Tigers Defend Homestead, Win At Fisher Field
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The word of the week for his football team was challenge, and Troy Akers' Warsaw Tigers certainly overcame one Friday night.
After trailing 10-0 at the end of the third quarter, and after enduring a one-hour weather delay as lightning and dark skies moved in over Winona Lake, Warsaw treated what few fans stuck around to a thrilling fourth quarter and a 14-10 win over the visiting Homestead Spartans.
"Our word of the week was challenge," said Akers. "And we more than met one tonight. These kids refused to lay down and quit."
After struggling to put together any sort of offensive highlights, the Tigers got some from senior speedster Antonio Castillo.
On the last play of the third quarter, with Warsaw facing a second down on Homestead's 48, Castillo went up in traffic and caught a 42-yard pass from senior quarterback Michael Wienhorst that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Tailback Thomas Balestri scored on a six-yard run on the next play to open the fourth quarter, and Nathaniel Fitzsimmons' extra-point attempt cut Homestead's lead to three.
After an hour-long delay for the weather, Castillo sent the crowd into a frenzy again, this time on second and 10 from the Warsaw 20-yard line as he caught a pass over the middle from Wienhorst and broke down the sideline, changed directions and took it 80 yards for the go-ahead score.
Fitzsimmons added the extra-point kick, giving the Tigers a 14-10.
Castillo, who had three receptions for 112 yards in last week's season-opening win over Columbia City, finished Friday's game with two catches for 122 yards.
"Michael (Wienhorst) refused to lay down, and the line refused to give up," said Akers. "We knew Tony had speed, now he's turned into one of the best receivers I've ever been around."
Castillo saved the day for an offense that struggled for the better part of three quarters, but it was the effort of the Tiger defense that kept Warsaw in the game time after time.
The Tigers gave up just 87 rushing yards on 41 Homestead attempts and held the crafty Witham to -2 yards on 18 carries.
"Our defense came to play," said Akers. "When you put your best athletes on that side of the ball, good things should happen. These kids know that when you play at Warsaw you're going to play defense with a passion. Coach (Will) Shepherd had a great game plan. Coach (Steve) Ferber has been working with the defensive line, and my old buddy Dallas Browning had the linebackers flying around and playing great defense. When you play defense with passion you're going to be in a lot of ball games."
All totaled, the Tiger defense sacked Witham four times, the last coming with just over two minutes to play when junior defensive end Shaun Cabrera planted him for an eight-yard loss that set up a fourth-and-18 situation.
Witham launched the ball down field to a receiver on the next play, but senior Scott Sands, who came up with two interceptions in the first quarter a week ago, deflected the ball.
The Tigers then ran the ball to run time off the clock, and Balestri highlighted the final offensive series with a 26-yard run on third-and-17 from Homestead's 40.
With the first down and the clock on their side, the Tigers took a knee twice and celebrated the victory.
"If anybody would have told you we'd be 2-0 right now, I don't know who they'd be," said Akers. "Other than this team, the coaches and myself, I don't think anyone thought this was possible."
The loss dropped Homestead to 1-1 on the season.
In six career meeting with the Spartans, Warsaw has three wins, including victories in the past two contests.
Balestri finished the game with 14 carries for 53 yards and and one touchdown, while Wienhorst overcame three interceptions and finished the game with 185 passing yards, completing 7 of 19 attempts.
Listed on the roster as just 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, Witham was Homestead's biggest threat all night and accounted for all 10 of the Spartans' points.
He scored on a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter, and then on a seven-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He added the extra-point kick with 7:02 remaining in the third to give the Spartans a 10-0 lead.
Witham attempted 15 passes on the night, only four of which were completed. Junior Matt Mikulecky caught three passes for 40 yards, while Ryan Rahrig caught one for four yards.
Warsaw opens up Northern Lakes Conference play Friday with a game at U.S. 30 rival Plymouth.
WARSAW 14, HOMESTEAD 10
Homestead 0 3 7 0 - 10
Warsaw 0 0 0 14 - 14
H W
First downs 8 5
Rushing yards 87 24
Passing yards 44 185
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-15-1 7-20-4
Total offense 131 209
Fumbles/lost 4/3 0/0
Punts/avg. 7-31.6 6-32.8
Second Quarter
H - Matt Witham 23 field goal, 1:05; 3-0
Third Quarter
H - Witham 7 run (Witham kick) 7:02, 10-0
Fourth Quarter
W - Thomas Balestri 6 run (Nathaniel Fitzsimmons kick) 11:54, 10-7
W - Wienhorst 80 pass to Antonio Castillo (Fitzsimmons kick) 3:31, 14-7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Warsaw, Balestri 14-53, Wienhorst 5-(-20), Dale Wood 3-7, Tyler Hamman 1-(-2); Homestead, Witham 18-(-2), Tim Reid 14-86, Ryan Rahrig 6-(-2), Taylor Kinzer 2-20, Caden 1-(-15)
Passing - Warsaw, Wienhorst 7-19-185, 3 INT, 1 TD, Mark Sudhoff 0-1-0, 1 INT; Homestead, Witham 4-15-44, 1 INT
Receiving - Warsaw, Castillo 2-122, Jordan Fuller 2-41, Balestri 2-13, Tyler Stouder 1-9; Homestead, Matt Mikulecky 3-40, Rahrig 1-4 [[In-content Ad]]
The word of the week for his football team was challenge, and Troy Akers' Warsaw Tigers certainly overcame one Friday night.
After trailing 10-0 at the end of the third quarter, and after enduring a one-hour weather delay as lightning and dark skies moved in over Winona Lake, Warsaw treated what few fans stuck around to a thrilling fourth quarter and a 14-10 win over the visiting Homestead Spartans.
"Our word of the week was challenge," said Akers. "And we more than met one tonight. These kids refused to lay down and quit."
After struggling to put together any sort of offensive highlights, the Tigers got some from senior speedster Antonio Castillo.
On the last play of the third quarter, with Warsaw facing a second down on Homestead's 48, Castillo went up in traffic and caught a 42-yard pass from senior quarterback Michael Wienhorst that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Tailback Thomas Balestri scored on a six-yard run on the next play to open the fourth quarter, and Nathaniel Fitzsimmons' extra-point attempt cut Homestead's lead to three.
After an hour-long delay for the weather, Castillo sent the crowd into a frenzy again, this time on second and 10 from the Warsaw 20-yard line as he caught a pass over the middle from Wienhorst and broke down the sideline, changed directions and took it 80 yards for the go-ahead score.
Fitzsimmons added the extra-point kick, giving the Tigers a 14-10.
Castillo, who had three receptions for 112 yards in last week's season-opening win over Columbia City, finished Friday's game with two catches for 122 yards.
"Michael (Wienhorst) refused to lay down, and the line refused to give up," said Akers. "We knew Tony had speed, now he's turned into one of the best receivers I've ever been around."
Castillo saved the day for an offense that struggled for the better part of three quarters, but it was the effort of the Tiger defense that kept Warsaw in the game time after time.
The Tigers gave up just 87 rushing yards on 41 Homestead attempts and held the crafty Witham to -2 yards on 18 carries.
"Our defense came to play," said Akers. "When you put your best athletes on that side of the ball, good things should happen. These kids know that when you play at Warsaw you're going to play defense with a passion. Coach (Will) Shepherd had a great game plan. Coach (Steve) Ferber has been working with the defensive line, and my old buddy Dallas Browning had the linebackers flying around and playing great defense. When you play defense with passion you're going to be in a lot of ball games."
All totaled, the Tiger defense sacked Witham four times, the last coming with just over two minutes to play when junior defensive end Shaun Cabrera planted him for an eight-yard loss that set up a fourth-and-18 situation.
Witham launched the ball down field to a receiver on the next play, but senior Scott Sands, who came up with two interceptions in the first quarter a week ago, deflected the ball.
The Tigers then ran the ball to run time off the clock, and Balestri highlighted the final offensive series with a 26-yard run on third-and-17 from Homestead's 40.
With the first down and the clock on their side, the Tigers took a knee twice and celebrated the victory.
"If anybody would have told you we'd be 2-0 right now, I don't know who they'd be," said Akers. "Other than this team, the coaches and myself, I don't think anyone thought this was possible."
The loss dropped Homestead to 1-1 on the season.
In six career meeting with the Spartans, Warsaw has three wins, including victories in the past two contests.
Balestri finished the game with 14 carries for 53 yards and and one touchdown, while Wienhorst overcame three interceptions and finished the game with 185 passing yards, completing 7 of 19 attempts.
Listed on the roster as just 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, Witham was Homestead's biggest threat all night and accounted for all 10 of the Spartans' points.
He scored on a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter, and then on a seven-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He added the extra-point kick with 7:02 remaining in the third to give the Spartans a 10-0 lead.
Witham attempted 15 passes on the night, only four of which were completed. Junior Matt Mikulecky caught three passes for 40 yards, while Ryan Rahrig caught one for four yards.
Warsaw opens up Northern Lakes Conference play Friday with a game at U.S. 30 rival Plymouth.
WARSAW 14, HOMESTEAD 10
Homestead 0 3 7 0 - 10
Warsaw 0 0 0 14 - 14
H W
First downs 8 5
Rushing yards 87 24
Passing yards 44 185
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-15-1 7-20-4
Total offense 131 209
Fumbles/lost 4/3 0/0
Punts/avg. 7-31.6 6-32.8
Second Quarter
H - Matt Witham 23 field goal, 1:05; 3-0
Third Quarter
H - Witham 7 run (Witham kick) 7:02, 10-0
Fourth Quarter
W - Thomas Balestri 6 run (Nathaniel Fitzsimmons kick) 11:54, 10-7
W - Wienhorst 80 pass to Antonio Castillo (Fitzsimmons kick) 3:31, 14-7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Warsaw, Balestri 14-53, Wienhorst 5-(-20), Dale Wood 3-7, Tyler Hamman 1-(-2); Homestead, Witham 18-(-2), Tim Reid 14-86, Ryan Rahrig 6-(-2), Taylor Kinzer 2-20, Caden 1-(-15)
Passing - Warsaw, Wienhorst 7-19-185, 3 INT, 1 TD, Mark Sudhoff 0-1-0, 1 INT; Homestead, Witham 4-15-44, 1 INT
Receiving - Warsaw, Castillo 2-122, Jordan Fuller 2-41, Balestri 2-13, Tyler Stouder 1-9; Homestead, Matt Mikulecky 3-40, Rahrig 1-4 [[In-content Ad]]