Prep Football: Conference Clashes Key Week Four Slate
The regular season rolls right along as week four arrives on local football fields this Friday night.
Triton, already off to its best start since 2008, will look to continue its undefeated start. The Trojans welcome in neighbor Bremen to Bourbon.
Warsaw and Wawasee both look to get into the conference win column after blowout losses last week in a pair of league openers. The Tigers travel to winless Elkhart Memorial, while the Warriors face a daunting task in hosting undefeated Concord.
NorthWood looks to bounce back after the Panthers opened league play with a 15-12 last-minute setback at Concord.
Tippecanoe Valley looks for its first win with a home date versus Three Rivers Conference foe Northfield.
Following is a quick look at the local docket.
Warsaw (1-2, 0-1) at Elkhart Memorial (0-3, 0-2), 7 p.m.
It’s all about perspective.
Warsaw coach Phil Jensen has been around long enough to know that.
The Tigers look to get back into the win column after losses to a pair of tough foes in Plymouth (42-7) and East Noble (28-7) the last two weeks. The Rockies and Knights are a combined 5-1 with East Noble’s lone loss being a 22-18 setback at Plymouth in week one.
“Everyone needs a win and we need to right the ship,” said Jensen. “That being said, it’s about perspective in that we have played two of the toughest teams we will face all year the last two weeks.
“We’re in a part of our schedule where we feel like we should win some games. I’m sure that Memorial feels the same way. This is not a game we can take lightly in any way.”
Memorial has lost to Elkhart Central, Concord and Goshen to open its season. The Crimson Chargers, who went 2-8 overall and 0-7 in the NLC last year, boast their normal style. Memorial has won just two of its last 17 games.
“They have good athletes,” said Jensen of Memorial. “They want to try and get them in space to make plays.”
“It’s tough to say how we are going to respond. It’s been a goofy week with the holiday (Labor Day on Monday) and then Wednesday night was crappy weather. I think it’s went well all things considered. But the proof is in the pudding.
“We need to take care of the football Friday night and not allow them big plays.”
Warsaw has won five of the last six meetings versus Memorial with the lone loss being in Elkhart two years ago. The overall series though is tied at 9-9.
Warsaw beat Memorial 49-6 in 2016.
Concord (3-0, 2-0) at Wawasee (1-2, 0-1), 7 p.m.
A bruised and battered Warrior team will look to pull the upset this week.
Wawasee will face league frontrunner Concord in Syracuse. The Class 5-A No. 3 Minutemen are coming off a tough 15-12 home win over NorthWood last week. Concord scored with less than a minute to play to hand the Panthers their first regular-season loss since the 2015 season.
“At this point, there are no easy games,” said Wawasee coach Mike Eshbach. “Are we in a tough stretch right now? Yes. But it’s an opportunity to get better.
“We just have to go out and fight and not back down. We tell our guys that we have to get better every practice, every game.”
The Warriors have had a rash of injuries the past couple of weeks, including losing sophomore quarterback Evan Eshbach to season-ending elbow surgery.
“We’re slowly getting better with some of our guys, but I can’t explain the injuries,” noted Eshbach. “The thing is that we did not have the depth to begin with.”
Concord features a huge offensive line, led by Grant Magnuson. The 6-4, 290-pound tackle led the way last week despite playing the second half with a dislocated elbow.
“Concord does not have a lot of weaknesses and this may be the biggest offensive line we play this year,” Eshbach remarked. “We have to run the ball, maximize our possessions and be able to get off the field defensively on third downs.”
Concord outscored Wawasee 49-40 in 2016.
Goshen (1-2, 1-0) at NorthWood (2-1, 0-1), 7 p.m.
It’s business as usual as the Panthers look to get back to their accustomed winning ways.
The defending NLC champions host rival Goshen after dropping their first regular-season game since the 2015 season at Concord last week. The Minutemen got a touchdown in the game’s final minute to edge the Panthers 15-12.
“Our kids are resilient and their mood is no different this week than it has been the last several weeks,” said NorthWood boss Nate Andrews. “I’m always anxious to bounce back myself after a loss.
“I was very proud of our effort against Concord. Our guys played extremely hard, never panicked and had great leadership. Concord did an excellent job executing their gameplan. We will be better for going through a tough game like that.”
Goshen is coming off its first win of the season in topping Elkhart Memorial 24-8 in its NLC opener. Sophomore Wesley VanHooser will make his second start at quarterback for the RedHawks.
“I see Goshen as similar to Concord,” noted Andres. “Their strength is up front and they will want to control the clock.”
Junior Bronson Yoder returned for NorthWood last week. The talented two-way player missed the first two games after having wrist surgery in August. Yoder had 20 touchdowns and 100 tackles a year ago.
“What he means to this team is a great amount,” said Andrews of Yoder. “He’s a great leader.”
NorthWood beat Goshen 35-12 a year ago.
Northfield (2-1, 0-0) at Tippecanoe Valley (0-3, 0-0), 7 p.m.
The Vikings return home with hopes of getting into the win column.
Valley faces a high-scoring Northfield team that has scored 98 points in three games. The Vikings have given up 102 points.
“Our focus is working on ourselves to get better,” said Valley coach Stephen Moriarty. “We’re focusing on taking care of the ball and getting our offense back in gear.”
Valley, which has scored just 20 points in three games, had five turnovers in a 28-0 loss at North Miami last Friday.
“We’re still a good football team and are on the verge of winning some games if we keep improving,” noted Moriarty.
Northfield beat Valley 40-0 a year ago.
Bremen (1-2) at Triton (3-0), 7 p.m.
Moody. Irritated. Annoyed.
Not exactly the emotions one would expect from a team that’s flying high.
But that’s what Triton coach Ron Brown has seen from his team this week as they prepare to face neighbor Bremen.
“Our kids are on edge and I think that they should have a chip on their shoulder playing the team right up the road from us,” said Brown.
The Trojans three wins already this season have tied them for the most in a season since 2004.
“To win, you have to do the hard things and our kids have taken that to heart,” Brown commented. “They have invested. They have committed.
“We continue to preach to them to put in the work. That’s what we need to continue to do. We need to continue to get better every week. Our conference is too good for us not to have that mentality or we will be talking about just three wins.”
Bremen, which has had seven straight winning seasons and finished 8-4 in 2016, dropped a 21-6 final to John Glenn last week. The Trojans rolled past Caston 50-13.
Bremen leads the all-time series with Triton by a 28-3 count.
“I see a long green line like every year,” said Brown when asked about this year’s Bremen team. “You are also playing their tradition. You have to overcome both of those.”
Bremen beat Triton 42-0 in 2016.