First-Quarter Surge Leads Tigers Past Rockies
September 4, 2021 at 4:40 a.m.
First-Quarter Surge Leads Tigers Past Rockies
By Dale [email protected]
In the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams, the host Tigers scored on the second play of the game, a 46-yard run by senior speedster Julius Jones, as they raced to a 29-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 43-14 victory in the 102nd meeting of the longtime rivals.
The Tigers, now 2-1 overall, scored a safety on Plymouth’s first possession as the Rockies snapped the ball out of the endzone on a punt attempt.
Warsaw then scored first-quarter touchdowns on a 3-yard run by junior German Flores-Ortega, a 23-yard run by junior quarterback Tucker Curtis, and a fumble recovery in the endzone by junior Kyle Schnackenberg.
“They’re out there fighting. We’re out there fighting. It got out of hand early, and we took care of business and did what we needed to do,” said Warsaw coach Bart Curtis.
The Tigers, who in their last home game tallied a program record 520 rushing yards, finished with 32 carries for 257 yards. They attempted just two passes, completing one for 12 yards.
Flores-Ortega led Warsaw with 10 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Leyton Isbell chipped in with three carries for 59 yards, Jones three carries for 53 yards and the aforementioned touchdown, Curtis six for 38 and a score, and junior Bryson Brown two carries for 23 yards and a touchdown.
The Rockies, who fell to 0-3 on the season, managed just 70 yards of offense - 38 yards on the ground and 32 through the air.
Senior Kwintin Heiny carried the ball 24 times for 68 yards, while classmate Devante Garcia racked up 57 yards on four rushing attempts.
Outside of Heiny and Garcia’s production, Warsaw’s defense had Plymouth handcuffed.
Plymouth senior signal caller Lennon Creighbaum had Tiger defenders in his face the entire game, and he was thrown for -84 yards on nine rushing attempts.
“We knew they were going to play really, really hard,” Curtis said when asked about getting the dominating lead early on a physical John Barron-coached Plymouth team.
“What we didn’t know is that they were gonna come out and run our offense against us. There were times they executed a little better than we did. Ball security continues to be a little bit of an issue for us. If we do not clean that up, it’s not gonna be good for us.
“They had the safety on the punt, which didn’t help them, and then like I said it got out of hand early.”
Warsaw’s other two touchdowns came from Brown on an 18-yard run in the second quarter that pushed the Tigers’ advantage to 36-0, and on a 1-yard run by junior Jayce Sawyer late in the third quarter that made it 43-6.
Plymouth scored on a Warsaw fumble in the third quarter, picking the ball up and racing 44 yards to pay dirt … the ball security issues Curtis eluded to … and on a 35-yard run by Garcia in the fourth quarter.
Prior to the start of Friday’s game, there was a moment of silence for Triton High School senior Cameron Fairchild, who was killed in an automobile crash in Wells County last Saturday,
Fairchild played for Tigers as a freshman and sophomore before moving to Triton.
The Tigers are in action again Friday when they travel to Mishawaka. Plymouth hosts Northridge in Week 4.
In the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams, the host Tigers scored on the second play of the game, a 46-yard run by senior speedster Julius Jones, as they raced to a 29-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 43-14 victory in the 102nd meeting of the longtime rivals.
The Tigers, now 2-1 overall, scored a safety on Plymouth’s first possession as the Rockies snapped the ball out of the endzone on a punt attempt.
Warsaw then scored first-quarter touchdowns on a 3-yard run by junior German Flores-Ortega, a 23-yard run by junior quarterback Tucker Curtis, and a fumble recovery in the endzone by junior Kyle Schnackenberg.
“They’re out there fighting. We’re out there fighting. It got out of hand early, and we took care of business and did what we needed to do,” said Warsaw coach Bart Curtis.
The Tigers, who in their last home game tallied a program record 520 rushing yards, finished with 32 carries for 257 yards. They attempted just two passes, completing one for 12 yards.
Flores-Ortega led Warsaw with 10 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Leyton Isbell chipped in with three carries for 59 yards, Jones three carries for 53 yards and the aforementioned touchdown, Curtis six for 38 and a score, and junior Bryson Brown two carries for 23 yards and a touchdown.
The Rockies, who fell to 0-3 on the season, managed just 70 yards of offense - 38 yards on the ground and 32 through the air.
Senior Kwintin Heiny carried the ball 24 times for 68 yards, while classmate Devante Garcia racked up 57 yards on four rushing attempts.
Outside of Heiny and Garcia’s production, Warsaw’s defense had Plymouth handcuffed.
Plymouth senior signal caller Lennon Creighbaum had Tiger defenders in his face the entire game, and he was thrown for -84 yards on nine rushing attempts.
“We knew they were going to play really, really hard,” Curtis said when asked about getting the dominating lead early on a physical John Barron-coached Plymouth team.
“What we didn’t know is that they were gonna come out and run our offense against us. There were times they executed a little better than we did. Ball security continues to be a little bit of an issue for us. If we do not clean that up, it’s not gonna be good for us.
“They had the safety on the punt, which didn’t help them, and then like I said it got out of hand early.”
Warsaw’s other two touchdowns came from Brown on an 18-yard run in the second quarter that pushed the Tigers’ advantage to 36-0, and on a 1-yard run by junior Jayce Sawyer late in the third quarter that made it 43-6.
Plymouth scored on a Warsaw fumble in the third quarter, picking the ball up and racing 44 yards to pay dirt … the ball security issues Curtis eluded to … and on a 35-yard run by Garcia in the fourth quarter.
Prior to the start of Friday’s game, there was a moment of silence for Triton High School senior Cameron Fairchild, who was killed in an automobile crash in Wells County last Saturday,
Fairchild played for Tigers as a freshman and sophomore before moving to Triton.
The Tigers are in action again Friday when they travel to Mishawaka. Plymouth hosts Northridge in Week 4.
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