Published: September 06, 2008 01:16 am         

Winamac wins at North White

Warriors get first victory, downing MWC rival Vikings on the road

MONON — It’s tough to win on the road, and it can be really tough to win at North White.

Winamac’s coach Tim Roth knew his team would have to score early and often for a chance. And the Warriors did just that in their 21-6 win Friday night.

Winamac (1-2, 1-1 in Midwest Conference) took the opening kickoff and drove 68 yards for the score, capped off with Qort Schmicker’s six-yard rush off the right side of the line. North White tried to answer Winamac’s effort, but a penalty and a dropped pass stalled the drive. Neither team could mount a decent drive for the remainder of the first half as Winamac went into the lockerroom with a 7-0 lead.

The second half saw Jim Davis’ Vikings (2-1, 1-1) put together a nice 12-play drive that had the home team with first and goal from the nine. Two straight fumbles from snap, and an interception killed North White’s chance to tie the game. The visitors then put together an eight-play, 80-yard drive that featured a 45-yard pass from Andrew Malott to Ryan Grandstaff.

Schmicker was again called on to his thing, and he barreled in from the three-yard line to make it 13-0 Winamac. Steve Clemons was accurate again with he extra point, and Winamac led 14-0 with 1:14 left in the third quarter.

The final quarter saw the Vikings get into the end zone at 5:36 when Dustin Hileman hit Dave Vanblaircom on a slant route for a 20-yard touchdown. The extra point was no good, so the Vikings needed to score again to make it a game.

However, Winamac wasn’t about to hand this game over to its host. The onside kick was smothered by the Warriors, and nine plays later they were in the end zone for their final score when Andrew Malott hit Don Perkins for an eight-yard touchdown with 1:01 left to play.

The game ended when North White ran out of time.

Roth was impressed with the hitting he saw during the game, and he thinks his team can build on Friday’s success. The Warriors will try to do so next week when they host Class A No. 7 South Newton.