NorthWood High School coach Nate Andrews didn’t believe what he was seeing.
After host Lowell took a 14-7 lead in the semistate by marching downfield in the third quarter, Andrews saw doubt creeping in.
“To be honest, our kids were hanging their heads, and a few had their tails between their legs,” Andrews said. “We challenged them, and they responded. I told them if they kept their heads down and didn’t man up, and turn down that effort by Lowell, I was walking back home. They had my back.”
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Class 4A No. 2 NorthWood (14-0) rallied for a 21-14 victory and a berth against No. 1 Roncalli (14-0) in today’s Class 4A state championship game at 3:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“The key to our success is the balance offensively,” Andrews said. ”That doesn’t mean we’re trying to run for 200 yards and throw for 200. But we want to be able to take and exploit what defenses are giving to us. We’ve been able to do that, aside from last week because the conditions made it so difficult to throw it.”
Senior quarterback Trey Bilinski, who became a starter during his sophomore year, was a bit inconsistent early on in his career.
“Honestly, his mental and physical toughness was lacking a bit,” Andrews said. “We challenged Trey in a way we hadn’t before, and the next day he came in with a mohawk. From that point on, about Week 3 as a junior, he’s been a different dude.”
Bilinski has completed 194 of 329 passes for 3,183 yards and 39 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
Sophomore Bronson Yoder has rushed for 870 yards and 11 touchdowns. In addition, he’s caught 52 passes for 1,008 yards and nine TDs.
“We don’t believe in playing freshmen in our program, but we couldn’t keep him off the field last year,” Andrews said.
Junior DeAndre Smart has a team-high 57 catches for 1,036 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Junior Brayton Yoder, no relation to Bronson, is the Panthers’ leading rusher with 1,302 yards and 14 TDs.
“Brayton has tremendous speed,” Andrews said.
The defense has 27 takeaways.
‘We don’t have any superstars. That’s a credit to our kids buying in, believing in system and their unselfishness,” Andrews said.
Andrews said one big difference is Roncalli doesn’t play anyone two ways. The Panthers start four players both ways and some others who see considerable action each way.
Andrews, a 1996 NorthWood graduate, played on the 1993 team with his brother Trevor that reached the Class 3A state championship game before losing to Roncalli 14-12.
His late father, Jim Andrews, coached NorthWood for 20 years before he died in a car accident in 1992.
Under Jim Andrews, NorthWood was the Class 2A state runner-up in 1980 and Class 3A state runner-up in 1986. Nate Andrews said he always dreamed of coaching his alma mater in the state final.
“Family and this event are so important to me and all the memories we created,” Andrews said. “As a child for me, it was better than Christmas. I remember being with my dad in the stands when we weren’t playing and being on the field the times we were here. Personally, it’s special because I share that my wife and my kids.”
