ELKHART COUNTY WEEK 3 REVIEW

 

NORTHRIDGE 55, GOSHEN 10

🎵It’s a long way to the top if you want to stop Jake Scholl. 

 

The Raiders walked into Goshen and put the RedHawks away 55-10. Northridge led 21-0 after one quarter and 34-10 at halftime. This started as an interesting Northern Lakes matchup and turned into another night of watching the Raiders’ offense pile up points.

Once again, sophomore quarterback Jake Scholl was right in the middle of everything. Scholl threw for 262 yards and five touchdowns and we got to finally see Adam Sloop generate efficient running to the tune of 74 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries. I have to mention this because it’s a clear sign of a great team regardless of opponents, but Northridge is averaging more than 50 points every time they hit the football field. This offense is the real deal.

For Goshen, there’s a little bit of a frustrating reality here. The RedHawks looked like a completely different team in Week 2 when they hammered South Bend Washington 59-0, but Northridge is operating at another level right now. It’s impossible to diagnose it, but catching Northridge a week after they played a team with a similar offense was the worst case scenario. Goshen falls to 1-2, while Northridge moves to 3-0.

 

Next Opponents:

 

Northridge (3-0) hosts Wawasee (0-3)

 

Goshen (1-2) hosts Concord (2-1)

ELKHART 62, SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON 0

🎵Back on track, they gave no slack
Off of the loss, they bring it right back

 

The Lions opened Northern Indiana Conference play by absolutely steamrolling South Bend Washington, winning 62-0 at Rice Field and taking a 55-0 lead into halftime. 

Micah Jarrell hit Frankie Willis for a 24-yard touchdown less than a minute into the game. Coleman Bell recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone. William Smith scored from a yard out. Aaron Horton Jr. added a 15-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Once Elkhart jumped out to an early lead, it was obvious just how important it was to Curry to get depth as many reps as possible.

Freshman quarterback Brayden Barkman threw three touchdown passes, including scores to Ta’Michael Brown, Ryder Rans and Kayden Jones. Sophomore Jaheim Jefferson added a 36-yard touchdown run, and Hezekiah Martin finished the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Elkhart finished with 262 total yards while holding Washington to just 23. That’s a pretty good way to erase the taste of a 49-10 loss to Warren Central.

The Lions are 2-1, and Coach Curry says the goal is to win the NIC. The first step is now officially in the books.

 

Next Opponent:

 

Elkhart (2-1) at South Bend Riley (1-2)

 

CONCORD 48, WAWASEE 10

🎵All this skill, and no chill
Concord is back, imposing their will  

 

For the second straight week, the Minutemen scored 48 points. After doing it against Jimtown, Concord went into Wawasee and did it again, beating the Warriors 48-10 and moving to 2-1 on the season.

Junior JJ Lee had himself a night, rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. One of those carries was a 71-yard burst that pretty much sums up what Concord’s running game looked like Friday night.

Concord’s defense got in on the fun, too. The Minutemen recorded four sacks, with Jacob Bemiller picking up two of them.

Matt Gunawan returned a fumble for a touchdown, giving Concord a defensive score to go along with an offense that has now produced 96 points over the last two games. At this point in the season, Coach Koehler is prioritizing development and getting the fundamentals down. He has one more game to instill this before what looks to be a very exciting meeting with Northridge in week 5.

Fun fact: Concord has given up a safety in every game this season.
Fun fact #2: All three of those safeties were their opponents first points of each game.

 

Next Opponents:

 

Concord (2-1) hosts Goshen (1-2)

 

JIMTOWN 12, EDWARDSBURG 55

🎵Highway to hell (and a tough ride home)

 

The Jimmies traveled across the state line to take on Edwardsburg, and the Eddies’ smash-mouth rushing attack proved to be exactly what it sounds like. Edwardsburg rolled to a 55-12 victory, handing Jimtown its second straight loss.

Edwardsburg coach Dan Purlee credited his defense afterward for playing with energy and physicality, even while acknowledging there were things his offense needed to clean up.

The Jimmies opened the year with a 41-21 win over Wawasee, then ran into Concord and Edwardsburg in consecutive weeks. That’s a rough stretch for anybody, and now Jimtown gets the chance to reset before conference play really gets rolling.

 

Next Opponent:

 

Jimtown (1-2) at John Glenn (0-3)

 

ANGOLA 7, FAIRFIELD 6

🎵Angola was clutch. A touch too much.

 

Fairfield came into Friday night averaging almost 40 points per game and looking like one of the most dangerous teams in the area, but Angola showed up and turned the whole thing into a defensive rock fight.

With 58 seconds remaining, the Falcons finally scored to cut the deficit to 7-6. Instead of kicking the extra point and playing for overtime, Fairfield went for two and the win. The Falcons went with a little trickery with a quarterback throwback. Angola’s Riley Alexander sniffed it out, stayed home, and wrapped up Kahler Maust less than a yard short of the goal line.

Angola coach Seth Wilcox called it an exclamation point on a great defensive performance, while senior linebacker Gus Heavin set a program record with 17 solo tackles.

Fairfield is now 2-1, and will look to address their sudden offensive woes against a vulnerable Lakeland.

 

Next Opponent:

 

Fairfield (2-1) hosts Lakeland (0-3)