Tigers Fall To Snider Panthers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
Making just their second sectional championship game appearance in school history, the Tigers came out strong, tying the game at 7-7 in the first quarter on an impressive drive that included a 50-yard pass from senior Ben Higgins to classmate Daniel Conrad.[[In-content Ad]]In the end, however, Snider was just too much for Warsaw, as the Panthers built a 35-7 halftime lead and cruised to a 52-14 win.
The sectional championship was the 16th in school history for Snider, with 12 of them coming under current coach Russ Isaacs, who upped his coaching record to 183-29 in 17 seasons with the Panthers.
"They were more disciplined than Northrop or South Side," said Akers. "They're definitely very well coached. They run the spread offense as good as anyone we've faced since I've been here."
The Tigers knocked off a pair of Fort Wayne schools in the first round of sectional action to get to Friday's championship game, beating Northrop 48-16 and topping South Side 14-7.
Snider, however, was a different story all together.
After Higgins' 9-yard pass to Conrad tied the game with 6:29 to play in the first quarter, the Panthers turned up the wick offensively, scoring on a 2-yard run by Barrington Scott, on a 49-yard pass from Matt Elliott to Patrick Davis, on a Brent Bostic 7-yard run and on a 37-yard pass from Elliott to Davis.
"They're able to rotate three running backs in," Akers said of Snider. "And their quarterback does a great job running the offense. I saw him play last year when (Artis) Chambers got hurt. I got to see right away the type of competitor he is. He stepped up in the pocket tonight and just killed us."
Elliott, a 6-foot, 170-pound junior, finished the game 9 of 10 through the air for 157 yards and three touchdowns. He completed his first six attempts of the game and finished the contest without throwing an interception.
The Tigers, on the other hand, threw four interceptions, three by Higgins and one by sophomore Justin Clemens.
Most of Elliott's passing yards went to Davis, who reeled in four catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
On the ground, Elliott racked up 67 yards on 10 carries, while Scott had seven carries for 46 yards and Bostic finished with 40 yards on six carries.
The Tigers got 54 yards on the ground from sophomore Andy Conrad, while Higgins completed 11 of 24 passes for 168 yards and the touchdown to Daniel Conrad.
Daniel Conrad led Warsaw in receiving with five catches for 102 yards.
After the Panthers scored 28 unanswered points to take their 35-7 lead, the Tigers got on the scoreboard again when Clemens powered his way into the end zone from two yards out with 7:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Snider then scored the final 17 points of the game on a 36-yard field goal by Aaron Thomas in the third quarter and on touchdown runs from Scott and Keenan Kelsaw in the fourth quarter.
While the reality of Friday's 38-point loss is going to sting for a while, especially for the seniors that had to take off their Tiger uniform for the last time, there were positives for Warsaw.
The Tigers finished the season with a 7-5 record, the most wins since an 8-4 season in 2002 when the program made its first sectional final appearance.
Warsaw rebounded from a 2-9 record last year, one that included an 0-7 mark in the Northern Lakes Conference, to play for a conference championship and a sectional championship.
The Tigers did so despite a small senior class and having to overcome a number of injuries all season.
"I think the program progessed," said Akers, who will have a number of returning starters for next year, including four offensive linemen, Conrad at running back and All-Conference tight end Clemens. "When you look at where we came from, we went from 2-9 last year to 7-5 this year. We had a lot of injuries and we got to play a lot of young kids. We came up on the short end, but we played for a conference championship and a sectional championship. That experience is going to be huge. It's going to leave a lasting impression on these kids."
Snider, who entered the sectional championship having outscored its last three opponents 155-9, improved to 11-1.
The Panthers will host Carmel (10-2) in next week's regional championship. Carmel advanced by beating Lafayette Harrison 49-7.
Making just their second sectional championship game appearance in school history, the Tigers came out strong, tying the game at 7-7 in the first quarter on an impressive drive that included a 50-yard pass from senior Ben Higgins to classmate Daniel Conrad.[[In-content Ad]]In the end, however, Snider was just too much for Warsaw, as the Panthers built a 35-7 halftime lead and cruised to a 52-14 win.
The sectional championship was the 16th in school history for Snider, with 12 of them coming under current coach Russ Isaacs, who upped his coaching record to 183-29 in 17 seasons with the Panthers.
"They were more disciplined than Northrop or South Side," said Akers. "They're definitely very well coached. They run the spread offense as good as anyone we've faced since I've been here."
The Tigers knocked off a pair of Fort Wayne schools in the first round of sectional action to get to Friday's championship game, beating Northrop 48-16 and topping South Side 14-7.
Snider, however, was a different story all together.
After Higgins' 9-yard pass to Conrad tied the game with 6:29 to play in the first quarter, the Panthers turned up the wick offensively, scoring on a 2-yard run by Barrington Scott, on a 49-yard pass from Matt Elliott to Patrick Davis, on a Brent Bostic 7-yard run and on a 37-yard pass from Elliott to Davis.
"They're able to rotate three running backs in," Akers said of Snider. "And their quarterback does a great job running the offense. I saw him play last year when (Artis) Chambers got hurt. I got to see right away the type of competitor he is. He stepped up in the pocket tonight and just killed us."
Elliott, a 6-foot, 170-pound junior, finished the game 9 of 10 through the air for 157 yards and three touchdowns. He completed his first six attempts of the game and finished the contest without throwing an interception.
The Tigers, on the other hand, threw four interceptions, three by Higgins and one by sophomore Justin Clemens.
Most of Elliott's passing yards went to Davis, who reeled in four catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
On the ground, Elliott racked up 67 yards on 10 carries, while Scott had seven carries for 46 yards and Bostic finished with 40 yards on six carries.
The Tigers got 54 yards on the ground from sophomore Andy Conrad, while Higgins completed 11 of 24 passes for 168 yards and the touchdown to Daniel Conrad.
Daniel Conrad led Warsaw in receiving with five catches for 102 yards.
After the Panthers scored 28 unanswered points to take their 35-7 lead, the Tigers got on the scoreboard again when Clemens powered his way into the end zone from two yards out with 7:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Snider then scored the final 17 points of the game on a 36-yard field goal by Aaron Thomas in the third quarter and on touchdown runs from Scott and Keenan Kelsaw in the fourth quarter.
While the reality of Friday's 38-point loss is going to sting for a while, especially for the seniors that had to take off their Tiger uniform for the last time, there were positives for Warsaw.
The Tigers finished the season with a 7-5 record, the most wins since an 8-4 season in 2002 when the program made its first sectional final appearance.
Warsaw rebounded from a 2-9 record last year, one that included an 0-7 mark in the Northern Lakes Conference, to play for a conference championship and a sectional championship.
The Tigers did so despite a small senior class and having to overcome a number of injuries all season.
"I think the program progessed," said Akers, who will have a number of returning starters for next year, including four offensive linemen, Conrad at running back and All-Conference tight end Clemens. "When you look at where we came from, we went from 2-9 last year to 7-5 this year. We had a lot of injuries and we got to play a lot of young kids. We came up on the short end, but we played for a conference championship and a sectional championship. That experience is going to be huge. It's going to leave a lasting impression on these kids."
Snider, who entered the sectional championship having outscored its last three opponents 155-9, improved to 11-1.
The Panthers will host Carmel (10-2) in next week's regional championship. Carmel advanced by beating Lafayette Harrison 49-7.
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