House, Jones Lead Concord Past Warsaw
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
In the final high school football game of the regular season, House and Jones were a formidable one-two punch, as the host Concord Minutemen beat the Warsaw Tigers 28-6 at Jake Field to wrap up a second-straight outright Northern Lakes Conference championship.
House finished the game with four catches for 106 yards, while Jones was the featured running back in the absence of injured teammate DuWhan Alford and rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.
"That's a good football team," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of the Minutemen, who scored two touchdowns in the final 7:43 of the game. "They're big, strong and fast."
Jones scored Concord's first three touchdowns on runs of 5, 15 and 21 yards.
On Concord's first scoring drive, House caught a 52-yard pass on third-and-6.
On the Minutemen's second scoring drive, the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder caught a 25-yard pass on second-and-10.
And on Concord's third scoring drive, House reeled in an 18-yard pass on third-and-9.
While House didn't score a touchdown himself, the multi-sport standout and mountain of a man certainly played a major role for the Minutemen.
"He made some big catches along the way," Jensen said of House. "They did a good job of getting him the ball, and having someone like him opens things up for them."
With the 22-point win, Concord improved to 7-2 overall and extended its conference win streak to 14 games.
The Tigers, the last team to beat the Minutmen, fell to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play.
"We had to do some things to slow them down," said Jensen, who was denied in his bid for his 100th career win as a head coach. "And after two-and-a-half quarters they figured it out. We didn't take advantage of some opportunities."
Trailing 7-0 early in the third quarter, Warsaw had a golden opportunity to possibly tie the game, or at least put some points on the board.
After recovering a Concord fumbe and starting a drive at the Minutemen's 14-yard line, however, the Tigers missed a 26-yard field.
Warsaw forced Concord to punt on its next possession, but an interception three plays later gave the ball back to the Mintumen offense, and with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter Jones raced in from 15 yards out. Nick Wysong's extra-point kick gave the hosts a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers cut into the deficit when sophomore quarterback Austin Head threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to senior Jordan Wray with 10:51 to play.
Warsaw failed to convert the extra-point kick, and three minutes later Jones scored his third touchdown of the game, pushing Concord's advantage to 21-6 with another Wysong kick.
The Minutemen's final score of the game came on a two-yard run by senior Jarrett Settles with 3:02 remaining in the game.
In all, Concord racked up 271 yards on the ground and 106 through the air.
Junior Ryan McKibbin only completed 4 of 13 passes, but House made the most of all four catches.
Warsaw, playing without senior workhorse running back Zach Rooney, pounded out 163 yards on the ground and tallied 94 yards through the air.
Sophomore Tristan McClone led the way with 72 yards on 14 carries, while senior Peyton Balazs carried 20 times for 44 yards, and sophomore Seth Fouts barrelled his way to 31 yards on 10 carries.
Rooney, who rushed for 911 yards through the first eight weeks of the season, missed Friday's game with an ankle injury.
"If we had been playing for a conference championship, he could have played," Jensen said of Rooney. "He's a big part of what we do, and we expect him to be back next week."
Warsaw travels to Carroll Friday for a Class 5A Sectional 2 showdown with the Chargers, while Concord hosts DeKalb in Class 4A Sectional 11 action.
Prior to Friday, the Tigers had won six of their previous seven trips to Dunlap, while Jensen was 6-0 in games played at Concord.[[In-content Ad]]
In the final high school football game of the regular season, House and Jones were a formidable one-two punch, as the host Concord Minutemen beat the Warsaw Tigers 28-6 at Jake Field to wrap up a second-straight outright Northern Lakes Conference championship.
House finished the game with four catches for 106 yards, while Jones was the featured running back in the absence of injured teammate DuWhan Alford and rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.
"That's a good football team," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of the Minutemen, who scored two touchdowns in the final 7:43 of the game. "They're big, strong and fast."
Jones scored Concord's first three touchdowns on runs of 5, 15 and 21 yards.
On Concord's first scoring drive, House caught a 52-yard pass on third-and-6.
On the Minutemen's second scoring drive, the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder caught a 25-yard pass on second-and-10.
And on Concord's third scoring drive, House reeled in an 18-yard pass on third-and-9.
While House didn't score a touchdown himself, the multi-sport standout and mountain of a man certainly played a major role for the Minutemen.
"He made some big catches along the way," Jensen said of House. "They did a good job of getting him the ball, and having someone like him opens things up for them."
With the 22-point win, Concord improved to 7-2 overall and extended its conference win streak to 14 games.
The Tigers, the last team to beat the Minutmen, fell to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play.
"We had to do some things to slow them down," said Jensen, who was denied in his bid for his 100th career win as a head coach. "And after two-and-a-half quarters they figured it out. We didn't take advantage of some opportunities."
Trailing 7-0 early in the third quarter, Warsaw had a golden opportunity to possibly tie the game, or at least put some points on the board.
After recovering a Concord fumbe and starting a drive at the Minutemen's 14-yard line, however, the Tigers missed a 26-yard field.
Warsaw forced Concord to punt on its next possession, but an interception three plays later gave the ball back to the Mintumen offense, and with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter Jones raced in from 15 yards out. Nick Wysong's extra-point kick gave the hosts a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers cut into the deficit when sophomore quarterback Austin Head threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to senior Jordan Wray with 10:51 to play.
Warsaw failed to convert the extra-point kick, and three minutes later Jones scored his third touchdown of the game, pushing Concord's advantage to 21-6 with another Wysong kick.
The Minutemen's final score of the game came on a two-yard run by senior Jarrett Settles with 3:02 remaining in the game.
In all, Concord racked up 271 yards on the ground and 106 through the air.
Junior Ryan McKibbin only completed 4 of 13 passes, but House made the most of all four catches.
Warsaw, playing without senior workhorse running back Zach Rooney, pounded out 163 yards on the ground and tallied 94 yards through the air.
Sophomore Tristan McClone led the way with 72 yards on 14 carries, while senior Peyton Balazs carried 20 times for 44 yards, and sophomore Seth Fouts barrelled his way to 31 yards on 10 carries.
Rooney, who rushed for 911 yards through the first eight weeks of the season, missed Friday's game with an ankle injury.
"If we had been playing for a conference championship, he could have played," Jensen said of Rooney. "He's a big part of what we do, and we expect him to be back next week."
Warsaw travels to Carroll Friday for a Class 5A Sectional 2 showdown with the Chargers, while Concord hosts DeKalb in Class 4A Sectional 11 action.
Prior to Friday, the Tigers had won six of their previous seven trips to Dunlap, while Jensen was 6-0 in games played at Concord.[[In-content Ad]]
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