Where did the season go?

The final week of the regular season has arrived already for local prep football teams.

Squads can look to add one more conference win to the ledger and to build some momentum for the postseason push come Friday night.

Warsaw will look to end the season on a high note with a trip North to face Concord. The Tigers, who have won three in a row, are coming off a thrilling 31-28 home win over NorthWood a week ago. Warsaw trailed 28-10 before scoring the final 21 points of the game, led by a brilliant performance by senior quarterback Tristan Larsh.

The Minutemen, who are ranked No. 6 in Class 5-A,  fell 28-21 at home to undefeated Northridge last week. It was Concord’s first loss of the season.

Wawasee will try to make it two wins in a row to close out the regular season. The Warriors edged Elkhart Memorial 7-6 last week to snap a six-game losing skid and win on Senior Night. Goshen has lost five in a row.

NorthWood is in bounce back mode after the gut-wrenching loss at Warsaw. The Panthers, who ran the table in dominating fashion at 7-0 to win the NLC crown in 2016, host Plymouth.

Tippecanoe Valley will get a second shot this season at North Miami. The Vikings, who lost to the Warriors 28-0 back on Sept. 1, host North Miami. Valley saw a 23-8 lead evaporate in a tough 30-29 setback at Wabash last week.

Jeff Shriver will continue to lead the Vikings. The former Valley head coach is still in charge of head coaching responsibilities and will be so for the remainder of the season, according to the school. First-year head coach Steve Moriarty, who was suspended for last week’s game due to an incident in the locker room at Rochester on Sept. 29, is back coaching this week for the Vikings.

Triton also looks to get back into the W column with a trip down to Winamac. The Trojans, who have put together a strong season, were hurt by turnovers in a 35-7 loss to Knox last Friday night.

Northridge, which clinched at least a share of the NLC title with its huge win at Concord last week, looks to make program history Friday night. The Raiders, who are coached by former Wawasee coach Tom Wogomon, will try to post the first undefeated regular season in school history. Northridge, ranked No. 4 in Class 4-A, plays at Elkhart Memorial.

The sectional openers for Wawaeee, NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley and Triton are set for Oct. 20. Warsaw will begin postseason play at home versus Chesterton on Oct. 27.

Here’s a quick look at the local slate for Friday night.

 

Warsaw (5-3, 4-2) at Concord (7-1, 5-1), 7 p.m.

The challenge is a big one, literally, for Warsaw this week.

“Concord is big and physical,” said Jensen. “They are such a powerful team with the size they have up front on their offensive line. It’s totally different than NorthWood last week. Both are very good, very well-coached teams, but NorthWood had speed and Concord has size.

“We just have to have everyone take care of their job on defense. We just need to play with the same mentality and resiliency that we showed last week. Our kids never flinched and never blinked last week. It’s all about how you respond to the things that happen during a game.”

Concord is led by stud offensive lineman Grant Magnuson. The 6-4, 280-pounder paves the way for running back Jack Lietzan and quarterback Ethan Cain. Lietzan, who played quarterback a year ago, has thrived in his switch with 14 touchdowns this fall.

“Both teams want to run the football and control the clock,” noted Jensen. “This game could be over in a hour. We may spend more time on the bus ride to Concord than this game takes if both teams have their way.”

Jensen tied George Fisher with last week’s win as the all-time winningest coach in program history. He is now 103-83 in his 18th season at WCHS, which includes two coaching stints in charge of the Tigers. Jensen is 132-95 overall in his 22nd season on the sidelines.

Concord has won nine of the last 11 meetings in the series, including a 45-38 decision at Fisher Field in 2016.

Wawasee (2-6, 1-5)  at Goshen (1-7, 1-5), 7 p.m.

The Warriors will look to take another step forward.

“We took a step in the right direction last week and this is a great opportunity for us to get another NLC win and build some momentum for the sectional,” said first-year Wawasee coach Mike Eshbach. “It was good for everyone in the program to get a win last week and now we want to take another step forward.”

Goshen, like Wawasee, has struggled with injuries this year as they have had to juggle quarterbacks and tailbacks. The RedHawks have lost their last five, including a 41-21 decision to Plymouth last week. Goshen’s lone win was a 24-8 conference victory over a one-win Elkhart Memorial team. Goshen has shown flashes as they lost to Northridge and NorthWood by a total of just 12 points.

“They share our pain in that both of us have had a lot of key injuries this year,” said Eshbach of the RedHawks.

“They have a very good offensive line and we need to stop the run against them. We also need to find a way to score some points. I also hope that we continue to make strides in our kicking game. That’s been an important part of the game for us lately.”

This will be the 50th meeting in the series with Goshen holding a 36-13 advantage. The RedHawks beat Wawasee 41-34 a year ago.

Plymouth (6-2, 4-2) at NorthWood (5-3, 3-3), 7 p.m.

The focus for the Panthers has been internal this week.

“We’ve focused on ourselves and trying to get better,” said NorthWood coach Nate Andrews. “The real focus has been on coming together as a team and our brotherhood. We’ve made a point of emphasis this week on the little things and on having each other’s backs.”

Andrews, whose team went 14-1 last fall, is at a loss to explain the number of costly penalties that his team has incurred this season. The Panthers were flagged 11 times in last week’s loss at Warsaw.

“We’ve looked at the games, we’ve talked to people and we’re still at a loss for the number of penalties we have had,” Andrews remarked. “We feel that we have a disciplined team and are trying to figure out what’s going on and have come up with no answers. Last year we had a lot of penalties, but our margin for error was greater. Penalties have cost us games this year.”

“It’s a typical Plymouth team. They are what they are. They are solid in every spot. We just need to continue to work on our continuity and togetherness as a football team.”

NorthWood beat the Rockies 43-12 in 2016.

North Miami (5-3, 3-1) at Tippecanoe Valley (2-6, 2-2), 7 p.m.

The Vikings hope to make the most of a second shot at North Miami.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity for a rematch,” said coach Shriver. “Hopefully the improvements that we have made since playing them the first time will show up for us this week. We’re going to be shorthanded with a couple of key guys out, but our kids have shown they are resilient.

“North Miami forced you to play disciplined. They run and option, power game.”

North Miami blazed to a 28-0 halftime lead in their first meeting with the Vikings before a scoreless second half.

The Warriors dropped a 43-21 final to Peru last week. The Vikings will face Peru in their sectional opener Oct. 20.

Triton (5-3, 4-2) at Winamac (4-4, 2-4), 7 p.m.

The Trojans have come a long way this season.

They hope there is still much more in the tank too.

“We still have goals that we want to reach,” noted Triton coach Ron Brown. “The thing about this week is that win or lose, it’s not going to define what we do in the postseason.

“I want us to play well and take another step forward this week. How good is Winamac? I don’t know. But they do a lot of good things on film and they will come out and punch you in the mouth. This is the last game of the season and there is a lot of parity in our conference. It’s a good league.”

Brown wants to see all of his players focus on just doing their own job this week.

“We’ve made it very clear this season that this is not the old Triton program,” offered Brown. “If you are not doing your job on the field, we are going to play someone else. It’s that simple.

“I think that if we come out and play to our potential Friday night that it will be a good game.”

Triton, which already has more wins than in its two previous seasons combined, has hurt itself with seven turnovers the last two games.

The Trojans could meet Winamac again in a sectional semifinal game on Oct. 27, providing each of them win their first-round tourney games next Friday night. Triton hosts Caston and Winamac faces South Central in first-round Class 1-A sectional play.

Winamac beat Triton 34-7 last season.