NorthWood Football: Big Play Panthers Prevail In Opener
NAPPANEE – One thing’s a certainty about this edition of the NorthWood football team.
The Panthers still possess plenty of playmakers on both sides of the ball.
Just ask Jimtown.
NorthWood, which rode its explosive offense to a Class 4-A state runner-up finish a year ago, got big plays from its offense and defense in throttling the Jimmies 31-0 Friday night in the season opener for both at Andrews Field.
The Class 4-A No. 1-ranked Panthers got a pair of touchdowns, including one of the 91-yard variety from star Brayton Yoder, and another huge score from Terrel Pratcher off an interception to beat the Jimmies for the fifth straight season.
NorthWood’s Black Crunch defense simply shut down the young and inexperienced Jimtown offense, which graduated standout quarterback Sam Pawlak and workhorse tailback Kenny Kerrn from a year ago.
The hosts only allowed a total of 108 yards, including just a net total of 13 on the ground to the Jimmies.
“Coach Wilson (defensive coordinator Dave Wilson) had them dialed in tonight,” said NorthWood coach Nate Andrews of his outstanding defensive unit. “We stopped the run. Not just slowed down the run. Stopped the run. And our defense kept giving us opportunities on a night where our offense stalled and wasn’t gelling and clicking.”
“We had some question marks on defense with some guys who had never played under the lights before tonight for us. But they performed pretty well.”
The backbreaker for the Jimmies came just before halftime. Pratcher pilfered an errant attempt by Jimtown sophomore quarterback Clay Campbell, who was making his first varsity start, and raced his way 94 yards on the final play of the first half to make it 23-0 for the hosts.
“That play was huge,” noted Andrews. “We really believe in closing out periods or closing out halves strong and that was a big play for us.”
NorthWood, which beat the Jimmies 46-30 a year ago, did not allow Jimtown its first first down of the evening until late in the opening half.
The Panthers, despite having a couple of turnovers and some shaky snaps from a trio of centers in their shotgun formation, still showcased their skill set of the offensive end.
Senior Landen Gessinger, who was a “jack-of-all” trades performer a year ago, was strong in his debut at quarterback. He ran for 150 yards, including a five-yard touchdown jaunt. The shifty Gessinger made a couple of sensational runs out of broken plays, including an unbelievable 52-yard run for a first down after a bad snap on a fourth down play.
“We really like Landen, both as a player and as a person,” said Andrews. “He had a tremendous offseason. It was a good first start for him. But we have a lot to clean up. Our offensive line (with just one starter back from last year) has a lot of improving to do. We knew that coming into the season.”
NorthWood scored first late in the opening period as Brayton Yoder sped 91 yards. Gessinger added a two-point run for an 8-0 lead. Gessinger then made it 14-0 early in the second stanza with his five-yard scamper. The hosts were up 17-0 after a 40-yard field goal by Kyle Luster before Pratcher added the exclamation point with his interception return to pay dirt.
Brayton Yoder sped his way to 181 yards on 14 carries to pace the NorthWood ground game. The Panthers piled up 347 rushing yards in outgaining the Jimmies 412-108 in total yards.
DeAndre Smart had a pair of interceptions in the second half for the Panthers.
NorthWood, which went 14-1 in 2016, was not even at full strength. Star running back Bronson Yoder is out after undergoing wrist surgery last week. The junior totaled 20 touchdowns last season and totaled 100 tackles from his defensive back spot.
The trio of linebackers Spencer Brubacher, Payton Bear and Nic Bontrager led the Panthers in tackles on the night.
Jimtown, which went three plays and out on its first four offensive possessions of the night, has not had a losing season since 1979.
The NorthWood-Jimtown game will be shown again by WHME-TV (Channel 46) at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.
NorthWood hosts Fairfield and Jimtown plays at South Bend Washington next Friday night. Fairfield defeated Goshen 18-0 Friday night. Washington opens its season Saturday night by hosting Hammond.