PREP FOOTBALL: Northridge dominates struggling Goshen in second half to end losing streak

Sep. 17—GOSHEN — On Friday night, the student outdid the teacher at Foreman Field.

Northridge head coach Chad Eppley and the Raiders beat out his former head coach Tom Wogomon and the host Goshen RedHawks following a strong second half that saw Northridge outscore Goshen, 20-0, to help lead the road team to a commanding 32-10 win.

“The first half we just didn’t play well,” Epley said. “(Goshen) definitely outplayed us. We were able to put together a nice drive there at the end of the first half, but I think in the second half, we just came out ready to play. That’s kudos to our guys.

“That score before the half though was huge. I guarantee you if we don’t score there, we end up going into half time feeling like crap, and they go into the half feeling like rock stars. That drive really helped our momentum going into the second half.”

Northridge drew first blood on its second drive of the game, with a touchdown connection down the middle of the field.

On a 3rd and 10 from the Goshen 24-yard line, Raiders quarterback Qade Carrington hit wide receiver Alex Eby down in the end zone for a 24-yard TD to put the Raiders up 6-0 with 5:12 to go in the first quarter following a missed point after by kicker Dylan Ritchie.

The RedHawks offense struggled throughout the first quarter, but a strong performance by Goshen’s defense helped keep things close for the entirety of the first half.

Eventually — with the aid of multiple Northridge penalties — Goshen’s offense put together a positive drive that lasted nearly seven minutes and went 60 yards to the Northridge four-yard line.

Northridge’s defense stiffened down near the goal line, but a 21-yard field goal by Goshen kicker Andreyv Martinez brought the RedHawks to within three at 6-3 with 9:58 to go until half.

As the second quarter continued, so did Goshen’s good defensive performance to begin the contest.

On two separate occasions during the second quarter, the RedHawks defense stopped the Raiders on fourth down.

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The second stop setup Goshen’s offense at the Northridge 36-yard line with a little over three minutes remaining until half time.

The RedHawks would drive to the five-yard line before a dropped touchdown pass by wide receiver Jace Hershberger made it 4th and 4 from the five-yard line.

Instead of going for the tie with another field goal attempt, Wogomon elected to go for it. His decision ended up paying off for the RedHawks as running back Laish Detwiller would find the end zone from five yards out following a pitch from quarterback Quinn Bechtel.

After the extra point from Martinez, Goshen had a 10-6 lead with just 57 seconds left before half.

Unfortunately for Goshen, its strong defense fizzled during Northridge’s final drive of the first half, allowing the Raiders to march down the field and score on the last play of the first half.

With time expiring on the second quarter, Carrington found wide receiver Kade Sainz open in the corner of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown that handed the Raiders a 12-10 lead at halftime following the missed two-point conversion.

The momentum the Raiders squeezed out of their final offensive possession caried over into the second half with a touchdown on the opening drive out of the locker room.

A strong 70-yard drive that featured a perfect blend of both run and pass from Northridge — taking just three and-a-half minutes off the clock — ended with a three-yard rushing touchdown from running back McClain Miller to put Northridge up 18-10 following another missed two-point conversion attempt.

As the second half went on, Goshen’s offense struggled getting into any kind of offensive rhythm.

Bechtel was constantly under pressure in the pocket, and the running was non-existent as well.

Thin depth and injuries caught up to the RedHawks Friday night in the second half, and it showed on the field.

“It was just tough for our guys to respond back in the second half,” Wogomon said. “It’s so frustrating on our end with the injuries. We feel at times we’re so hamstrung as far as what we can do as coaches. It’s been a season of moving players around, because of the injuries. I told the team that we’re in a tough situation, but nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We have to overcome it, and we have to have some younger guys come up early.”

While Goshen tried to pick up the pieces, Northridge continued pouring it on in the third quarter.

The Raiders went ahead 25-10 with 7:09 left in the third quarter behind a 28-yard touchdown pass from Carrington to Sainz — their second TD connection of the night.

That lead ballooned even larger in the fourth quarter when Carrington found wide receiver Tyrese Thomas open in the back of the end zone from 40 yards out to give the Raiders a commanding 32-10 advantage with 11:37 remaining.

With the ground game sputtering at times, Carrington’s four-touchdown performance through the air was exactly what Northridge needed.

“He was awesome,” said Eppley of Carrington. “(Goshen) really shut our run game down. They shut it down, and we didn’t have answers. So being able throw the ball like we did helped us out a lot. Qade did a great job. He had a bit of a rocky start, but then he really figured it out.”

Northridge will look to continue its winning ways against Wawasee at home next Friday, while Goshen will head to Concord looking to pick up its second victory of the season next week.

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NORTHRIDGE 32, GOSHEN 10

Northridge — 6; 6; 13; 7; 32

Goshen — 0; 10; 0; 0; 10

Scoring Plays

First Quarter

N — (5:12) Alex Eby 24 pass from Qade Carrington (Dylan Ritchie kick missed)

Second Quarter

G — (9:58) Andreyv Martinez 21-yard field goal

G — (:57) Quinn Bechtel 5-yard option pitch to Laish Detwiller (Martinez kick)

N — (:00) Kade Sainz 12 pass from Carrington (two-point conversion failed)

Third Quarter

N — (8:35) McClain Miller 5 run (two-point conversion failed)

N — (7:09) Sainz 28 pass from Carrington (Ritchie kick)

Fourth Quarter

N — (11:37) Tyrese Thomas 40 pass from Carrington (Ritchie kick)

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