Wolves Roll Past Tigers
August 28, 2021 at 4:03 a.m.
MICHIGAN CITY – Michigan City’s senior quarterback Gio Laurent managed to score three rushing touchdowns Friday night despite being called for six false start penalties. When he wasn’t getting in his own way, he was successfully getting out of the Warsaw Tigers’ way en route to a 35-16 victory at Ames Field.
Two of Laurent’s scoring runs came in the first half, following Jaden Hart’s 3-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal, putting the Wolves up 21-0 before German Flores-Ortega pounded in a touchdown run one inch from the goal line. The Tigers entered the locker room trailing 21-6 at halftime, and couldn’t come back.
M-City scored on each of their three possessions, one coming on a five-yard touchdown run by Laurent immediately following a Tiger fumble recovered by the Wolves’ Kennon Tucker at the Warsaw five-yard line.
Warsaw was visibly rattled by the Wolves’ fast start.
“We’re disappointed with the loss,” Tiger head coach Bart Curtis remarked. “I’m disappointed how we came out to start the game. I thought we had a little of the deer-in-the-headlights look when we started the game.”
The Wolves opened the third quarter with a very physical stand followed by a ten-yard Tiger punt placing the hosts at the Warsaw 31-yard line. It looked like the Tigers hadn’t recovered from the first-half shock. The Warsaw defense, however, stepped up with two straight sacks as Jonny Burritt and Aiden Binkerd took turns stuffing Laurent into the turf.
It's inaccurate to call the ensuing turnaround a reversal of fortune for the Tigers, though. Warsaw, instead, regained the fight previously missing most of the first half.
The Tiger offense, fueled by the mid-third quarter defensive stand, continued their drive from the six-minute mark and continued to chisel the Wolves’ defense, showing signs of fatigue form the long drive, and the hot, humid climes. Julius Jones took an outside toss 41 yards to the end zone shaking off a Michigan City tackler who held on for about six yards of the scoring run. Bryson Brown’s block in the perimeter cleared the field wide open for Jones’s scamper.
Warsaw’s freshman extra point kicker Mason Smythe had the crowd holding its breath on the kick, barely keeping within the uprights, to put the Tigers within one score 21-13 with 10 minutes left in the contest.
It only took the Wolves 85 seconds after that impressive Tiger drive to move the lead back to 15 points on Hart’s second touchdown, a 12-yard jet-end run, and the score stood 28-13 with 8:35 left in the final quarter.
M-City’s Laurent punctuated the host’s scoring with a 21-yard quarterback keeper in the same manner he scored his two previous TDs. He fooled the inside linebacker into chasing the jet-end fake, and his teammates took out the backside linebacker who would ordinarily fill up the big hole Laurent zipped through to find paydirt.
Warsaw freshman Mason Smythe kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1.9 seconds remaining to close the books on the evening’s offensive output.
The Tiger offense was held to 208 total yards: 164 yards on the ground, and 44 yards (all to Jones) through the air. Jones led the team’s rushing effort with 83 yards, followed by quarterback Tucker Curtis (48), Flores-Ortega (27), and Brown (6).
The Tigers 1-2 since renewing the match-up in this century with the Wolves, will continue playing them in the opening week the next four seasons. The IHSAA Class 5A opponent gives Curtis and the Tigers just what they need to prepare for the November post-season grind.
“We love playing them,” Curtis said. “(It’s) a game you have to fight for four quarters to even think about winning.”
In the immediate future, though, Warsaw (1-1) will host Plymouth (0-2) in its conference opener Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Fisher Field.
W - 00 06 00 10 - 16
MC - 14 07 00 14 - 35
MC – Jaden Hart 3 run (Andrew Oleksiuk kick) Q1 – 6:11
MC – Giovani Laurent 5 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q1 – 5:22
MC – Laurent 14 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q2 – 7:40
W – German Flores-Ortega 1 run (kick failed) Q2 - 0:10
W – Julius Jones 41 run (Mason Smythe kick) Q4 – 10:00
MC – Hart 12 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q4 – 8:35
MC – Laurent 21 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q4 – 4:57
W – Smythe 25 FG Q4 – 0.01.9
MICHIGAN CITY – Michigan City’s senior quarterback Gio Laurent managed to score three rushing touchdowns Friday night despite being called for six false start penalties. When he wasn’t getting in his own way, he was successfully getting out of the Warsaw Tigers’ way en route to a 35-16 victory at Ames Field.
Two of Laurent’s scoring runs came in the first half, following Jaden Hart’s 3-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal, putting the Wolves up 21-0 before German Flores-Ortega pounded in a touchdown run one inch from the goal line. The Tigers entered the locker room trailing 21-6 at halftime, and couldn’t come back.
M-City scored on each of their three possessions, one coming on a five-yard touchdown run by Laurent immediately following a Tiger fumble recovered by the Wolves’ Kennon Tucker at the Warsaw five-yard line.
Warsaw was visibly rattled by the Wolves’ fast start.
“We’re disappointed with the loss,” Tiger head coach Bart Curtis remarked. “I’m disappointed how we came out to start the game. I thought we had a little of the deer-in-the-headlights look when we started the game.”
The Wolves opened the third quarter with a very physical stand followed by a ten-yard Tiger punt placing the hosts at the Warsaw 31-yard line. It looked like the Tigers hadn’t recovered from the first-half shock. The Warsaw defense, however, stepped up with two straight sacks as Jonny Burritt and Aiden Binkerd took turns stuffing Laurent into the turf.
It's inaccurate to call the ensuing turnaround a reversal of fortune for the Tigers, though. Warsaw, instead, regained the fight previously missing most of the first half.
The Tiger offense, fueled by the mid-third quarter defensive stand, continued their drive from the six-minute mark and continued to chisel the Wolves’ defense, showing signs of fatigue form the long drive, and the hot, humid climes. Julius Jones took an outside toss 41 yards to the end zone shaking off a Michigan City tackler who held on for about six yards of the scoring run. Bryson Brown’s block in the perimeter cleared the field wide open for Jones’s scamper.
Warsaw’s freshman extra point kicker Mason Smythe had the crowd holding its breath on the kick, barely keeping within the uprights, to put the Tigers within one score 21-13 with 10 minutes left in the contest.
It only took the Wolves 85 seconds after that impressive Tiger drive to move the lead back to 15 points on Hart’s second touchdown, a 12-yard jet-end run, and the score stood 28-13 with 8:35 left in the final quarter.
M-City’s Laurent punctuated the host’s scoring with a 21-yard quarterback keeper in the same manner he scored his two previous TDs. He fooled the inside linebacker into chasing the jet-end fake, and his teammates took out the backside linebacker who would ordinarily fill up the big hole Laurent zipped through to find paydirt.
Warsaw freshman Mason Smythe kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1.9 seconds remaining to close the books on the evening’s offensive output.
The Tiger offense was held to 208 total yards: 164 yards on the ground, and 44 yards (all to Jones) through the air. Jones led the team’s rushing effort with 83 yards, followed by quarterback Tucker Curtis (48), Flores-Ortega (27), and Brown (6).
The Tigers 1-2 since renewing the match-up in this century with the Wolves, will continue playing them in the opening week the next four seasons. The IHSAA Class 5A opponent gives Curtis and the Tigers just what they need to prepare for the November post-season grind.
“We love playing them,” Curtis said. “(It’s) a game you have to fight for four quarters to even think about winning.”
In the immediate future, though, Warsaw (1-1) will host Plymouth (0-2) in its conference opener Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Fisher Field.
W - 00 06 00 10 - 16
MC - 14 07 00 14 - 35
MC – Jaden Hart 3 run (Andrew Oleksiuk kick) Q1 – 6:11
MC – Giovani Laurent 5 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q1 – 5:22
MC – Laurent 14 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q2 – 7:40
W – German Flores-Ortega 1 run (kick failed) Q2 - 0:10
W – Julius Jones 41 run (Mason Smythe kick) Q4 – 10:00
MC – Hart 12 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q4 – 8:35
MC – Laurent 21 run (Oleksiuk kick) Q4 – 4:57
W – Smythe 25 FG Q4 – 0.01.9