Tiger Football Team Wins Sectional Opener
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jen [email protected]
With a 48-16 win over Fort Wayne Northrop Saturday night, the Tigers guaranteed that at least one team in the sectional championship game will have to play in Warsaw, as the Tigers host Fort Wayne South Side Friday night in the sectional semifinal.[[In-content Ad]]"No matter what. No matter who it is. The sectional championship is going through Warsaw," Tiger coach Troy Akers said to the team after the victory.
Although Warsaw's offense has been plagued with injuries most of the season, no one could tell Saturday night as the Tigers posted 48 points against the 2-7 Bruins.
"This was a good team win," said Akers. "The kids played with heart and determination. ... These kids showed dedication and commitment to what we do and I cant be prouder of this team. We have faced a lot of adversity."
Junior running back Cody Kindle stepped up for the Warsaw squad, carrying the ball 16 times for 71 yards and catching two passes for 61 yards. Up to this point in the season, Kindle had a total of 209 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving.
Sophomore Andy Conrad also had a strong game for the Tigers, with 138 yards on 20 carries and two catches for 20 yards.
Warsaw took the lead early, scoring the game's first touchdown at the 9:11 mark in the first quarter when Ben Higgins completed a 29-yard pass to Thomas Justice. Northrop fired back on its first play from scrimmage, however, as Greg Portee completed a 62-yard pass to DuJuan Woods to knot the score at 7-all.
The Tigers regained the lead with 4:05 left in the first quarter when Matt Franco connected on a 32-yard field goal to make the score 10-7 in the Tigers' favor.
By halftime, senior quarterback Ben Higgins led the Tigers to a 17-10 lead. However, a hit to the head sent Higgins to the bench in the second half.
Sophomore Justin Clemens, an all-conference tight end who recently suffered an ankle sprain, took over at the quarterback position in the second half and picked up where Higgins left off, leading the Tigers to 31 second-half points, 23 of which came in the fourth quarter.
"Ben Higgins got hit in the head near the end of the second quarter, so we took him out of the game," Akers said. "Justin stepped up and played well. Our offensive line did a pretty good job protecting the quarterbacks today."
Northrop got as close as nine points in the second half when Dan Beer completed a 43-yard pass to Tyler Spillner with 52.2 ticks left on the third-quarter clock.
However, the fourth quarter belonged to the Tigers as Warsaw scored three touchdowns and a safety in the final frame to score the 48-16 win.
Higgins completed 5 of 13 passes for 99 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while Clemens complete 2 of 5 passes for 28 yards and a touchdown and ran the ball twice for 15 yards and another touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Brandon Head played a portion of the fourth quarter, completing 2 of 2 passes for 4 yards.
Along with Kindle and Conrad, leading rushers included Ben Davis III, who carried the ball seven times for 43 yards and a touchdown. Taylor Julian and James Leeper also got some playing time late in the game, rushing for 23 and 13 yards, respectively.
Leonard Wells was a favorite target of the Tiger quarterback, catching two passes for 17 yards and two touchdowns.
Warsaw, now 6-4 overall, hosts Fort Wayne South Side Friday night in the sectional semifinal. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Fisher Field.
Sectional semifinal tickets may be purchased for $5 in the Warsaw Community High School Athletic Office Tuesday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m to 3:45 p.m.
With a 48-16 win over Fort Wayne Northrop Saturday night, the Tigers guaranteed that at least one team in the sectional championship game will have to play in Warsaw, as the Tigers host Fort Wayne South Side Friday night in the sectional semifinal.[[In-content Ad]]"No matter what. No matter who it is. The sectional championship is going through Warsaw," Tiger coach Troy Akers said to the team after the victory.
Although Warsaw's offense has been plagued with injuries most of the season, no one could tell Saturday night as the Tigers posted 48 points against the 2-7 Bruins.
"This was a good team win," said Akers. "The kids played with heart and determination. ... These kids showed dedication and commitment to what we do and I cant be prouder of this team. We have faced a lot of adversity."
Junior running back Cody Kindle stepped up for the Warsaw squad, carrying the ball 16 times for 71 yards and catching two passes for 61 yards. Up to this point in the season, Kindle had a total of 209 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving.
Sophomore Andy Conrad also had a strong game for the Tigers, with 138 yards on 20 carries and two catches for 20 yards.
Warsaw took the lead early, scoring the game's first touchdown at the 9:11 mark in the first quarter when Ben Higgins completed a 29-yard pass to Thomas Justice. Northrop fired back on its first play from scrimmage, however, as Greg Portee completed a 62-yard pass to DuJuan Woods to knot the score at 7-all.
The Tigers regained the lead with 4:05 left in the first quarter when Matt Franco connected on a 32-yard field goal to make the score 10-7 in the Tigers' favor.
By halftime, senior quarterback Ben Higgins led the Tigers to a 17-10 lead. However, a hit to the head sent Higgins to the bench in the second half.
Sophomore Justin Clemens, an all-conference tight end who recently suffered an ankle sprain, took over at the quarterback position in the second half and picked up where Higgins left off, leading the Tigers to 31 second-half points, 23 of which came in the fourth quarter.
"Ben Higgins got hit in the head near the end of the second quarter, so we took him out of the game," Akers said. "Justin stepped up and played well. Our offensive line did a pretty good job protecting the quarterbacks today."
Northrop got as close as nine points in the second half when Dan Beer completed a 43-yard pass to Tyler Spillner with 52.2 ticks left on the third-quarter clock.
However, the fourth quarter belonged to the Tigers as Warsaw scored three touchdowns and a safety in the final frame to score the 48-16 win.
Higgins completed 5 of 13 passes for 99 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while Clemens complete 2 of 5 passes for 28 yards and a touchdown and ran the ball twice for 15 yards and another touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Brandon Head played a portion of the fourth quarter, completing 2 of 2 passes for 4 yards.
Along with Kindle and Conrad, leading rushers included Ben Davis III, who carried the ball seven times for 43 yards and a touchdown. Taylor Julian and James Leeper also got some playing time late in the game, rushing for 23 and 13 yards, respectively.
Leonard Wells was a favorite target of the Tiger quarterback, catching two passes for 17 yards and two touchdowns.
Warsaw, now 6-4 overall, hosts Fort Wayne South Side Friday night in the sectional semifinal. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Fisher Field.
Sectional semifinal tickets may be purchased for $5 in the Warsaw Community High School Athletic Office Tuesday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m to 3:45 p.m.
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