PREP FOOTBALL: Gott's big game powers Northridge past NorthWood in sectional opener

Oct. 23—NAPPANEE — Four weeks ago, NorthWood went into Middlebury and blew out the Northridge Raiders 42-8 behind a ferocious passing attack featuring wide receivers NiTareon Tuggle and J.J. Payne.

In the rematch at Andrews Field on Friday night, that aerial attack was partially grounded due to the absence of Tuggle (undisclosed reasons) and an injury to Payne that knocked him out for the entire second half. In addition, a large amount of penalties and three costly turnovers — including two fumbles in Northridge territory — kept NorthWood's offense from creating sizable momentum the entire contest.

Northridge's offense, though, looked nothing like the group that's been struggling so much during the second half of the season. Converted running back Tagg Gott ran the ball with authority, but his impressive arm helped keep multiple Raider drives alive throughout the game.

Gott was responsible for all four Northridge touchdowns (three rush, one pass) as he help lead the Raiders to the 28-7 victory Friday on the road over NorthWood in a Class 4A, Sectional 19 quarterfinal matchup at Andrews Field.

"It's hard to beat a good team twice," Northridge head coach Chad Eppley said. "We still think of ourselves as a good team, and I think we proved that (Friday). I also told them that this wasn't going to be our last game. This was a first-of-five series for us. So we're just staying positive and looking toward the future now.

"(Tagg) really played out of his shoes (Friday). He had a phenomenal game. And we're very glad we put him back there. That guy is a competitor, and he wants to win. I'm not surprised one bit with how he performed."

Early in the first half, it was clear the Northridge defense was up to the challenge this time around against NorthWood. Despite former starting quarterback Kaden Lone being back from a hamstring injury, Owen Roeder stayed the starter due to the missing pieces at receiver.

While the Panthers were missing key players, the Raiders had defensive back Tyrese Thomas back against NorthWood. He had one a couple deep pass break-ups and a key interception throughout the contest.

The Raiders offense got into the end zone first late in the first quarter after an 84-yard drive ended with a one-yard quarterback sneak from Gott that made it 7-0 Northridge with 3:39 left in the opening quarter.

As the half went on, NorthWood's offense continue to sputter. The Raiders defense held the Panthers without a first down until the 8-minute mark of the second quarter. Northridge's offense though continued to move the ball down field in the first half, and on a third-and-goal from the NorthWood 10, Gott rolled out to his right and found wide receiver Kade Sainz for the touchdown with 9:30 left in the second quarter. The two-point conversion from Gott was good, and it was 15-0 Raiders.

"We didn't execute, and it wasn't our night, that's for sure," NorthWood head coach Nate Andrews said. "The personnel was totally different as well, especially on our side, so that made a huge difference. Adjustment-wise for them, they just played better. Hopefully we can learn, grow and gain some valuable lessons from this."

The Panthers finally found a spark on offense after the Raiders went up two possessions. A nice kickoff return to the Northridge 40 setup what would be a 60-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 26-yard connection from Roeder to Lone in the end zone to cut the Raiders lead to eight midway through the second quarter.

It would stay a 15-7 game into halftime after the Panthers made a huge defensive stand inside the one-yard line on fourth down with the Raiders looking to punch it in.

In the second half, the offensive momentum from their lone touchdown drive never carried over during the third and fourth quarters.

The Panthers fumbled it away in Northridge territory twice to end promising drives, including one that was inside the Northridge 20.

Northridge had its own woes deep in NorthWood territory during the second half, including a missed 37-yard field goal from Dylan Ritchie that would've made it 18-7 late in the third, but eventually Gott would break through once again. The junior drove in for his second rushing touchdown of the night from one yard away to make it 21-7 with 10:23 to play.

Soon after, Thomas' intercepted Roeder on the ensuing NorthWood drive to setup the game-sealing drive from the offense that milked a lot of time off the clock and ended with another Gott rushing touchdown with just 13 seconds to play.

After the victory, Northridge (6-4) will now play Columbia City (5-5) at home in Middlebury next Friday in the Sectional 19 semifinals.

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NORTHRIDGE 28, NORTHWOOD 7

Northridge — 7; 8; 0; 13 — 28

NorthWood — 0; 7; 0; 0 — 7

Scoring Plays

First Quarter

NR — (3:39) Tagg Gott 1 run (Dylan Ritchie kick)

Second Quarter

NR — (9:30) Kade Sainz 10 pass from Tagg Gott (Gott two-point conversion good)

NW — (7:10) Kaden Lone 26 pass from Owen Roeder (De Frietas kick)

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

NR — (10:23) Tagg Gott 1 run (Gott two-point conversion no good)

NR — (:13) Tagg Gott 3 run (Ritchie kick)

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.