Kovach can't save 59ers vs. NorthWood

Andrean running back Kyle Kovach heads toward the end zone against NorthWood.
(Joe Raymond/Post-Tribune)

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

NAPPANEE — The first quarter wasn’t even in the books, and already the digits on the back of Kyle Kovach’s no-longer-white jersey were barely readable.

So you can imagine how those crimson numerals looked at the end of the game, all caked in mud. As he has throughout the 59ers’ improbable postseason march, Kovach did everything but drive the team bus to NorthWood on Friday.

And he would have done that too if it would have helped prolong his senior season. But this time his Herculean effort was not enough.

Despite his 29 carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns — not to mention an interception, several big kickoff returns and two two-point conversions — Andrean fell to NorthWood, 35-28, in the Class 3A regional championship.

“It’s real tough,” said an emotional Kovach. “I’m never going to put this jersey back on. I’m never going to play with these guys again.”

It hurt that much more because the 59ers (6-7) had a real chance to win this one. They scored first, tallied more first downs and hung right with the heavily favored Panthers (11-2), the No. 4 team in Class 3A, until the very end.

It took an onside kick recovery by NorthWood with 42.4 seconds left to seal the victory. That, and a couple key red zone stops by the NorthWood defense, as well as two long third-quarter touchdowns by quarterback Skyler Titus and running back Danzele Johnson.

“The long runs is what hurt us,” said Andrean defensive coordinator Tim Gault, speaking on behalf of coach Phil Mason, who was ejected in the fourth quarter.

The score was tied at 14 when Titus broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the third quarter. Johnson then rumbled 66 yards, following a 1-yard plunge by Andrean quarterback Richard Schmidt, on the last play of the third quarter to give NorthWood a 28-20 lead.

Led by Schmidt, who finished 17-of-27 for 132 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, Andrean drove deep into NorthWood territory on its ensuing possession.

But on second-and-goal from the 5, Schmidt fumbled and the Panthers recovered. It was similar to how the 59ers’ first drive of the third quarter had ended — with Schmidt fumbling and NorthWood recovering at its own 16.

“The (fumble) down at the end there certainly didn’t help matters,” Gault said. “I think we dropped our head on defense when they got the ball back.”

After Andrean’s fourth turnover of the game, Titus found Spencer Hill for a 29-yard score that gave the Panthers a 35-20 lead. Schmidt answered with a 2-yard strike to Demetri Blanco with 47.3 seconds remaining.

And appropriately, it was Kovach who had the final points of the season for the 59ers — courtesy of a two-point conversion.

Kovach scored each of Andrean’s first-half touchdowns — one from 30 yards out, one from 5.

“We’d be doing the team a disservice if we didn’t try to get Kyle the ball as many times as we can,” Gault said.

Kovach also added a first-half interception. But the biggest interception of the game came from NorthWood defensive back Derek Yoder, who stepped in front of a Schmidt pass in the second quarter and rumbled 60 yards the other way for a touchdown.

“We had some shots at him,” Gault said. “But the kid was determined. You could see it in his eyes. It wasn’t going to take one guy to bring him down.”