Undefeated Northridge football rallies past Mishawaka in instant classic

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MISHAWAKA — It may have not been the biggest win in Northridge High School football history Friday night — but it sure was historic.

The Class 4A No. 8 Raiders made program history in an instant classic by downing host Mishawaka, 38-35, in a back-and-forth Northern Lakes Conference thriller.

Northridge earned its first win ever over the Cavemen when star quarterback Jake Scholl lofted a gorgeous 26-yard touchdown toss to Keivontre Copeland with 53 second left in the contest.

Copeland, a 5-11, 175-pound senior stud, made the catch in the back of the end zone along the sideline with a pair of Cavemen defenders draped all over him.

“I saw him (Copeland) free and I had to get it to him,” said Scholl of the game winner. “I trust my guy to make a play in that situation. I trust all my receivers. But that play is not possible without my offensive line. They did a great job.”

The Raiders, who move to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the NLC, then sealed the win as Payton Konecny recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and ran out the clock.

Mishawaka, which took the lead on a 21-yard touchdown run by Kadyn O’Neal with 1:54 to play, dropped to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the NLC.

Scholl, the leader of a loaded sophomore class for the Raiders, was simply stellar. The calm and collected signal caller passed for 217 yards on a 16-for-18 night, including 9-for-9 in the second half, and ran for 84 more yards on 13 rushes. Scholl passed for a trio of touchdowns and ran for two more in a scintillating performance.

“This was a statement game in that we had never beat Mishawaka and now we are 7-0 for the first time in a long time,” Scholl said. “7-0 sounds good. Coach (Luke) Amstutz has been a big part of that. It was fun tonight. We knew that we had to keep scoring.”

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The Raiders, who won six total games combined the past two seasons, outscored the Cavemen 31-21 in the final half. Northridge got a huge game from Copeland, who had eight receptions for 115 yards and also had four rushes for 48 more yards. He also had a clutch 46-yard kickoff return to set up the final drive for his team.

“I don’t know,” said Copeland when asked how he made his sensational snag for the winning score. “It was all about the trust I have with my quarterback. He put the ball right in my hands. That’s probably the greatest ball I’ll ever catch.”

The Raiders turned the game into an offensive slugfest in the final half. Amstutz opted to try onside kicks twice in the second half after taking leads. The Cavemen drove 53 yards and 50 yards on their final two possessions to score and regain the advantage before Copeland’s heroics.

“We wanted to turn the game into a track meet and get as many possessions as we could in the second half,” said Amstutz. “We had a shot opportunity on that final touchdown and we took it. Jake put it right there. Copeland made a play. He’s a dude. He was a man tonight. Jake is really good and so are our receivers.”

Mishawaka led 14-7 at halftime on a pair of second quarter scores after the Raiders got a three-yard TD pass from Scholl to senior Karsyn Rumfelt to go up 7-0 late in the opening period. The hosts tied the game on a three-yard run by Amir Dean to cap a 76-yard drive that saw the Raiders rack up 45 yards in penalties. Mishawaka led 14-7 as O’Neal scored on a one-yard run on the final play of the opening half.

The second half was like watching a high level pro tennis match with back-and-forth non-stop action.

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Northridge took the first possession of the final half and went 85 yards in five plays to tie it at 14-14 on a 31-yard touchdown toss from Scholl to Rumfelt. Mishawaka answered with a 54-yard drive that saw O’Neal score from a yard out to give his team a 21-14 advantage. Scholl answered with a 78-yard drive that he capped with a two-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion run to make it 22-21 Raiders.

The final frame saw Mishawaka take a 29-22 lead with 8:12 to play as Tommy Hoover scored on an eight-yard run. Cavemen quarterback Landon Snyder then hit Liam Summers with a two-point pass play conversion. Scholl answered again with a 70-yard drive that he capped with a four-yard touchdown run and then a physical two-point conversion run to give his team a 30-29 lead with 4:12 left.

O’Neal, who had not played the past two games due to an ankle injury, was a workhorse. The senior fullback had 34 carries for 117 yards.

“Our kids played hard, but we are not into moral victories here,” said Mishawaka coach Keith Kinder. “The result is disappointing. But for us, the objective is the same if we had won this game. There is a lot of football still to be played, and we have to get better. … It was good to see No. 2 (O’Neal) back to what we expect when he’s healthy.”

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The Raiders and Cavemen are in the same Class 4A sectional, along with the likes of undefeated No. 5 South Bend Saint Joseph and NorthWood.

Northridge closes out the regular season with NLC home games versus NorthWood and Warsaw. The Tigers are tied with the Raiders atop the league standings at 5-0 after beating Plymouth 49-0 Friday night.

Mishawaka wraps up the regular season with NLC road games at Goshen and at Wawasee.