Battle Of The Cats Goes To Panthers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - As Warsaw traveled to Napanee to face NLC rival NorthWood Friday night, Tiger coach Phil Jensen had other things on his mind.
Before he stepped on the field, he attached a beeper to his belt to alert him if his wife went into labor with their second child.
Once the game started, the Tigers began a labor of their own.
The Tigers stepped on the field with the odds stacked against them. NorthWood, virtually impossible to beat on its field, was expected to defeat the Tigers in a fairly close game.
In the end, NorthWood came out on top 34-28 as expected, but the a game was an exciting one that was undecided until the final minute of regulation play.
The game was closer than anyone could have imagined.
Warsaw won the initial coin toss, but deferred possession until the second half, and NorthWood began the contest on its own 19-yard line.
The Panthers took control and quickly moved the ball into the Tiger end zone, making the score 7-0.
About four minutes later, the Panthers had possession again and were making their way to another touchdown when they were sent back 10 yards for a holding penalty.
Then on first and 20, Warsaw's Joe Stanley knocked the wind out of NorthWood's sails when he sacked quarterback Charlie Roeder for a 4-yard loss to push the Panthers back to their own 44-yard line.
After two incomplete passes, NorthWood was forced to punt the ball to Warsaw, and the Tigers began to claw their way down the field as the first quarter ended.
Warsaw reached NorthWood's 15-yard line, but the offensive line could not hold NorthWood's defense. The Tigers were stopped short of a first down and forced to punt the ball away after falling behind, fourth and 10.
"We started two sophmores on our offensive line tonight," said Warsaw head coach Phil Jensen. "We had a lot of young players on the field."
NorthWood began on the Warsaw 48-yard line, but one play into the drive, Warsaw's Mike VanLaeken intercepted a Roeder pass and returned it for a touchdown to put the Tigers right back into the swing of things. After a Brad Waggoner extra point, the score was tied at 7.
NorthWood, surprised by the Warsaw interception, took possession of the football on its 33-yard line. The Panthers scored again to top off a drive that ate more than five minutes off the clock.
With 3:25 left in the first half, Warsaw was behind 14-7 as the Tigers took control of the ball on their 26-yard line. The Tiger offense gained only four yards in three plays and had to punt to NorthWood with just over two minutes left in the half.
The Tigers could have decided to wait until the second half of the game to make their big move.
Could have.
On the third play of the NorthWood drive, Marvin Farmer sacked Roeder for a 7-yard loss that forced NorthWood to punt and relinquish possession of the football to the Tigers.
With 1:26 on the clock, Warsaw began its quest to tie the score before going to the lockers for halftime.
Warsaw quarterback Greg Seiss began the drive by completing an 11-yard pass to Jon Hill to move the Tigers into Panther territory. Ross Kesler then ran the ball for five yards to get to the NorthWood 40.
With no timeouts left, Seiss spiked the ball to the ground to stop the clock and give Warsaw time to regroup and plan its attack.
On third and a long five, Seiss connected with Jason Barrett for a 36-yard gain, bringing the Tigers within four yards of a touchdown. Jose Esquivel then jogged across the goal line on the next play to score Warsaw's second touchdown of the game.
After Waggoner's kick sailed through the uprights, the score stood at 14-14.
"Esquivel made some great plays," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson, "He really made things happen tonight."
Forty-two seconds later, Warsaw and NorthWood went to the locker rooms with the score tied.
With just over nine minutes left in the third quarter, Esquivel broke off on a 65-yard run to score on Warsaw's first possession and put the Tigers ahead 21-14.
"Our guys played well," said Jensen. "We worked hard and took control of the drive to take the lead."
The Panthers began their next drive on the Tiger 23-yard line after Corey Brown returned the Warsaw kickoff 40 yards.
However, the NorthWood offense was unable to score on the possession, and Warsaw soon had control of the ball again.
Warsaw was unable to capitalize on NorthWood's failure to score, and the Panthers took over at the Tiger 42-yard line.
On second and five, Roeder broke off on a 27-yard run to bring the Panthers to within nine yards of a touchdown.
Two plays later, Aaron Huber ran the ball across the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown. Mitschelen's extra point was good, and the score was tied at 21.
The third quarter ended with Warsaw in the process of moving the of the football down the field.
After twenty plays and almost 11 minutes, Warsaw topped off and 82-yard drive with a touchdown, and a 28-21 lead.
"They made some big plays," said Dodson, "and big plays keep teams in ball games."
Down by seven with five minutes left on the clock, NorthWood needed to score twice to snag another win on their home field.
The Panther offense decided to shift from drive into overdrive. Huber finished the drive with a 40-yard touchdown reception from Roeder. Mitschelen then nailed his fourth extra point of the game to tie the score yet again, this time at 28.
The Tigers took over possession, but were unable to earn a first down and were forced to punt the ball back to NorthWood with just 1:47 left in the game.
The Panthers moved the ball quickly and efficiently, and within one minute Knisley was pushing into the endzone to put the Panthers ahead 34-28.
"Our guys overcame adversity tonight," said Dodson. "Good football teams keep their heads up and keep their composure enough to come back in tough situations."
After blocking the extra point attempt, Warsaw had 47 seconds to score a touchdown plus an extra point to win the game, but the Tigers were unable to reach the first down marker, and NorthWood left the field with the win.
"I have to give Warsaw a lot of credit," said Dodson. "They are a good football team."
"Even if they had won, I couldn't be prouder of my players tonight," said Jensen. "They played hard.
"This is the best effort I have seen from a football team since I have been at Warsaw."
Warsaw's labor was finished for the evening, but as the Tigers stepped on the bus for the ride home, Coach Jensen had not been paged by his wife.
He'll have to wait a little longer before that labor begins. [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE - As Warsaw traveled to Napanee to face NLC rival NorthWood Friday night, Tiger coach Phil Jensen had other things on his mind.
Before he stepped on the field, he attached a beeper to his belt to alert him if his wife went into labor with their second child.
Once the game started, the Tigers began a labor of their own.
The Tigers stepped on the field with the odds stacked against them. NorthWood, virtually impossible to beat on its field, was expected to defeat the Tigers in a fairly close game.
In the end, NorthWood came out on top 34-28 as expected, but the a game was an exciting one that was undecided until the final minute of regulation play.
The game was closer than anyone could have imagined.
Warsaw won the initial coin toss, but deferred possession until the second half, and NorthWood began the contest on its own 19-yard line.
The Panthers took control and quickly moved the ball into the Tiger end zone, making the score 7-0.
About four minutes later, the Panthers had possession again and were making their way to another touchdown when they were sent back 10 yards for a holding penalty.
Then on first and 20, Warsaw's Joe Stanley knocked the wind out of NorthWood's sails when he sacked quarterback Charlie Roeder for a 4-yard loss to push the Panthers back to their own 44-yard line.
After two incomplete passes, NorthWood was forced to punt the ball to Warsaw, and the Tigers began to claw their way down the field as the first quarter ended.
Warsaw reached NorthWood's 15-yard line, but the offensive line could not hold NorthWood's defense. The Tigers were stopped short of a first down and forced to punt the ball away after falling behind, fourth and 10.
"We started two sophmores on our offensive line tonight," said Warsaw head coach Phil Jensen. "We had a lot of young players on the field."
NorthWood began on the Warsaw 48-yard line, but one play into the drive, Warsaw's Mike VanLaeken intercepted a Roeder pass and returned it for a touchdown to put the Tigers right back into the swing of things. After a Brad Waggoner extra point, the score was tied at 7.
NorthWood, surprised by the Warsaw interception, took possession of the football on its 33-yard line. The Panthers scored again to top off a drive that ate more than five minutes off the clock.
With 3:25 left in the first half, Warsaw was behind 14-7 as the Tigers took control of the ball on their 26-yard line. The Tiger offense gained only four yards in three plays and had to punt to NorthWood with just over two minutes left in the half.
The Tigers could have decided to wait until the second half of the game to make their big move.
Could have.
On the third play of the NorthWood drive, Marvin Farmer sacked Roeder for a 7-yard loss that forced NorthWood to punt and relinquish possession of the football to the Tigers.
With 1:26 on the clock, Warsaw began its quest to tie the score before going to the lockers for halftime.
Warsaw quarterback Greg Seiss began the drive by completing an 11-yard pass to Jon Hill to move the Tigers into Panther territory. Ross Kesler then ran the ball for five yards to get to the NorthWood 40.
With no timeouts left, Seiss spiked the ball to the ground to stop the clock and give Warsaw time to regroup and plan its attack.
On third and a long five, Seiss connected with Jason Barrett for a 36-yard gain, bringing the Tigers within four yards of a touchdown. Jose Esquivel then jogged across the goal line on the next play to score Warsaw's second touchdown of the game.
After Waggoner's kick sailed through the uprights, the score stood at 14-14.
"Esquivel made some great plays," said NorthWood coach Rich Dodson, "He really made things happen tonight."
Forty-two seconds later, Warsaw and NorthWood went to the locker rooms with the score tied.
With just over nine minutes left in the third quarter, Esquivel broke off on a 65-yard run to score on Warsaw's first possession and put the Tigers ahead 21-14.
"Our guys played well," said Jensen. "We worked hard and took control of the drive to take the lead."
The Panthers began their next drive on the Tiger 23-yard line after Corey Brown returned the Warsaw kickoff 40 yards.
However, the NorthWood offense was unable to score on the possession, and Warsaw soon had control of the ball again.
Warsaw was unable to capitalize on NorthWood's failure to score, and the Panthers took over at the Tiger 42-yard line.
On second and five, Roeder broke off on a 27-yard run to bring the Panthers to within nine yards of a touchdown.
Two plays later, Aaron Huber ran the ball across the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown. Mitschelen's extra point was good, and the score was tied at 21.
The third quarter ended with Warsaw in the process of moving the of the football down the field.
After twenty plays and almost 11 minutes, Warsaw topped off and 82-yard drive with a touchdown, and a 28-21 lead.
"They made some big plays," said Dodson, "and big plays keep teams in ball games."
Down by seven with five minutes left on the clock, NorthWood needed to score twice to snag another win on their home field.
The Panther offense decided to shift from drive into overdrive. Huber finished the drive with a 40-yard touchdown reception from Roeder. Mitschelen then nailed his fourth extra point of the game to tie the score yet again, this time at 28.
The Tigers took over possession, but were unable to earn a first down and were forced to punt the ball back to NorthWood with just 1:47 left in the game.
The Panthers moved the ball quickly and efficiently, and within one minute Knisley was pushing into the endzone to put the Panthers ahead 34-28.
"Our guys overcame adversity tonight," said Dodson. "Good football teams keep their heads up and keep their composure enough to come back in tough situations."
After blocking the extra point attempt, Warsaw had 47 seconds to score a touchdown plus an extra point to win the game, but the Tigers were unable to reach the first down marker, and NorthWood left the field with the win.
"I have to give Warsaw a lot of credit," said Dodson. "They are a good football team."
"Even if they had won, I couldn't be prouder of my players tonight," said Jensen. "They played hard.
"This is the best effort I have seen from a football team since I have been at Warsaw."
Warsaw's labor was finished for the evening, but as the Tigers stepped on the bus for the ride home, Coach Jensen had not been paged by his wife.
He'll have to wait a little longer before that labor begins. [[In-content Ad]]