Tiger Defense Reverses Momentum In 24-7 Win
August 27, 2022 at 4:01 a.m.
Tiger Defense Reverses Momentum In 24-7 Win
By Chip Davenport-
Friday night the Tigers bent and broke a little with their ball security before the end of the first half and in the third quarter, and defense favorably reversed the momentum enroute to a 24-7 victory over the Chesterton Trojans at Fisher Field.
“I saw our group start to fall apart a little bit when we turned the ball over,” Tiger head coach Bart Curtis said. “We kind of melted there a little bit. It looked like we might fold like an accordion, but they got it together and it started with our defense.”
Chesterton, trailing their hosts 10-7 while they marched early in final period to Warsaw’s 25-yard line, couldn’t complete a pass in the left flat on fourth down in the moderately successful fashion they did earlier in the contest.
Warsaw’s defensive stand fueled the Tigers’ momentum with 11:09 showing in the fourth quarter.
Bryson Brown’s 26-yard run put the Tigers across midfield in a drive where the Tigers eventually took a gamble facing fourth down and nine yards at the Trojans’ 10-yard line.
Gamble might be a loose term because the Tiger program tends to view fourth down as an extra chance to absolve their failed third-down conversion attempt.
Warsaw’s 10-7 lead and Chesterton’s incomplete pass on fourth down when a field goal could have sufficed had the coaching staff’s wheels turning.
“(Chesterton) would have kicked earlier if they could, so we thought ‘OK, if we don't make it, they gotta go 91 yards to win or tie.’
“(Defensive coordinator) Coach (Kris) Hueber came over and said, ‘You know maybe we ought to rethink this,’ and we got some good information from up top, and we were able to call the right play at the right time.”
The right play was Grady Nolin’s touchdown pass to Russ Winchester at the 4:20 mark in the left side of the end zone for paydirt. Nolin now spells the injured Tucker Curtis as the signal caller, and his passing touch improved in the nick of time.
The Tigers could breathe with the 17-7 lead, but the Trojans inserted their throwing quarterback Sebastian Boswell, who completed a few passes to start the drive before linebacker Nick Katris picked off Boswell’s pass to the left racing 32 yards for a Warsaw TD with 2:25 left in the contest to seal the win.
Nick’s twin brother Theo, the other half of the Katrii, registered (unofficially) double-digit tackles, and the entire defense – linemen Winchester, Nate Rosas, Isaac Beam; linebackers Eric Pohl, Jette Woodward, Jonn Burrit; and backs Dimitri Chandler, Colt Van Houten, and Trey Koontz – turned in the consummate team performance in a physical with an intense atmosphere.
The game was scoreless before Mason Smythe kicked a 43-yard field goal with 8:02 remaining in the first half.
Chesterton capitalized on a Tiger turnover behind quarterback Brady McCormick’s 8-yard TD end-around at the second stanza’s 2:15 mark, taking command 7-3 until The Tigers took advantage of short field position to cap off a third quarter drive on Bryson Brown’s 3-yard score at 7:03.
Warsaw (199 rushing yards, 10 passing yards) outgained Chesterton (106 rushing yards, 48 passing yards) 209-154.
The Tigers’ Brown led all rushers with 101 yards followed by German Flores-Ortega’s 83 yards. None of Chesterton’s three rushers-by-committee gained more than 39 yards.
Warsaw - 2-0 overall as well as in this season’s early honorary Duneland conference membership - hosts Plymouth to launch their Northern Lakes Conference schedule Friday at 7 p.m.
Friday night the Tigers bent and broke a little with their ball security before the end of the first half and in the third quarter, and defense favorably reversed the momentum enroute to a 24-7 victory over the Chesterton Trojans at Fisher Field.
“I saw our group start to fall apart a little bit when we turned the ball over,” Tiger head coach Bart Curtis said. “We kind of melted there a little bit. It looked like we might fold like an accordion, but they got it together and it started with our defense.”
Chesterton, trailing their hosts 10-7 while they marched early in final period to Warsaw’s 25-yard line, couldn’t complete a pass in the left flat on fourth down in the moderately successful fashion they did earlier in the contest.
Warsaw’s defensive stand fueled the Tigers’ momentum with 11:09 showing in the fourth quarter.
Bryson Brown’s 26-yard run put the Tigers across midfield in a drive where the Tigers eventually took a gamble facing fourth down and nine yards at the Trojans’ 10-yard line.
Gamble might be a loose term because the Tiger program tends to view fourth down as an extra chance to absolve their failed third-down conversion attempt.
Warsaw’s 10-7 lead and Chesterton’s incomplete pass on fourth down when a field goal could have sufficed had the coaching staff’s wheels turning.
“(Chesterton) would have kicked earlier if they could, so we thought ‘OK, if we don't make it, they gotta go 91 yards to win or tie.’
“(Defensive coordinator) Coach (Kris) Hueber came over and said, ‘You know maybe we ought to rethink this,’ and we got some good information from up top, and we were able to call the right play at the right time.”
The right play was Grady Nolin’s touchdown pass to Russ Winchester at the 4:20 mark in the left side of the end zone for paydirt. Nolin now spells the injured Tucker Curtis as the signal caller, and his passing touch improved in the nick of time.
The Tigers could breathe with the 17-7 lead, but the Trojans inserted their throwing quarterback Sebastian Boswell, who completed a few passes to start the drive before linebacker Nick Katris picked off Boswell’s pass to the left racing 32 yards for a Warsaw TD with 2:25 left in the contest to seal the win.
Nick’s twin brother Theo, the other half of the Katrii, registered (unofficially) double-digit tackles, and the entire defense – linemen Winchester, Nate Rosas, Isaac Beam; linebackers Eric Pohl, Jette Woodward, Jonn Burrit; and backs Dimitri Chandler, Colt Van Houten, and Trey Koontz – turned in the consummate team performance in a physical with an intense atmosphere.
The game was scoreless before Mason Smythe kicked a 43-yard field goal with 8:02 remaining in the first half.
Chesterton capitalized on a Tiger turnover behind quarterback Brady McCormick’s 8-yard TD end-around at the second stanza’s 2:15 mark, taking command 7-3 until The Tigers took advantage of short field position to cap off a third quarter drive on Bryson Brown’s 3-yard score at 7:03.
Warsaw (199 rushing yards, 10 passing yards) outgained Chesterton (106 rushing yards, 48 passing yards) 209-154.
The Tigers’ Brown led all rushers with 101 yards followed by German Flores-Ortega’s 83 yards. None of Chesterton’s three rushers-by-committee gained more than 39 yards.
Warsaw - 2-0 overall as well as in this season’s early honorary Duneland conference membership - hosts Plymouth to launch their Northern Lakes Conference schedule Friday at 7 p.m.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092