Wayne coach Derrick Moore can’t help letting his passion for his team spill out onto the football field.
If he bottled it up, the Generals wouldn’t be the same. If he turned stoic, his Wayne players might not give the extra effort, lift the extra offseason weight, and carry that extra bit of motivation within their feelings of being underrated and overlooked.
The Generals are a passionate team, a reflection of their coach. That’s a good thing. That’s a winning trait.
“We don’t get a ring for this, but it’s an accomplishment for our program,” Moore said after Wayne’s 21-7 win over Snider on Friday at Wayne. “To beat a program like Snider says a lot. So now maybe people will pick us and maybe the IFCA (Indiana Football Coaches Association) will give us some votes or something. We’re pretty good.”
The Generals are pretty good and, from what I can tell, getting better. Wayne is 5-1 and riding a five-game winning streak, sitting alone in second place in the Summit Athletic Conference behind 6-0 Bishop Dwenger.
They can’t catch Dwenger without help, since the Saints handed Wayne its only loss in the season opener. Given the topsy-turvy nature of the SAC, maybe some help arrives. But even if it doesn’t, Wayne’s win over Snider gives it plenty to build on for the last three regular-season games (vs. Concordia, Homestead and Carroll) and beyond.
There’s a fire in this Wayne team that could burn well into the postseason when a rematch with Dwenger in the Class 4A sectional seems just about inevitable.
Snider had won 40 of 45 all-time games against Wayne and 11 of 12 since Kurt Tippmann took over as Snider coach. The Panthers have been the SAC’s big dog (big cats, perhaps) and beating them has always required a supreme effort.
“We came into this game this week and we didn’t want to change anything,” Wayne senior Devonair Kelsaw said. “We wanted to be the same football team we’ve been for the last month.”
After the teams traded some punts early, Snider took a 7-0 lead on a two-yard run by A’Nyis Lockett with 7:34 left in the half. Wayne tied it late in the half when Brandan Young hit Craig Young on a 43-yard touchdown pass. Young-to-Young has become a common connection. That was the ninth touchdown completion for duo, who are not related except in a knack for big plays. Brandon Young was 13 of 18 passing for 161 yards and two scores and Craig Young caught six passes for 75 yards.
Other huge plays for Wayne in seizing the win:
• Kelsaw caught a 4th-and-4 pass from Young and darted toward the end zone, diving with the ball out for a touchdown and giving Wayne a 14-7 lead.
• Tristan Pernell intercepted a pass by Snider quarterback Jon Barnes at the Snider 32-yard line on the subsequent possession for a quick-change play that can turn a game.
• Brandan Young evaded a series of would-be tacklers and scored on a seven-yard run to give Wayne a 21-7 lead.
• Wayne’s defense bent but didn’t break as Snider marched 63 yards to the Generals’ 25-yard line and were stopped on fourth down with 4:46 left.
Sean Wiedeman and Pernell led Wayne with 13 tackles apiece, Darius Alexander 11 and Dre Walton 11. Ronald Elliott also had a key interception.
“That’s one thing I love about this team,” Kelsaw said. “We have so many playmakers everywhere, there isn’t one person they can key in on. If they key in on one person, we’ll go to the next.”
Snider, which had held its last three opponents to 14 points, slipped to 4-2 and all but out of the SAC race. Lockett rushed for 136 yards, Barnes was 16 of 25 passing for 136 yards and Alonzo Derrick caught seven passes for 64 yards. Luke Owens had an interception and Gianini Belizaire led the team with 11 tackles.
“When you make that many mistakes, you can’t beat good teams,” Tippmann said. “Credit to those guys. They played extremely hard, they executed the things they needed to execute, and that’s why they won.”
Wayne senior Aarik Adams, who spent his freshman and sophomore years at Homestead, said the team has great respect for Snider and that’s part of what made the win even more satisfying.
“You can see the actual growth now,” Adams said. “This win over Snider is a big one for the program, it’s just huge.”
Moore’s emotions sometimes get the best of him, but most of the time he channels them in a way that draws the best out of his team. That’s happening on a weekly basis now.
The Wayne side of the stands were packed with fans, and the players reveled in celebrating with them.
“The Waynedale community supported us through and through,” Moore said. “We’ve been through rough times and they didn’t leave us. This was a great game, a great day. To beat a program like Snider says a lot.”
It says Generals have arrived, in case any doubters were still wondering.
BISHOP LUERS 45, NORTHROP 43
Bishop Luers’ multi-talented senior Jordan Presley pulled off one of the rarest of feats in another wild-and-crazy game for the Knights.
Presley scored touchdowns in four different ways: a punt return (42 yards), a kickoff return (99 yards), a pass reception (32 yards) and a run (44 yards).
Presley’s final touchdown with 1:03 left to play gave Luers a 45-37 lead, but Northrop had one last shot at winning the game.
The Bruins scored on a Jeremiah Green run to pull within 45-43 but Seth Pearson’s two-point conversion pass to Davieun Berry fell incomplete and Luers escaped and improved to 4-2.
Luers quarterback Norman Knapke completed 26 of 36 passes for 241 yards and touchdowns to Presley, Jamic Johnson and Nate Moore. Brayden Cowherd rushed for 73 yards and Presley added 72. Justin Gaston caught eight passes for 79 yards in his return from missed time with an injury. Allen Jackson led Luers with 11 tackles and Moore had an interception.
Northrop starting quarterback Bailey Meerzo left the game with an injury in the first quarter, but Pearson came in and handled the job. Pearson completed 8 of 25 passes for 201 yards and touchdowns to Berry and Quelan Pettus. Berry caught six passes for 114 yards and Pettus four catches for 66 yards.
Green rushed 29 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns in the Bruins’ ground attack. Meerzo rushed eight times for 58 yards and a score. Mason Thompson had an interception for the Bruins’ defense.
BISHOP DWENGER 36, CONCORDIA 13
The 6-0 Saints put up 28 points in the second quarter to seize control over the Cadets.
Brenden Lytle hit Griffin Eifert for a 40-yard touchdown, TJ McGarry scored on a 1-yard run, Lytle hit Jack Hartzog for a 54-yard score and Dwenger’s defense capitalized when Charlie Howe picked off a Jake Byrd pass and returned it for a score. T.J. Tippmann scored Dwenger’s final touchdown in the third quarter.
Lytle was 5-for-10 passing for 100 yards and Devon Tippmann led Dwenger with 56 yards rushing. Eifert had three receptions for 54 yards. Devon Tippmann also had an interception.
Concordia (2-4) had another big night from receiver Kamari Anderson-Drew with nine catches for 135 yards. Byrd was 19 of 34 passing for 202 yards. Dwenger held Concordia to 37 yards rushing. Concordia’s Zachary Byrd-Leach had eight tackles.
HOMESTEAD 36, NORTH SIDE 6
Homestead (3-3) broke a three-game losing streak with its win over North Side.
The Spartans’ defense deserves a fair share of the credit. Kai Johnson recovered a fumble by North Side’s Alex Holliday-Robinson and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown. Later, Cole Etchison recovered another Holliday-Robinson fumble and took it 40 yards for a touchdown. Homestead held Holliday-Robinson to 10 yards rushing, a week after he rolled for 328 against Bishop Luers. Homestead’s defense also sacked Ronald Collins III for a safety.
Luke Goode hit Griffin Little for a 25-yard touchdown pass and the Spartans scored on a 15-yard Jake Archbold run and a 14-yard Braeden Hardwick run.
Goode was 12 of 21 passing for 121 yards, Hardwick rushed 17 times for 134 yards and Archbold 10 times for 70 yards. Conrad Keszei caught six passes for 40 yards and Little four passes for 52 yards.
The lone score for North (1-5) came on a one-yard pass from Collins to Preston McElroy. Collins completed 7 of 17 passes for 96 yards. Homestead held North to 52 yards rushing.
CARROLL 52, SOUTH SIDE 6
The Chargers (3-3) wasted no time, taking a 38-0 lead in the first quarter.
Carroll’s offensive efficiency was best demonstrated by quarterback Gaven Vogt, who competed 8-of-14 passes for 183 yards and five touchdowns. Vogt also rushed for a touchdown.
Vogt threw two touchdown passes for Camdyn Childers and one apiece to Nathan Harrah, Rhett Saylor and Layton Mitchell. Childers had three catches for 87 yards. Carroll’s Boden Hite also scored a touchdown on a rush and Trevor Horton hit a 31-yard field goal.
South’s lone score was a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Dashard Dunbar. Dunbar rushed 13 times for 50 yards.
Photos by Josh Gales and Reggie Hayes
