pass for 21 yards and had a 5-yard run. On the defensive side of the ball, Schwartz had nine solo tackles, three assists and a diving interception. He also had a 20-yard kickoff return. Junior Mark Nicolai put his name back in the running for the Wawasee quarterback sweepstakes by coming off the bench to complete six of nine passes for 44 yards. After losing his starting job to sophomore Brandon Lozano, Nicolai waited patiently for another chance at the position. “I give him a lot of credit for hanging in there after the quarterback switch and being competitive,” Akers said. Akers also singled out linebackers Jeremy Doerr and Dan Smith for their fine defensive play. Doerr led the team in tackles with eight solos and seven assists, while Smith was second with four solos and nine assists. Looking For A Win The Warriors will be looking to earn their first victory this Friday when they travel west to take on the 2-2 Plymouth Rockies. Wawasee thrashed them, 42-6, at home last year, but the Rockies have improved drastically since then. “I’m sure they’re going to remember that game so there will be a little bit of a revenge factor,” Akers said. Plymouth has huge linemen and uses a ball control game plan on offense. And the defense is ex-

Lady spikers suffer eighth loss in a row

I By SCOTT DAVIDSON Sports Writer A 6-15, 12-15 loss on the road at Whitko last night (Tuesday) dropped the Wawasee girls' varsity volleyball squad to 2-8 on the season. “We had trouble getting going in the first game but then the girls started playing much better and really gave Whitko a tough second game,” said first-'year coach Joy Swartzentruber after watching the Lady Warriors lose their eighth match in a row. Sophomore Brandi Bray led the squad with seven spikes and three kills while junior Trisha Mikel had four assists. The junior varsity squad saw its season record drop to 4-6 after a 15-6, 7-15, 4-15 loss to the Lady Wildcats. Niki CorbaT had six assists, eight spikes and two kills to lead the JV attack. Crystal Clipfell racked up 11 spikes with two kills. The Lady Warriors will face a tough test tomorrow (Thursday) evening with a home match against Northern Lakes Conference rival Warsaw. Action is scheduled to begin with the JV match at 6 p.m. The team will then take part in the Homestead Invitational Saturday in Fort Wayne before facing Fairfield on the road next Monday at 6 p.m. Loss To Triton The Lady Warriors fell to 2-7 on the season after a 8-15, 13-15 loss to Triton on Monday evening. Lori Stiver and April Bouse led the team with two kills each. “We

Tippy ladies cite winners in outings

The nine-hole ladies golf league at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club had nine winners in three different classes of play during the club's final outing on September 18. In class A play, Shirley Bricker (low gross), Mary Manwaring (low net) and Krista Koors (low putts) were the winners. Mary Steinhausen (low gross), Ruth Phillips (low net) and Jean Lee (low putts) finished as the top players in class B play. In class C action, Mary Gradle (low gross), Mary Pfister (low net) and Virginia Hawks (low putts) were the top performers During the club's outing on September 11, the following players turned in the top efforts. In class A play, Bricker (low gross), Nancy Williams (low net) and Manwaring (low putts) were

tra tough to run against, with an alignment that puts as many eight men on the line. Akers thinks that he can get a lot of his receivers open if the line can just buy enough time for the quarterback. “If we can get the pass off before they get to us, we could have some big plays,” he said. “It could be a big play night.” JV Drops To 0-3 The junior varsity Warriors dropped to 0-3 on the season after suffering a 20-8 loss at the hands of the North Wood Panthers last Saturday. All of Wawasee’s scoring came through the freshman connection of quarterback Joey Salazar and receiver Orlando Vallejo. The two hooked up on a 45-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and also connected on the two-point conversion attempt. Strong safety Chris Peterson led the Warriors on the defensive side of the ball. Marion Lilly anchored the line, while David Antu made lots of tackles from his linebacker position. Wawasee also received solid efforts from Cory Manning and Ryan Keiper at defensive back and defensive end, respectively. The special teams looked good, with Keiper returning three kickoffs for about 80 yards. Freshmen Blanked By Concord In freshman gridiron action, the Warriors lost a 16-0 decision to the Concord Minutemen on Thursday, Sept 13. The Wawasee defense played pretty well but the offense had trouble moving the ball. The first Concord touchdown was set up by a bad> snap from center for the Warriors in a punting situation. The Minutemen recovered the ball deep in Wawasee territory and it didn’t take them long to punch it into the

fought back in the second game with some good play but our overpassing was what cost us,” said Swartzentruber. The JV squad improved to 4-5 on the season with a 15-9,15-2 win over Triton. Lisa Klotz had five aces to lead the team while Clipfell picked up four aces and Crista Dippon added three aces. Loss To Columbia City Despite playing well against a good Columbia City squad, Wawasee lost a 6-15, 9-15 decision in varsity play on Saturday. “Even though the scores didn’t show it, the team played well against Columbia City and I was happy with their efforts,” remarked Swartzentruber. Stiver led the team with five kills while Lisa Mikel added three kills. The JV squad also lost at Columbia City, dropping a 3-15,12-15 match. Debbie Black led the team with three aces while Corbat and Clark each had two kills. Loss To Concord The Wawasee squad fell to 2-5 (0-3 in the NLC) after suffering a 2-15, 4-15 loss at Concord last Thursday. Lisa Mikel led the team with five spikes and two kills. The JV team lost 10-15, 16-14. 10-15 to Concord. Clipfell led the squad with 15 attacks and two kills while Corbat and Clark each had three kills and Angela Leamon picked up three aces.

the top players. Phillips (low gross), Cary Schlotterback (low net) and Pat Fulwider (low putts) turned in the top efforts for class B players. In class C, Pfister (low gross), Gradle (low net) and Hawks (low putts) finished with the best performances on the day .

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PASSING PRESSURE — Warrior quarterback Mark Nicolai gets a pass off over the extended arms of North Wood Panther defenders during high school football action in Syracuse last Friday. Nicolai came off the bench to complete six of nine passes for 44

end zone. Eric Conkling and Chris Ponciroli put in solid efforts for the Warriors at the defensive tackie

Lady harriers stay perfect

By MITCHELL STINSON Sports Writer Wawasee High School’s cross country program has been following a “ladies first” policy this season. That’s “first” as in “first place.” The Lady Warriors extended their unblemished record to 7-0 with victories over Goshen and Concord in tri-meet action in

Swimmers post three wins to improve to 6-2 season

I By SCOTT DAVIDSON Sports Writer Posting two easy victories in a double-dual meet last night (Tuesday) at Bremen, the Wawasee girls’ swim squad improved its season mark to 6-2. The team registered a 77-13 victory over Tippecanoe Valley to go with a 62-31 win over host Bremen in the non-conference action. “Our younger swimmers swam well, with several personal bests, and that was good to see,” said coach Roger Karns. “We re at a point in the season (about midway through) where, overall, the team is tired, but that’s what you expect at this point, ’ ’ he added. The squad won all 12 events against Valley, with Danielle Laub (200-yard and 500-yard freestyle) Brandee Carlson (50 and 100 free) and Dawn Firestone (diving and 100 backstroke) each winning two events. Other first place finishers included Caroline Weiss (200 IM). Lori Boles (100 butterfly) and Christy Rozow (100 breaststroke) in individual events The squad took first in the three relay events, with Firestone, Rozow. Boles and Carlson winning the 200 medley relay; Firestone, Laub, Weiss and Amy Pratt teaming to win the 200 freestyle relay and Laub, Kline, Boles and Carlson capturing the 400 freestyle relay race. Second place performances in the victory over Valley included efforts by Kline, Rozow, Boles, Gretchen Naugler, Weiss, Pratt and Lee Ann Kuilema. In the 62-31 win over Bremen, Wawasee winners included Laub, Carlson, Firestone, Boles and Rozow in individual competition. The team also won the 200 medley relay race with the foursome of Firestone, Rozow, Boles and Carlson and the 400 freestyle relay event with the team of Laub, Kline, Boles and Carlson. The Lady Warriors will face Manchester tomorrow (Thurs-

positions, while Orlando Vallejo led the defense from his linebacker slot. Chris Huffer had a good game on both sides of the

Syracuseyesterday (Tuesday). The victories put Wawasee’s girls in a tie with Northridge for first place in the Northern Lakes Conference. Both teams will bring 5-0 conference records into their big showdown at Northridge on Tuesday, Sept. 25. “We’re both undefeated so next week will be a big meet for the girls,” said Wawasee coach Jerry Minton.

day) evening in a non-conference meet on the road before participating in the Mishawaka Relays on Saturday. The team will continue action on the road with a Northern Lakes Conference meet at North Wood at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday. Defeat Goshen First place efforts in 10 of the 12 events on the evening was more than enough as the Lady Warriors cruised to a 119-62 win at Goshen in a conference meet last Thursday. Boles and Kline each won two individual events to lead the way for the winners. Boles took the 500 freestyle and the 100 backstroke while Kline won the 100 and 200 freestyle races. Also winning for the team were Laub (200 IM), Carlson (50 freestyle) and Firestone (diving) in individual competition. The squad also won all three of the relay races, as Firestone, Rozow, Boles and Carlson won the 200 medley relay; Laub, Firestone, Carlson and Kline captured the 200 freestyle relay, and Boles, Kline, Laub and Weiss were winners in the 400 freestyle relay.

IK®** £ fl '’JoF *V9KfI fl fl fl fl w 4 fl 3&£!Sb| - ? -j, j, ip. ' aME * PACK RUNNING — Angie Garner, left, and Lori Gargett are pictured at the head of a pack of Wawasee Lady Warrior runners during cross country action in Syracuse yesterday (Tuesday). Garner took third place overall, and Gargett.placed fourth in the team’s double victory over Goshen and Concord. With the wins, the Lady Warriors now sport a perfect season record of 7-0. (Photo by Mitchell Stinson)

yards. The Warriors kept it close in the first half but ended up losing a 36-6 decision to the Panthers. North Wood improved to 2-2 with the win while Wawasee dropped to 0-4. (Photo by Mitchell Stinson)

ball, at the split end and safety positions. The freshman Warriors are scheduled to return to action

The Lady Warriors’ depth of talent won out once again in yesterday’s victorious effort. Concord’s Beth Nidiffer and Tara Call took first and second place respectively, but Wawasee’s harriers clinched the victory by taking five of the next seven places. The Lady Warriors recorded a 26-33 win over Concord and a 17-46 win against Goshen. Concord’s Minutewomen salvaged one victory from the evening’s activities by beating Goshen 22-37. The Lady Redskins dropped to 0-6 with the losses, while Concord went to 4-2 overall. It was the first conference loss for the Minutewomen. Sophomore Angie Garner led the Lady Warriors, taking third place in a time of 17 minutes, 30 seconds. Teammates Lori Gargett and Amy Logan took fourth and fifth place respectively, while Tiffany Titus and Gina Minton rounded out the Wawasee five-person effort by taking seventh and ninth place respectively. “Our first girl and our fifth girl ran within 44 seconds of each other, which is real good,” Minton said. The Lady Warriors’ return to action tomorrow (Thursday) with a big dual meet at Columbia City. Wawasee’s harriers haven’t beaten the Lady Eagles in about five years and they’re hoping to break the losing streak. Boys Split Series In boys’ action, Wawasee junior Matt Johnson won the battle but the Warriors narrowly lost the war. Johnson recorded a fine time of 16:24 en route to winning the meet but the Goshen Redskins edged Wawasee 28-29. The Warriors did come away with one victory by beating Concord 21-38.

tomorrow (Thursday), with a home game against the powerful North Wood Panthers. Game time is setfor6:3op.m.

Goshen earned a sweep by beating Concord 23-34. Unlike the girls, Wawasee’s boys suffered from a lack of depth. In addition to Johnson’s first-place finish, the Warriors received third and fourth place finishes from Ryan Shoemaker and Bill Sohl. But the rest of the Wawasee field took a long time to cross the finish line. “Right now, the biggest thing that’s hurting both teams (boys and girls) is injuries,” Minton explained. “We had three guys who ran with injuries and that didn’t help them any.” The Warriors now sport a record of 1-4 in the NLC and 2-5 overall. Goshen’s record stands at 2-3 in the conference and 8-3 overall, while Concord is 1-4 and 2-6. Girls Results Wawasee 26, Concord 33; Wawasee 17, Goshen 46; Concord 22, Goshen 37. ist-Nidiffer (Concord), 16:51; 2nd-Tara Call (Concord), 17:05; 3rd-Garner (Wawasee), 17:30; 4th-Gargett (Wawasee), 17:37; sth-Logan (Wawasee), 17:55; 6thWillims (Goshen), 18:04; 7th-T. Titus (Wawasee), 18:10; Bth-Pfil (Concord), 18:14; 9th-Minton (Wawasee), 18:16; lOth-E. Titus (Wawasee), 18:18. Boys' Results Goshen 28, Wawasee 29; Wawasee 21, Concord 38; Goshen 23, Concord 34. Ist-Johnson (Wawasee), 16:24; 2nd-Kovatch (Goshen), 16:51; 3rd-Shoemaker (Wawasee), 16:55; 4th-Sohl (Wawasee), 17:04; sth-Titus (Concord), 17:10; 6th-Henderson (Concord), 17:11; 7th-Van Curen (Goshen), 17:16; Bth-Solyom (Goshen), 17:25; 9thHuber (Goshen), 17:29; 10thEyse (Goshen), 17:35.