The resurgent Warsaw offense hit another snag Friday. That snag was the Goshen defense.

The Redskins held the Tigers to just 135 total yards and returned the favor for Warsaw shutting them out last year, by winning on Fisher Field, 9-0.

The shutout loss came on the heels of a 300-yard performance against the Northridge Raiders last Friday by the Tigers, but the performance against Goshen looked more like the previous three games when Warsaw was outscored 105-0 by Tippecanoe Valley, Plymouth and South Bend St. Joe.

"Offensively, we were so outmanned up front," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said. "Our kids never quit. This one hurts."

On a very rainy night, both offenses had trouble finding the end zone, even though Goshen moved the ball. But the Warsaw defense stiffened when it had to and kept the Redskins from scoring early in the game.

After a scoreless first half, a large portion of the crowd in attendance left Fisher Field after seeing the Ohio State University Marching Band put on a great halftime performance.

The Redskins ended a six-quarter drought against the Tiger defense in the third period, capitalizing on a Warsaw turnover.

P.J. Wiley, playing in only his second game in his varsity career at quarterback, was hit hard by Goshen's Tony Asta as he was trying to pass the ball from his 32-yard line and fumbled just as his arm was moving forward.

Goshen recovered at the Warsaw 25, and a few minutes later, Redskin quarterback Kyle Park snuck in from a yard out for a 6-0 Goshen lead.

"We tried to make adjustments," Jensen said. "You can't ask a kid that has played only one game of varsity football at quarterback to do something like that. P.J. Wiley is human just like the rest of us are. I get caught up and going. And I think one way when I should be thinking another."

"I wish I had about four calls back," he said. "I made some bad calls that ended up costing us."

The two teams traded turnovers and field position after that, and the Redskins clinched the game on Ben Ferguson's 33-yard field goal with three minutes left in the fourth.

"Defensively, it was an outstanding football game," Jensen said. "Coach (Troy) Akers and the defensive staff had our kids ready to play tonight.

"We gave more than a solid effort tonight, we gave our best effort of the year," he said.

In the first half, Goshen controlled the line of scrimmage and the time of possession and moved the ball almost exclusively using tailback Mason Ogle.

Missing running back Brett Sloop with an injury, Ogle was the main weapon for the Redskins, finishing with 30 carries for 174 yards.

Goshen used Ogle for 10 of 11 plays in a first quarter drive that saw it move the ball to the Warsaw six. But the Tiger defense held as Park's pass intended for Ogle on fourth down went incomplete.

After the Redskins blocked an Andy Plank put early in the second quarter, the Warsaw defense again held as the Redskins could only get the ball to the Tiger 11. Ferguson's 28-yard field goal went wide and the score remained at 0-0.

After suffering three close losses in a row, Goshen coach Brad Park was happy to see his Redskins finally pull one out at the end.

"All we had to do was win, just do what it takes to win," Park said. "We didn't do exactly what we needed to do, but we did enough.

"Someone said after the game that it was ugly, but a win is not ugly, it is one of the most beautiful things you see with that we have been through the past couple of weeks," he said. "Warsaw was playing with a lot of emotion. They kept us out of the end zone two times when we thought we should be in there. We just didn't do some things we needed to down at the goal line. And our defense has been playing well for us."

Ferguson also added two interceptions for the Redskins in addition to his field goal late in the game.

Jose Esquivel was Warsaw's main offensive weapon with 52 yards on 9 carries.

Goshen (2-3, 1-2) hosts Northridge, while Warsaw (1-4, 1-2) is at Wawasee Friday. [[In-content Ad]]