The NorthWood Panthers extended their postseason success on Friday against the Northridge Raiders. NorthWood narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Northridge 17-14. The win was familiar territory for NorthWood who now have seven in a row.
NorthWood can attribute much of their success to Nitro Tuggle, who picked up 117 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Northridge's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Derek Sherwood, who rushed for 158 yards on only 15 carries, and McClain Miller who rushed for 118 yards. Sherwood was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 66 yards.
NorthWood's win was their fourth straight on the road , which pushed their record up to 10-2. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-9 Goshen and 2-9 Wawasee (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 35.8% over those games). As for Northridge, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-3.
NorthWood will take on New Prairie at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Indiana (New Prairie is ranked 51st, while NorthWood is ranked 37th). Northridge does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
