ELKHART – Evan Eshbach put up Peyton?Manning-like numbers, but the Wawasee football team lost 45-32 in a Northern?Lakes?Conference game Friday at Elkhart Memorial.
“We did a good job throwing the ball tonight, but the downside of that is that you don’t get the opportunity to manage the clock and control things,” said Wawasee coach Mike?Eshbach.
Evan Eshbach completed 18 of 27 passes for a whopping 454 yards and five touchdown passes.
Wawasee (0-8, 0-6 NLC) took a 13-7 lead on the strength of Eshbach’s 76-yard touchdown bomb to Steven Hauntz and his 35-yard strike to Dylan Hepler.
After Memorial took a 17-13 lead, the Warriors reclaimed the lead in the second quarter on Eshbach’s 40-yard connection with Hauntz.
Wawasee wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter, though, while Memorial piled on 21 points to take a 38-20 lead.
Though the Warriors scored two more times on a 23-yard pass to?Hepler and a 33-yard pass to Kameron Salazar, Memorial’s lead was never threatened.
Ivan Souen led the Crimson Chargers (1-7, 2-4 NLC) with 261 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries.
“We just struggled to stop the run, and this was a game that whoever could control the line of scrimmage was gonna win,” Eshbach said.
The Warriors will host Goshen on?Friday at 7 p.m. in their regular season finale.
Elkhart Memorial 45, Wawasee 32
W137012—27
EM1410 147 —35
WEM
1st downs1527
Rushing yds31371
Passing yds454122
Comp-Att-Int18-27-011-19-0
Total yds485493
Fumbles/lost1/14/3
Penalties/yds7/755/45
First Quarter
EM – Derrick Woods 2 run (Alexander Pioner kick), 10:22
W – Steven Hauntz 76 pass from Evan Eshbach (Brayden Johnson kick), 6:44
W – Dylan Hepler 35 pass from Eshbach (kick failed), 4:23
EM – Ivan Soeun 6 run (Pioner kick), 2:33
Second Quarter
EM – Alexander Pioner 44 field goal, 5:55
W – Hauntz 40 pass from Eshbach (Johnson kick), 4:18
EM – Breydan Weston 1 run (Pioner kick), :54
Third Quarter
EM – Souen 7 run (Pioner kick), 7:15
EM?– Woods 22 run (Pioner kick), 3:55
Fourth Quarter
W – Hepler 23 pass from Eshbach (pass failed), 9:02
EM – Woods 37 run (Pioner kick), 2:58
W – Kameron Salazar 33 pass from Eshbach (pass failed), 1:06
Records: Elkhart Memorial 1-7 (2-4 NLC); Wawasee 0-8 (0-6 NLC).
Wildcats Waver
Against Norsemen
SPEICHERVILLE – The Whitko football team was defeated 31-8 Friday in a Three?Rivers?Conference matchup at Northfield.
Northfield took a 24-0 halftime lead on the strength of touchdown runs by Cole Rosen, a 47-yard pass from Levi Fulkerson to Graydon Holmes, and a 35-yard field goal by?Holmes.
The Norsemen (4-4, 3-1 NLC) coasted to victory in the second half.
Whitko’s lone score came on a fumble return by Cameron Sapp with around four minutes to play in the game.
The game was Whitko’s first in nearly three years without coach Jeff Sprunger at the helm.
Sprunger resigned earlier this week because of health and personal reasons, and Whitko Athletic Director Josh Mohr took his place as the interim head coach.
Mohr coached the?Wildcats from 2013-15.
Northfield 31, Whitko 8
W0008—8
N717 70 —31
WEM
1st downs1527
Rushing yds31371
Passing yds454122
Comp-Att-Int18-27-011-19-0
Total yds485493
Fumbles/lost1/14/3
Penalties/yds7/755/45
First Quarter
N – Cole Rosen 23 pass from Levi?Fulkerson (Graydon Holmes kick), 1:05
Second Quarter
N – Holmes 35 field goal, 9:45
N – Rosen 9 run (Holmes kick), 5:26
N – Holmes 47 pass from Fulkerson (Holmes kick), :47
Third Quarter
N – Braden?Ripplinger 4 run (Holmes kick), :00
Fourth Quarter
N – Hepler 23 pass from Eshbach (pass failed), 9:02
EM – Woods 37 run (Pioner kick), 2:58
W – Cameron Sapp 25 fumble return (Berg run), 3:59
ROCHESTER – The Manchester football team struggled in a 49-14 loss to Class 2A No. 15 Rochester Friday in a Three Rivers Conference home game.
The Squires (2-6, 0-4 TRC) gave up five touchdowns to head into halftime down 35-0.
They got on the board early in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Delton Moore, but gave up two more scores before finding the end zone again for the 49-14 final.
