Indiana Preps | On The Line — Friday Night Cap
A season that began with a new head coach and a program trying to find its way back ended with Northridge standing alone atop the Northern Lakes Conference.
And it took one of the boldest play calls of the season to get there.
The Class 4A No. 7 Raiders defeated Class 5A No. 1 Warsaw 37-30 Friday night in Middlebury, completing a 9-0 regular season and capturing just the second NLC championship in school history. A year ago, Northridge finished 3-8. Under first-year coach Luke Amstutz, the Raiders have not lost.
Friday’s championship was anything but routine.
Warsaw entered the matchup unbeaten and carried a 23-15 lead into halftime. Northridge answered on its opening possession of the third quarter — Kane Yeater scored from three yards out and quarterback Jake Scholl added the two-point conversion to tie the game at 23.
The Tigers responded with another touchdown and carried a 30-23 advantage into the fourth quarter.
That is when Scholl and the Northridge offense took over.
The sophomore quarterback connected with Keivontre Copeland for a seven-yard touchdown early in the final period, pulling the Raiders within 30-29 after a failed two-point attempt. Warsaw still had the lead. Northridge needed another possession.
After its defense forced a punt, the Raiders began the drive that would define their season.
Amstutz reached deep into the playbook.
On one snap, Scholl threw a lateral to Karsyn Rumfelt, who returned the ball to his quarterback. Scholl then connected with Yeater for a 30-yard gain.
Later, facing fourth-and-long at the Warsaw 21-yard line, the Raiders called a play they knew as Circus. Scholl threw underneath to Hayden Gorball, who pitched the ball to Copeland. The receiver advanced to the Warsaw 1-yard line, extending the possession.
One play later, Scholl scored the go-ahead touchdown. Northridge converted the two-point attempt and took a 37-30 lead with 3:08 remaining.
Warsaw had one final opportunity. Gorball made sure it did not turn into another lead change, intercepting the Tigers’ late pass to seal the conference championship.
Scholl accounted for four touchdowns — three rushing, one passing — while leading an offense that kept finding answers against one of Indiana’s top-ranked teams.
The victory was Northridge’s first over Warsaw since 2017, the same season the Raiders claimed their previous conference championship.
It also completed one of the state’s most remarkable regular-season turnarounds. Three wins in 2025. Nine consecutive victories in 2026. An outright conference title. And a sophomore quarterback who has established himself as one of northern Indiana’s emerging playmakers.
For Warsaw, the loss ends an unbeaten regular-season bid but not its championship ambitions. The Tigers finish 8-1 and will turn their attention to the Class 5A tournament, where they received a first-round bye before hosting Fort Wayne Wayne on October 30.
Northridge begins its Class 4A postseason Friday, October 23, at home against Mishawaka — a team the Raiders already defeated 38-35 on October 2.
They will have to do it again.
For one night, though, the focus belonged to a Northridge team that entered the season trying to change its direction and finished the regular season with something the program had experienced only once before.
Nine games. Nine wins. A conference championship. And one fourth-down play called Circus that Northridge won’t forget.
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