Tick-Tick-Tick.

For Wawasee's Jerry Davis, time is of the essence.

Davis needs to move his team toward the win column if he wants to avoid a repeat of current history in Syracuse.

In his first two seasons at Wawasee, Davis is a combined 13-29. That's enough to make any Warrior fan's eyes water.

These are the same fans that ran Gary Goshert all the way to Manchester.

All Goshert did in his 10 years at Wawasee was win. He tallied a record of 124-88 between 1986 and 1996, including two 17-win seasons. The Goshert era included an NLC championship in 1993 and a sectional championship in '95, knocking off archrival Warsaw. The Warriors experienced only three losing years under Goshert's tutelage, the worst being 7-15 in 1990.

However, Wawasee's fans were not impressed. Following the '96 season, pressure from Wawasee fans led Goshert to greener pastures in Manchester. He carried his success with him, producing a 13-9 record in his transition year. Last year after losing perhaps his best player in Eric Swan, Goshert led the Squires to an 18-3 record.

Last season Davis' Warriors tied a school record for futility with a 6-15 season. The last time Wawasee was that bad was back in 1980, and in the school's opening year in 1968-69.

So after looking things over, Davis decided it was time for a change at Wawasee, and he began by retooling the motion offense he brought with him as a manager for IU from 1981-1984. He's decided to go with a more deliberate and patterned offense.

Smart move. One local coach says the motion offense is very complex and requires a great deal of practice time to teach, time that takes away from things like fundamentals. This loss of work on basics showed up in the Warriors' play in the last two seasons.

Davis said he felt comfortable with the new style of play following Tuesday's game, but at times it looked as if his team was stuck in a fog and couldn't find its way.

Things turned around in the final three minutes as the offense gained effective ness that it lacked early in the game. Wawasee went on a 10-point spurt down the wire to come within three points of Fairfield and nearly had a chance to tie the game in their final possession.

I realize this is only the first game of the season, but if Wawasee can't handle the Fairfield Falcons, high school's version of Northwestern, what will happen when the Warriors face Northridge or Plymouth or Warsaw, high school's versions of Michigan State or Indiana?

Davis should be able to refine his style over time, but he may not have much time left. Pretty soon those Warrior fans may choose to go on the war path. [[In-content Ad]]