MIDDLEBURY - Much like the Harlem Globetrotters have their way with the Washington Generals, Warsaw's football program seems to have its way with Northern Lakes Conference rival Northridge.

The Tigers continued their dominance of the Raiders Friday night with a 35-7 thrashing that marked the seventh consecutive time Warsaw has upended Northridge. Warsaw's last loss to the Raiders came in 1991, a 3-0 loss on the road. Northridge was also the first team the Tigers beat under current coach Phil Jensen, 24-22 in 1996.

The win improves Warsaw's overall season record to 5-0 but more importantly, to 2-0 in the NLC. Northridge falls to 0-5 and 0-3 in conference play. With Goshen's 16-15 win over Concord, Warsaw is the only undefeated team left in the NLC.

Sophomore tailback Brad Seiss put the Tigers on the scoreboard just 11 seconds into the game with his 90-yard return of the opening kickoff. Justin Plank added the extra point, and Warsaw was well on its way.

The Raiders' offense was forced into a three and out, and Warsaw's offense showed the opposition something it hasn't seen yet this season -Êthe no-huddle offense.

"There's situations when you need to use things," said Jensen, now 18-17 in his tenure with the Tigers. "We've been fortunate enough not to have to use that. We needed to see that, and we planned to use it right away, but Seiss had that good kickoff return. I saw some good things, and I saw some things we need to work on."

Seiss led the Tigers on the ground with 37 yards on eight carries, all in the first half, as were Warsaw's points. Senior quarterback Greg Seiss, among the state's leaders in passing yards and touchdowns, was 10 of 14 through the air for 202 yards with no interceptions and three touchdowns, bringing his season total to 12. Tim Kidder led the Northridge running attack with two carries for 43 yards. One of his carries went for 35 yards and forced the Tiger defense to make a touchdown-saving tackle. Sophomore Adam Smith, replacing injured quarterback Jason Miller, was 9-of-13 passing for 78 yards with no interceptions.

Two of Seiss' touchdown strikes went to junior Josh Buck, one for 42 yards and another for 47 yards.

"Greg was a little skiddish at first with his footing," said Jensen. "But he settled down. Josh is a big part of this team. He ran some good routes."

Seiss' third touchdown toss, which in the order of events was his first last night, went to senior Ross Kesler, a 10-yard strike with 8:27 remaining in the opening frame. Kesler finished the game with five catches for 91 yards. Kesler has caught 29 passes for 514 yards on the season.

Kesler set up the Tigers' third score of the evening, a 1-yard plunge by senior fullback Mike Moore at the 10:19 mark of the second quarter, after Warsaw blocked a Northridge punt and he was narrowly caught from behind near the goal line.

"That was another big special teams play," said Jensen. "That was the first time we ran that (punt block). It was another positive."

The positive Jensen is talking about now is his team's 2-0 record in the Northern Lakes Conference. The Tigers will travel to Goshen Friday and return home the following two weeks to play Wawasee and NorthWood before finishing the season at Concord. Plymouth, Goshen, NorthWood and Concord all have one loss in NLC play.

"We're gonna look at some film," said Jensen, "there's some things that we need to work on. We talked before the Plymouth game and said that the season starts now. Now the meat of the season starts.

"We've got a lot of work to do. We have to play some championship football teams down the road. We're 2-0 in the conference, and Goshen can't lose another. We gotta be undefeated when we get there (last game with Concord). Goshen will be my focal point the next 6-3/4 days."

WARSAW 35

NORTHRIDGE 7

Warsaw 14 21 0 0 - 35

Northridge 0 0 0 7 - 7

W NR

First Downs 17 8

Rushes-Yards 25-79 36-98

Passing Yards 202 78

Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-15-0 9-13-0

Total Offense 281 176

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 0-0

Punts-Avg. 4-30 0-0

Penalties-Yards 4-30 0-0

First Quarter

W - Brad Seiss 90 kickoff return (Justin Plank kick), 11:49

W - Ross Kesler 10 catch from Greg Seiss (Plank kick), 8:27

Second Quarter

W - Mike Moore 1 run (Plank kick), 10:19

W - Josh Buck 42 catch from G. Seiss (Plank kick), 5:08

W - Buck 47 catch from G. Seiss (Plank kick), 1:07

Fourth Quarter

NR - Adam Smith 2 run (Donny Klotz kick) 3:54

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing - Warsaw, Brad Seiss 8-37, Zach Sheetz 2-15, Stanton Moore 3-11; Northridge, Chris Harrell 11-21, Kyle Havlik 8-14, Dustin Miller 1-35

Passing - Warsaw, G. Seiss 10-14-202-0; Northridge, Smith 9-13-78-0

Receiving - Warsaw, Ross Kesler 5-91, Buck 2-89, B. Seiss 2-14; Northridge, Noah Hoopingardner 4-29, Mike Whitten 1-21 [[In-content Ad]]