Wheeler spoils Boone Grove's varsity football opener

By Paul Jankowski Times Correspondent| Posted: Saturday, August 20, 2011 10:00 pm

UNION TWP. | Fans from Boone Grove took over the Wheeler parking lot Saturday night, tailgating and playing ball with the kids.

Football, that is.

After a two-year wait playing mostly a junior varsity schedule, Boone Grove finally took the field for a varsity contest against local 2A powerhouse Wheeler.

The Bearcats were in the same position as Boone just 11 years ago, when they started their program under current Crown Point coach Chip Pettit.

Boone found out how far it has to go to reach Wheeler's level of play, but that wasn't unexpected.

Wheeler rolled to a 51-7 victory, as senior quarterback Nick Naspinski led the way with four rushing touchdowns and one passing.

Naspinski had TD runs of 1, 38, 5 and 50 yards. The long runs came primarily on option plays when the 6-foot-3, 208-pounder showed his speed and versatility shaking off Boone defenders.

"For as big as he is, he moves very well," Wheeler coach Dan Klimczak said. "He did a nice job moving the offense, and really settled down after our second drive."

Wheeler (1-0) totaled 471 yards of offense, including 355 on the ground. Running back Robert Hurd also had a big night, rushing for 121 yards with TD runs of 55 and 10 yards.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/football/article_80f12318-cb0b-54cb-b7ad-64c4e2fd3407.html#ixzz1VlyPxD5q