Jacob Hand makes a great diving effort to reel in this catch for Wawasee that set up the Warriors second score of the night. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

MIDDLEBURY — When Northridge and Wawasee first met on the gridiron this season it took two overtimes and a missed extra point to decide the contest, a 21-20 victory for the Warriors in Syracuse. Friday night the two teams met again, this time in the opening round of the sectional. In what was truly a cruel twist of irony, it was Wawasee that found itself dealing with the angst of a one-point defeat as this time Northridge emerged victorious by a final score of 21-20.

The visiting Warriors watched a 14-0 first half lead disappear by the fourth quarter as Northridge had clawed back to lead 21-14. The go-ahead score for the Raiders came with 7:25 left in the game, a 25-yard pass from Julius Graber to Connor Utley. The momentum was seemingly gone for a Wawasee squad that had struggled to move the ball in the second half. But the ensuing kickoff provided the Warriors with a big boost.

Northridge pooch kicked the ball, as it had done all night, to the left side of Wawasee’s return unit. Paul Mendoza had been the target twice already and he made sure the third time was a charm. Mendoza fielded the kick and returned it all the way down to Northridge’s 18-yard line. Wawasee had new life and was ready to go.

The positive play continued for the Warriors as Tyler Smith turned a fourth-and-one play into a nine-yard touchdown to bring the Warriors within one with 5:22 to play. Wawasee lined up for the extra point attempt but the Raiders were called for encroachment. This gave Wawasee the ball on the one-yard line. Wawasee called timeout to discuss its options and sent its offense back on to the field to go for the lead. Smith got the call and was met by a host of Raider defenders. The Warriors had been stopped and remained down by one, 21-20.

Wawasee’s defense, which had made plenty of big plays all night, was unable to stop Northridge on the ensuing drive. Wawasee held the Raiders to a third-and-eleven situation, but Graber found an open receiver to get his team out of the jam. The Raiders picked up two more first down after that, ending Wawasee’s hope.

Following the game and an emotional meeting with his team, Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich answered the inevitable question about the decision to go for two.

“I feel we have the best offensive line in the conference and the best running back in the conference. Hindsight is always 20/20,” Ekovich stated. “We weren’t moving the ball very well in the second half, Northridge’s defense was playing really well. We just felt like that was our opportunity to go up. We felt, as a staff, it was our best opportunity to go do that. We came up short.

“It didn’t go the way we thought it would, obviously.”

Ekovich credited Northridge for “making more plays” than his team did over the course of the night, but made a point to take all the blame for how things shook out in the end.

“I think we could’ve went much further,” said the coach. “I feel bad for this senior class. This is truly such a great group of kids. I’ll be the butt of the community tonight if that’s what I have to be. This game is not on these kids. They worked hard. This is a great group.”

Wawasee put up 265 yards of total offense while Northridge totaled 278. Noah Wadkins put on a show offensively for Wawasee with 158 rushing yards and the game’s first two touchdowns. Smith totaled 57 yards on the ground while Mendoza rushed for 16. Smith passed for 34 yards with Jacob Hand leading the team with 28 receiving yards.

Northridge was led by Graber’s 156 passing yards and 48 rushing yards. Conner Graber ran for 38 yards and a touchdown while Utley and Brad Schwartz each had a receiving score.

The hardest part of the evening for Wawasee was saying goodbye to a very dedicated senior class. The team carried itself with a different attitude in 2016, and that was constantly talked about by the coaches and administration at Wawasee this season. It was a class full of leadership, something the program had been lacking in recent seasons.

“The legacy that they leave is all about hard work,” Ekovich said of his seniors. “That’s a hard-working crew. They’re tight-knit, very close. It’s the type of group that you can definitely build off of. They weren’t flashy, they were all grit. They just did their job. They’ll be missed.”

Wawasee closes the season at 4-6 while Northridge improves to 3-7. The Raiders travel to take on No. 2 NorthWood (10-0) next Friday in Nappanee.