Wawasee Holds On To Beat Goshen In NLC FinaleGOSHEN – “Now that’s what I call Warrior grit!” exclaimed Wawasee football head coach Jon Reutebuch from the huddle following their 28-23 nail-biter victory at Goshen in a Northern Lakes Conference game Friday night.
Behind a strong game by senior Ethan Garza and a last-second defensive stand, the Warriors held off a furious comeback in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to win their final regular-season game of the year on the road.
Goshen scored first on a 10-yard touchdown by junior quarterback Colin Turner to junior Andrew Pletcher – Goshen’s first passing touchdown of the year.
In answer, Wawasee quarterback Parker Young tossed the ball to senior Levi Brown on the first play of their first possession. Initially, the play looked like it would go for a loss of yards as the Goshen defense closed in, but Brown hefted the ball over the drawn-in safeties to wide-open Garza for an easy touchdown.
After a Wawasee turnover, a Goshen field goal made it 10-7, but Young punched in a three-yard touchdown after the Warrior defense picked off Turner a mere 19 yards from the endzone, taking their first lead of the game.
With under two minutes to go in the second quarter, Turner’s second interception put the Warriors in great field position to score once more in the half. An interception thrown by Brown squashed Wawasee’s chance of extending their lead any further.
Garza, however, was not content with a four-point lead; he received a punt with 39 seconds to go in the half and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown and a 21-10 lead.
Senior Wesley VanHooser appeared to score for Goshen on a 52-yard run mere seconds later, but a holding call returned the ball to midfield; the scored remained the same entering halftime.
After receiving the second-half kickoff, Wawasee orchestrated a seven-plus minute drive – which included a successful fourth-down conversion inside the 5-yard line that Young capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run to push the score to 28-10.
Goshen was determined to make the game a nail-biter. After putting together two fourth-quarter scoring drives to cut the Wawasee lead to five, the RedHawks forced a punt and began driving down the field.
At around the 30-yard line, Wawasee forced the Goshen offense into a third-and-four situation with 1:12 to go in the period, only to commit pass interference. This placed the ball at the 15.
The defense then stifled two attempted runs and forced an incomplete pass to make it fourth down. The game on the line, the sideline looked on as Turner threw a completion to senior Bryant Grewe, who was tackled just past the line of scrimmage to force a turnover on downs.
“Things got kind of dicey there in the fourth,” said Reutebuch, “but we overcame; that’s the mentality we’ve been preaching since day one of the season.”
Coming into the year, Reutebuch had cited the inexperience of the offensive line – which had three sophomores starting – as something that would need to be worked on. Against Goshen, though, the Wawasee offensive line was able to create plenty of space for their runners.
“(Goshen) made good adjustments after the half,” Reutebuch said, “and we weren’t able to get outside and run as much. But we stuck with it and we came out on top.”
Reutebuch continued on to say that the biggest stride his team made this ear was effort. The Warriors struggled early in the season, he said, but gradually came to give everything they had over the course of the season, culminating in this gritty win over Goshen.
“We’re also finally healthy,” he added, “which we haven’t been all year.”
The Warriors (2-7, 1-6 NLC) will travel to NorthWood for a first-round sectional matchup in the IHSAA Class 4A State Championship Friday.
