NorthWood Football: Hornets Rally To Stun Panthers
NAPPANEE – Angola football coach Andy Thomas said that nothing his team does surprises him.
The Hornets, though, sure found a way to stun a whole lot of people at Andrews Field Friday night.
Angola rallied from a two-touchdown deficit late in regulation play and then stung host NorthWood 28-21 in overtime in a Class 4-A sectional semifinal thriller.
The No. 5 Hornets improve to 11-0 and advance to play at No. 12 Culver Academy (10-1) next Friday night for the sectional championship. Culver Academy beat No. 11 East Noble 33-28 Friday night in Kendallville.
No. 12 NorthWood, which went 14-1 and finished as Class 4-A state runner-up a year ago, closes out its campaign at 7-4.
Angola, which had lost its last five playoff meetings versus NorthWood including a 48-6 beatdown the last time they two met back in 2014, sealed the epic comeback as senior lineman Cole Trick pounced on a fumble by Bronson Yoder on a third down play in overtime.
The final play of the night, which was NorthWood’s second huge lost fumble of the contest, came after Chase Schnepf had scored on a three-yard run for the Hornets on the first possession of the overtime period.
The Hornets, who trailed 21-7 with 6:22 to play in regulation, simply found a way to escape with the improbable win.
“I’m not surprised at all by anything that our kids do,” said fourth-year Angola coach Thomas, who previously coached at Culver Community. “They have a lot of heart and they work hard and we push them hard. This means that we are playing for a sectional championship next week and our confidence should be huge after a win like this one.”
NorthWood, which had faced Angola seven previous times in the postseason, went up 21-7 on a 12-yard touchdown run by Landen Gessinger with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets, whose only two sectional titles in program history came way back in Class 3-A in 1991 and 1992, never blinked.
Angola got right back in the game on the very next play from scrimmage as junior running back Jarrett Gibson took a pass from senior quarterback Chance Roddy in the flat and then lofted a perfect strike to a wide open Sean Miller on a double-pass, flea flicker for a 60-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 with 6:08 to play.
“That’s a play that we ran before versus DeKalb last year,” noted Thomas. “No. 21 (Gibson) is our backup quarterback. Our guys just executed it perfectly.”
NorthWood coach Nate Andrews credited Angola for the pivotal play call that turned the tide.
“Just a great call in a good situation,” said Andrews. “We were playing aggressive and they knew it. They knew we were feeling pretty good. So a great call in a great situation and they executed.”
The turnover bug, which had caused issues at times this season, then bit the Panthers. Gessinger fumbled on the first play after the 60-yard Angola score to give the Hornets the ball at the Panther 20-yard line. The Hornets tied the game at 21-21 as Gibson scored on a six-yard run with 3:04 left. The tying touchdown came after Angola converted on a fourth-and-five play from the Panther 15 with a six-yard pass to Miller.
Andrews vehemently argued the spot of the football on the pivotal play that kept the drive alive. He also then protested what he thought was holding on the Hornets on the play that Gibson raced around the left end to score the tying touchdown.
“It wasn’t meant to be,” said Andrews when asked about the pair of crucial plays on the tying drive by the Hornets. “Some times the breaks do not go your way and you’re left asking why.
“I felt that we were in control the whole way. It just was not meant to be.”
The Panthers, after Angola tied the game, drove to the Hornet 40-yard line before having to punt with less than a minute to play. Angola then opted to run out the clock to force overtime.
Angola took the first swing in the tussle by going 70 yards on its first possession of the game for a score. Schnepf scored on a one-yard run to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead five minutes into the game.
The Panthers answered right back as Brayton Yoder busted free and raced 50 yards for a score to make it 7-6. Bronson Yoder then ran for the two-point conversion to give the hosts an 8-7 lead.
NorthWood took a 14-7 lead into the locker room at halftime after Brayton Yoder scored on a five-yard run with 3:52 to play in the second period. Brayton Yoder was stopped on the two-point run try following his touchdown.
The Hornets came up with a huge defensive stop on NorthWood’s third possession of the game to stay in it. The Panthers were stopped on a fourth-and-three play from the Angola seven-yard line midway through the second quarter as Bronson Yoder was tackled after a two-yard gain.
Angola, which entered play Friday night averaging 44 points-per-contest, won with its second lowest scoring total of the season. The Hornets had 24 points in a 24-6 win over Garrett. The NorthWood defense, which was giving up just 10 points-per-game prior to Friday night, allowed its second highest output of the season. Warsaw beat NorthWood 31-28 in a conference game.
The Panthers outgained the Hornets 340-260 in total yards. NorthWood rushed for 336 yards on 53 carries, while Angola had 102 yards on 29 rushes. The Hornets were 17-25 passing for 158 yards, while NorthWood was 1-3 for four yards. NorthWood had six penalties for 73 yards, while Angola was flagged five times for 54 yards.
The biggest stat of the night was the pair of NorthWood turnovers on fumbles. Angola had zero turnovers.
Bronson Yoder led the Panthers with 20 carries for 148 yards. Brayton Yoder had 18 rushes for 117 yard and Gessinger 15 for 71.
Jake Chupp was the top tackler for the Black Crunch defense. Other top tacklers were DeAndre Smart, Bronson Yoder, Jaden Miller, Jake Lone, Will Ingle and Payton Bear.
NorthWood will say good-bye to 19 seniors, including standouts like Brayton Yoder, Gessinger, Smart, Chupp, Bear and Ingle.
“The legacy of these seniors will carry on forever,” remarked Andrews. “They have done a lot of tremendous things. We will miss them greatly.”