The NorthWood football team takes the field prior to kickoff Friday night. The Panthers pounded DeKalb 54-3 in a sectional opener at Andrews Field in Nappanee.

NAPPANEE – The postgame smile on Bronson Yoder’s face Friday night was as big as the massive wrap protecting his right wrist.

The only thing maybe bigger was Yoder’s postseason performance in the sectional opener.

Yoder ran for four touchdowns as NorthWood demolished DeKalb 54-3 in a Class 4-A Sectional 19 first-round blowout at Andrews Field.

The Panthers, who notched the 400th win in program history, ran over and through the Barons from start to finish to begin their tournament run.

Brayton Yoder was among a trio of 100-yard rushers for the Panthers.

NorthWood, now 7-3, hosts No. 5 and unbeaten Angola next Friday night in a sectional semifinal game. The Hornets beat Wawasee 38-7 Friday night to improve to 10-0. NorthWood beat Wawasee 32-0 in a Northern Lakes Conference game on Sept. 15 at Andrews Field.

Yoder, a junior, was among a trio of Panthers to top 100 yards on the evening as the hosts ran for a whopping 525 yards on 66 carries. He  finished with 15 carries for 109 yards, while senior Landen Gessinger led the ground game with 19 rushes for 156 yards. Senior Brayton Yoder had 14 totes for 109 yards.

Bronson Yoder, a hard-nosed junior, missed the first two games of the season after having surgery on his right wrist.

To say that No. 9 is happy to be back on the field would be a massive understatement.

“I’m just ecstatic to be back at it,” said Yoder. “To be gone (out for two games) sucked. It was the worst thing. I love this game and being back playing my love for this sport just grows.”

Bronson Yoder said that there is still plenty of work to be done for his squad, which was state runner-up a year ago, despite the blowout of the Barons.

“I’m happy with the outcome, but there are definitely things for us to work on,” Yoder remarked. “There’s always improving that needs to be done.”

Bronson Yoder, who had 20 touchdowns and ranked second on the team with 100 tackles a year ago as a sophomore, is now taking snaps out of the Wildcat formation at quarterback in addition to also lining up in the backfield with starting quarterback Gessinger. For good measure, he is a force from his spot at defensive back as well.

NorthWood wasted no time in hitting the Barons, who finish at 3-7, with the early knockout punch.

DeAndre Smart (No. 5) and Jason Borkholder (No. 17) were key on defense.

Bronson Yoder raced in 37 yards out less than two minutes into the contest for his first tally. He then scored on an 11-yard run with 7:44 to play in the opening period. Gessinger capped the fast start with a two-yard touchdown run late in the first stanza for a 20-0 lead.

Bronson Yoder scored again in the second period on a nine-yard run to make it 28-0. An interception and fine return by DeAndre Smart set up the short scoring drive for the Panthers.

The Barons fumbled on their first play from scrimmage in the final half. Yoder then scored from three yards out to make it 34-0. Jake Chupp then raced in from 53 yards out in the third period to make it 40-0. Ben Mestach added a five-yard touchdown run and Veshon Malone a two-yard scoring jaunt to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.

The huge victory was tempered by an injury to Ethan Hochstetler. The NorthWood senior defensive back was hurt in the first half. He sustained an injury to his lower left leg and was on crutches following the win.

“I feel for Ethan,” said NorthWood coach Nate Andrews. “He’s a great young man. We have a lot of great young men in this program. I was proud of how our players responded to him after he got hurt tonight. That’s the brotherhood that we talk about in this program.

“Our demeanor (all of us) was not good in the first half. We talked about that and I liked our demeanor in the second half. I was happy with the way we ran the ball at times. That’s who we are, what we have rounded into as a team. It’s good to share the football like tonight.

“It’s a week one victory. It’s about survive and advance and that’s what we did tonight.”

Andrews, who picked up his 75th win in his 11th season overall, saw his team improve to 6-0 at home this season,

NorthWood had a 557-135 edge in total offense. The Panthers ran 73 plays to 46 for the Barons and averaged an eye-popping 7.6 yards per play. NorthWood had a 22-8 edge in first downs and were 6-12 on third downs, while DeKalb was just 1-11.

The Black Crunch defense was just that versus the overmatched Barons, who started the season 0-5. NorthWood held DeKalb to just 27 rushing yards and forced a pair of turnovers. Top tacklers for the Panthers were Nic Bontrager, Smart, Hayden Snider and Terrell Pratcher.

The only blemish on the dominating win was once again the yellow flags that have tormented the Panthers all season long. NorthWood, always the aggressor, was flagged eight times for 84 yards in the contest.

NorthWood, ranked No. 12,  hosts Angola next Friday in one semifinal in Sectional 19. The other semifinal will pit No. 12 Culver Academy (9-1) versus No. 11 East Noble (8-2).  CMA topped No. 4 and previously undefeated Northridge 35-13 and East Noble beat Plymouth 14-13 Friday night in first-round games.

Jake Chupp takes a handoff.

Landen Gessinger ran for 156 yards.

Bronson Yoder gains some tough yards.

Bronson Yoder tallied four touchdowns.