Tigers Win NLC Shootout Over Mishawaka
September 12, 2020 at 4:37 a.m.
Tigers Win NLC Shootout Over Mishawaka
By Chip Davenport-
The Warsaw Tiger offense, leading 33-32 with 4:12 left in the final quarter, had already scored touchdowns on five previous possessions. They were pushing for their sixth score at the guest’s 10-yard line when Kinder used all three available timeouts on consecutive Warsaw rushing plays to assure the visitors had enough time to tie the game if Warsaw did indeed score again.
The Cavemen defense prepared for a goal line stand, fourth and goal at the one-yard line. The Tigers scored Juan Jaramillo’s third TD of the evening and Colton Wampler’s fourth extra point kick to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, claiming victory 40-32 over Mishawaka in the visitors’ inaugural Northern Lakes Conference football game.
The high scoring contest showcased great play from both teams at quarterback, A-back and B-back positions. But it was the Tigers’ young defense comprised of five sophomore starters and a handful of seniors who stepped up in leadership roles stopping the Princess City gridders’ two final drives at 7:38 and 1:21 in the fourth stanza.
Defensive coordinator Kris Hueber said, “I’m really proud of (senior) Mason (Martz) because he is really starting to take a leadership role that we’ve been waiting for. He really stepped up to that challenge this week.”
The 6’2” 185-pound two-way player made key stops on fourth down, and key tackles for loss to stymie the powerful Mishawaka offense when his team needed it most.
Senior defensive back Caden Silveus’ interception with 1:21 left in the contest snuffed any chance for the guests to tie the score after they exhausted all their time outs; his second straight game with a pick, and the fifth of his tenure as a three-year starter.
Hueber cited Silveus and Martz on their evolution into leadership roles, saying, “Those two seniors have (started) to lead that defensive unit craving leadership while we’ve been playing five or six sophomores at a time. It’s good to see them owning that defense.”
Senior linebackers Zach Ransbottom, who got a key fourth down stop, and Zach DeFord made their return to action as well.
Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis added his two cents on the defensive effort.
“That’s the best half of defense we’ve played in a long, long time here. We played inspired, we bended but we didn’t break, we thought maybe we could get one stop and maybe sneak in an onside kick or something, but we did not think we could stop their offense three times.”
While both teams run identical triple option offenses, it didn’t guarantee the defenses, who see this action in practice all week, would influence a low-scoring, time-eating ballgame. As a result, the game was a back-and-forth battle that ran until 9:40 p.m.
The two squads churned 729 total yards between then. Warsaw rushed for 316 yards and passed for 44 while their guests rushed for 339 yards plus 30 more in the air.
Davonn Parker raced to a 55-yard touchdown run in the first 48 seconds of the contest to put Mishawaka on top 8-0. Quarterback Justin Fisher added the two-point conversion run, his first of four for the night. The Tigers added a touchdown on one of their patented long possessions, 7 minutes altogether to close within the Cavemen 8-6. Senior Patrick Zollinger made a six-yard end run to paydirt for the hosts. The extra-point run attempt failed.
Each team scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, but Mishawaka headed to the locker room with a 24-19 lead due to successful two-point conversions by Fisher on each TD. Fisher’s 1-yard score was followed by Jaramillo’s first of three TD runs (6-yards). Fisher added a 41-yard TD run that drew the defensive backs inside while he moved outside almost completely untouched. The Tigers’ junior Julius Jones, a dangerous outside runner, was not to be outdone, sprinting for a 38-yard score where he broke four tackles with Warsaw facing fourth and four.
Each team swapped cores in the third frame, but this time the boys from Warsaw drew first blood when senior quarterback Aaron Green plunged into the end zone from the one-yard line. The drive was kept alive on fourth and 9 from the 33-yard line when senior two-way starter Luke Adamiec snared a 15-yard pass for a Tiger first down in the red zone. Greene’s TD gave Warsaw its first lead of the night 26-24.
The Cavemen responded with a 33-yard touchdown from Fisher to Parker who caught the short pass at the 25-yard line, broke three tackles and sprinted to the other side of the field before he turned vertically headed to the end zone. The third quarter ended with the guests on top 32-26.
Jaramillo, who added two fourth quarter scores, wound up the game’s scoring and finished with 145 yards on 25 carries to lead all rushers. Greene (82 yards, 21 carries; 3-5 passes for 44 yards), Jones (6 carries 71 yards) and Zollinger (26 yards) rounded out the rushing production. Adamiec’s catch along with Jackson Dawson (19 yards, 1 catch) and Jaramillo (15 yards, 1 catch) contributed to the receiving output.
The Tigers (3-1, 2-0) travel to Northridge (3-0, 2-0) to help christen the Raiders’ new facility, Interra Field, at 7 p.m. Friday.
WARSAW 40, MISHAWAKA 32
M - 8 16 8 0 - 32
W - 6 13 7 14 - 40
M – Davonn Parker 55 run (Justin Fisher run) Q1 11:12
W – Patrick Zollinger 6 run (run failed) Q1 4:06
M – Fisher 1 run (Fisher run) Q2 11:56
W – Juan Jaramillo 6 run (Colton Wampler kick) Q2 8:12
M – Fisher 41 run (Fisher run) Q2 6:41
W – Julius Jones 38 run (run failed) Q2 3:51
W – Aaron Greene 1 run (Wampler kick) Q3 6:35
M – Parker 33 pass from Fisher (Fisher run) Q3 4:07
W – Jaramillo 17 run (Wampler kick) Q4 11:54
W – Jaramillo 1 run (Wampler kick) Q4 3:48
The Warsaw Tiger offense, leading 33-32 with 4:12 left in the final quarter, had already scored touchdowns on five previous possessions. They were pushing for their sixth score at the guest’s 10-yard line when Kinder used all three available timeouts on consecutive Warsaw rushing plays to assure the visitors had enough time to tie the game if Warsaw did indeed score again.
The Cavemen defense prepared for a goal line stand, fourth and goal at the one-yard line. The Tigers scored Juan Jaramillo’s third TD of the evening and Colton Wampler’s fourth extra point kick to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, claiming victory 40-32 over Mishawaka in the visitors’ inaugural Northern Lakes Conference football game.
The high scoring contest showcased great play from both teams at quarterback, A-back and B-back positions. But it was the Tigers’ young defense comprised of five sophomore starters and a handful of seniors who stepped up in leadership roles stopping the Princess City gridders’ two final drives at 7:38 and 1:21 in the fourth stanza.
Defensive coordinator Kris Hueber said, “I’m really proud of (senior) Mason (Martz) because he is really starting to take a leadership role that we’ve been waiting for. He really stepped up to that challenge this week.”
The 6’2” 185-pound two-way player made key stops on fourth down, and key tackles for loss to stymie the powerful Mishawaka offense when his team needed it most.
Senior defensive back Caden Silveus’ interception with 1:21 left in the contest snuffed any chance for the guests to tie the score after they exhausted all their time outs; his second straight game with a pick, and the fifth of his tenure as a three-year starter.
Hueber cited Silveus and Martz on their evolution into leadership roles, saying, “Those two seniors have (started) to lead that defensive unit craving leadership while we’ve been playing five or six sophomores at a time. It’s good to see them owning that defense.”
Senior linebackers Zach Ransbottom, who got a key fourth down stop, and Zach DeFord made their return to action as well.
Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis added his two cents on the defensive effort.
“That’s the best half of defense we’ve played in a long, long time here. We played inspired, we bended but we didn’t break, we thought maybe we could get one stop and maybe sneak in an onside kick or something, but we did not think we could stop their offense three times.”
While both teams run identical triple option offenses, it didn’t guarantee the defenses, who see this action in practice all week, would influence a low-scoring, time-eating ballgame. As a result, the game was a back-and-forth battle that ran until 9:40 p.m.
The two squads churned 729 total yards between then. Warsaw rushed for 316 yards and passed for 44 while their guests rushed for 339 yards plus 30 more in the air.
Davonn Parker raced to a 55-yard touchdown run in the first 48 seconds of the contest to put Mishawaka on top 8-0. Quarterback Justin Fisher added the two-point conversion run, his first of four for the night. The Tigers added a touchdown on one of their patented long possessions, 7 minutes altogether to close within the Cavemen 8-6. Senior Patrick Zollinger made a six-yard end run to paydirt for the hosts. The extra-point run attempt failed.
Each team scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, but Mishawaka headed to the locker room with a 24-19 lead due to successful two-point conversions by Fisher on each TD. Fisher’s 1-yard score was followed by Jaramillo’s first of three TD runs (6-yards). Fisher added a 41-yard TD run that drew the defensive backs inside while he moved outside almost completely untouched. The Tigers’ junior Julius Jones, a dangerous outside runner, was not to be outdone, sprinting for a 38-yard score where he broke four tackles with Warsaw facing fourth and four.
Each team swapped cores in the third frame, but this time the boys from Warsaw drew first blood when senior quarterback Aaron Green plunged into the end zone from the one-yard line. The drive was kept alive on fourth and 9 from the 33-yard line when senior two-way starter Luke Adamiec snared a 15-yard pass for a Tiger first down in the red zone. Greene’s TD gave Warsaw its first lead of the night 26-24.
The Cavemen responded with a 33-yard touchdown from Fisher to Parker who caught the short pass at the 25-yard line, broke three tackles and sprinted to the other side of the field before he turned vertically headed to the end zone. The third quarter ended with the guests on top 32-26.
Jaramillo, who added two fourth quarter scores, wound up the game’s scoring and finished with 145 yards on 25 carries to lead all rushers. Greene (82 yards, 21 carries; 3-5 passes for 44 yards), Jones (6 carries 71 yards) and Zollinger (26 yards) rounded out the rushing production. Adamiec’s catch along with Jackson Dawson (19 yards, 1 catch) and Jaramillo (15 yards, 1 catch) contributed to the receiving output.
The Tigers (3-1, 2-0) travel to Northridge (3-0, 2-0) to help christen the Raiders’ new facility, Interra Field, at 7 p.m. Friday.
WARSAW 40, MISHAWAKA 32
M - 8 16 8 0 - 32
W - 6 13 7 14 - 40
M – Davonn Parker 55 run (Justin Fisher run) Q1 11:12
W – Patrick Zollinger 6 run (run failed) Q1 4:06
M – Fisher 1 run (Fisher run) Q2 11:56
W – Juan Jaramillo 6 run (Colton Wampler kick) Q2 8:12
M – Fisher 41 run (Fisher run) Q2 6:41
W – Julius Jones 38 run (run failed) Q2 3:51
W – Aaron Greene 1 run (Wampler kick) Q3 6:35
M – Parker 33 pass from Fisher (Fisher run) Q3 4:07
W – Jaramillo 17 run (Wampler kick) Q4 11:54
W – Jaramillo 1 run (Wampler kick) Q4 3:48
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