Defense Muscles Tigers To 36-3 Homecoming Win
September 18, 2021 at 4:25 a.m.
Defense Muscles Tigers To 36-3 Homecoming Win
By Chip Davenport-
Warsaw’s Black Plague defense is one of the most physical units the Tigers have put on the field in recent years. Tiger defensive coordinator Kris Hueber, however, sees something else distinguishing this year’s unit.
“We’ve had some teams where we’ve had some brutes,” Hueber continued, “We have great kids who really care about each other and are willing to put themselves out there for the greater good. It’s wildly evident right now they are playing for something more than themselves.”
The 2021 Black Plague flies to the ball with aggressive junior twins Theo (free safety – two interceptions in the victory) and Nick Katris (linebacker) – the Katrii – along with one of Class 6A’s smallest linebacker’s, junior Jonney Burritt. Sophomore Eric Pohl has stepped up to spell two previously injured Tigers, and senior Aiden Binkerd anchors the backers with solid pass-rushing.
The pass defense has improved from season’s past, and Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis frequently notes the best pass defense is a solid pass rush. The front three of juniors Russ Winchester and Kyle Schnackenberg (fumble recovery), and senior Luke Anderson put heavy pressure on Northridge’s sophomore backup Conner Roth. Sophomores Chase Carl and Isaac Beam take the field in selected game situations.
The other defensive backs getting big minutes, juniors Trey Koontz, Dimitri Chandler, Morgan Johnson, and sophomore Colt Van Houten greatly appreciate the efforts of the front seven.
The Tigers started slow until junior B-back German Flores-Ortega scored the first of his two touchdowns of the evening to draw first blood for the hosts. The wide left extra point kick kept the Warsaw lead at 6-0 until Dylan Ritchie kicked a 22-yard field goal for Northridge following one of four successful Tiger red-zone stands by the Black Plague.
The combatants looked like they were going to give each other a low-scoring fight until the momentum picked up the way Tiger head coach Bart Curtis liked to see it escalate with the hosts taking the ball at the 16-yard line with 1:52 left in the first half.
“I can’t even describe the start of the game,” Curtis said of his team’s start. “It just seemed no matter what we did the juice just wasn’t there.”
“I think that our two-minute drill right at the half,” Curtis continued, “and the field goal gave us a little spark. That was the best two-minute drill I’ve seen out of a Warsaw team since I’ve been here.”
Mason Smythe, Warsaw’s freshman place-kicker, punctuated the aforementioned two-minute - nay 1:52 - drill with a 29-yard field to send the Tigers to the locker room leading 9-3.
Julius Jones, the senior speedster at A-back who carried the ball six times for 50 yards (8.3 avg.) added some juice of his own with an 88-yard kickoff return to paydirt to open the third quarter and move to a 15-3 lead after a failed two-point conversion run attempt.
Flores-Ortega added a two-yard touchdown run in the third in a drive where his own 58-yard breakaway helped the Tigers’ cause, and the Tigers were in further command 22-3 with 3:03 left in the third stanza.
Bryson Brown, who opened the field for Jones on perimeter runs, added a 36-yard touchdown at 9:01 in the fourth period.
Jayce Sawyer, who usually starts at fullback for the JV team, was put in the lineup to run out the clock, but instead he ran over several of the Raiders’ first-string defenders. The 5’6”, 140-pound junior had runs of 31, and 20 yards followed by a 14-yard TD ending the evening’s scoring at 36-3. Sawyer finished with 96 yards along with Flores-Ortega’s game-leading 153 yards on the ground.
The Tigers (4-1, 3-0) sitting atop the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) with Concord, will travel to Foreman Field to battle the Goshen RedHawks next Friday.
Senior split-end Dayne Koontz blocked well on the perimeter, but also found time to attain halftime royalty, being crowned the 2021 Homecoming King. 2021 Times-Union basketball Player of the Year, Abby Sanner, was crowned Homecoming Queen.
NR 0 3 0 0 - 3
W 0 9 13 14 - 36
W – German Flores-Ortega 1 run (kick failed) Q2 – 11:52
NR – Dylan Richie 22 FG Q2 – 6:44
W – Mason Smythe 29 FG Q2 – 0:00
W – Julius Jones 88 kickoff return (run failed) Q3 – 11:47
W – Flores-Ortega 2 run (Smythe kick) Q3 – 3:03
W – Bryson Brown 36 run (Smythe kick) Q4 – 9:01
W – Jayce Sawyer 14 run (Smythe kick) Q4 – 3:36
Warsaw’s Black Plague defense is one of the most physical units the Tigers have put on the field in recent years. Tiger defensive coordinator Kris Hueber, however, sees something else distinguishing this year’s unit.
“We’ve had some teams where we’ve had some brutes,” Hueber continued, “We have great kids who really care about each other and are willing to put themselves out there for the greater good. It’s wildly evident right now they are playing for something more than themselves.”
The 2021 Black Plague flies to the ball with aggressive junior twins Theo (free safety – two interceptions in the victory) and Nick Katris (linebacker) – the Katrii – along with one of Class 6A’s smallest linebacker’s, junior Jonney Burritt. Sophomore Eric Pohl has stepped up to spell two previously injured Tigers, and senior Aiden Binkerd anchors the backers with solid pass-rushing.
The pass defense has improved from season’s past, and Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis frequently notes the best pass defense is a solid pass rush. The front three of juniors Russ Winchester and Kyle Schnackenberg (fumble recovery), and senior Luke Anderson put heavy pressure on Northridge’s sophomore backup Conner Roth. Sophomores Chase Carl and Isaac Beam take the field in selected game situations.
The other defensive backs getting big minutes, juniors Trey Koontz, Dimitri Chandler, Morgan Johnson, and sophomore Colt Van Houten greatly appreciate the efforts of the front seven.
The Tigers started slow until junior B-back German Flores-Ortega scored the first of his two touchdowns of the evening to draw first blood for the hosts. The wide left extra point kick kept the Warsaw lead at 6-0 until Dylan Ritchie kicked a 22-yard field goal for Northridge following one of four successful Tiger red-zone stands by the Black Plague.
The combatants looked like they were going to give each other a low-scoring fight until the momentum picked up the way Tiger head coach Bart Curtis liked to see it escalate with the hosts taking the ball at the 16-yard line with 1:52 left in the first half.
“I can’t even describe the start of the game,” Curtis said of his team’s start. “It just seemed no matter what we did the juice just wasn’t there.”
“I think that our two-minute drill right at the half,” Curtis continued, “and the field goal gave us a little spark. That was the best two-minute drill I’ve seen out of a Warsaw team since I’ve been here.”
Mason Smythe, Warsaw’s freshman place-kicker, punctuated the aforementioned two-minute - nay 1:52 - drill with a 29-yard field to send the Tigers to the locker room leading 9-3.
Julius Jones, the senior speedster at A-back who carried the ball six times for 50 yards (8.3 avg.) added some juice of his own with an 88-yard kickoff return to paydirt to open the third quarter and move to a 15-3 lead after a failed two-point conversion run attempt.
Flores-Ortega added a two-yard touchdown run in the third in a drive where his own 58-yard breakaway helped the Tigers’ cause, and the Tigers were in further command 22-3 with 3:03 left in the third stanza.
Bryson Brown, who opened the field for Jones on perimeter runs, added a 36-yard touchdown at 9:01 in the fourth period.
Jayce Sawyer, who usually starts at fullback for the JV team, was put in the lineup to run out the clock, but instead he ran over several of the Raiders’ first-string defenders. The 5’6”, 140-pound junior had runs of 31, and 20 yards followed by a 14-yard TD ending the evening’s scoring at 36-3. Sawyer finished with 96 yards along with Flores-Ortega’s game-leading 153 yards on the ground.
The Tigers (4-1, 3-0) sitting atop the Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) with Concord, will travel to Foreman Field to battle the Goshen RedHawks next Friday.
Senior split-end Dayne Koontz blocked well on the perimeter, but also found time to attain halftime royalty, being crowned the 2021 Homecoming King. 2021 Times-Union basketball Player of the Year, Abby Sanner, was crowned Homecoming Queen.
NR 0 3 0 0 - 3
W 0 9 13 14 - 36
W – German Flores-Ortega 1 run (kick failed) Q2 – 11:52
NR – Dylan Richie 22 FG Q2 – 6:44
W – Mason Smythe 29 FG Q2 – 0:00
W – Julius Jones 88 kickoff return (run failed) Q3 – 11:47
W – Flores-Ortega 2 run (Smythe kick) Q3 – 3:03
W – Bryson Brown 36 run (Smythe kick) Q4 – 9:01
W – Jayce Sawyer 14 run (Smythe kick) Q4 – 3:36
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