If ever a win could from a loss, Warsaw football coach Phil Jensen hopes it's from Friday night's setback to eighth-ranked Homestead.

Following an overtime loss to the Spartans two years ago, Warsaw rattled off a 17-game regular season win streak, one that ended Friday at Fisher Field as Homestead left town with a 21-13 win over the 10th-ranked Tigers.

"Hopefully this will catapult us into something bigger," Jensen said. "Two years ago we lost to Homestead in overtime but then did some really great things, like almost knock off Penn. Hopefully we can use this as a learning experience and a motivational factor, maybe it'll lead us to greater things as we try and win the conference championship."

In a young series that has turned into a highly competitive rivalry, Warsaw's only regular season loss in 2000 came to Homestead. The Spartans' only blemish in an 8-1 campaign last year was to the Tigers.

As for last night's fourth overall meeting - Homestead smashed Warsaw 49-0 in 1997 sectional action - the Spartans found themselves in the same boat the Tigers did a year ago, with a large amount of experienced players returning.

A team with 19 of 22 starters back, Homestead won the time-of-possession battle with long offensive drives that kept Warsaw's offense sidelined, highlighted by a 15-play drive in the second quarter that covered 77 yards and gave the Spartans a 14-7 halftime lead.

"It's like I told the kids, that's why we put Homestead on our schedule," Jensen said. "If you have a weakness they'll find it. They did that tonight and they took it to us. They were able to capitalize on some mistakes and force us into some mistakes. It wasn't just us making mistakes, they're a good football team."

With Warsaw down 14-7, Homestead capitalized on a Tiger miscue when senior Dustin Lewis picked off an errant Ryan DeGeeter pass and returned it to the 10-yard line. One play later, with an Erich Martin pass to senior classmate Mike Hines, and the Spartans were in control 21-7.

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Martin finished the evening 10 of 17 through the air for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Not to be outdone, the 6-5, 210-pound DeGeeter led the Tiges on a comeback, running 11 yards to pick up a key first down on a third-and-eight play in the fourth quarter. Three players later the multi-sport athlete called his own number, splitting the middle of the Homestead defense for a five-yard touchdown run.

With their running game all but grounded, the Tigers went to air with DeGeeter, who showed senior leadership and moved the Tigers down field, throwing a 57-yard pass to junior Nate Miller and a pair of 30-yarders to junior Adam Griggs.

Though he threw a pair of interceptions, DeGeeter managed to complete 12 of 24 passes for 195 yards.

He also punted and played defense, only leaving the playing field on select special teams.

"I was really pleased with Ryan's poise," Jensen said. "He played a lot of minutes tonight. Like I said, hopefully this will catapult us into some great things. We still have a long way to go, but I'm pleased with how hard the young kids are working."

Miller finished the game with six receptions for 94 yards, while Griggs reeled in two balls for 69 yards. Hines had four catches for 51 yards to aid the Spartans, while teammate Nick Diem had three receptions for 57 yards.

On the ground, where Warsaw had just 16 carries for 45 yards, Homestead got 86 yards on 13 carries from Kevin Mitchell and 65 yards on 20 carries from Eric Carter.

Senior Ben Kreinbrink, who scored on a one-yard plunge to knot the score at seven, led Warsaw's running game with seven carries for 18 yards, quite the opposite of last week's effort when he rushed for 140 yards in a win over Columbia City.

"Life's what you make of it," Jensen said. "Is the glass half full or is it half empty? If we use this as something we can learn from, who knows, maybe down the road in the playoff we'll be sitting here talking about the great things we did after that Homestead game."

Warsaw, now 1-1 on the season, begins its quest for a fourth consecutive Northern Lakes Conference championship when it travels to Plymouth next Friday.

NO. 8 HOMESTEAD 21, NO. 10 WARSAW 13

Homestead 0 14 7 0 - 21

Warsaw 0 7 0 6 - 13

H W

First downs 16 9

Rushing yards 179 45

Passing yards 131 195

Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-17-0 12-24-2

Total offense 310 240

Fumbles/lost 0/0 0/0

Punts/avg. 2-35 4-34

Penalties/yards 7-59 6-52

Second Quarter

H - Eric Carter 2 run (Mike Hines) 10:09, 7-0

W - Ben Kreinbrink 1 run (Jeremy Sharp kick) 8:16, 7-7

H - Nick Diem 8 run (Hines kick) :58, 14-7

Third Quarter

H - Hines 10 catch from Erich Martin (Hines kick) 1:20, 21-7

Fourth Quarter

W - Ryan DeGeeter 5 run (kick failed) 6:06, 21-13

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Homestead, Carter 20-65, Kevin Mitchell 13-86, Martin 6-24, Diem 3-12; Warsaw, Kreinbrink 7-18, Ryan Hamilton 5-17, DeGeeter 3-14

Passing - Homestead, Martin 10-17-131, 1 TD, 0 INT; Warsaw, DeGeeter 12-24-195, 2 INT

Receiving - Homestead, Hines 4-51, Diem 3-57, Carter 2-11; Warsaw, Nate Miller 6-94, Mike Thallemer 3-25, Adam Griggs 2-69

Turnovers Lead To Whitko Loss

By Jen Gibson, Tmes-Union Sports Editor

SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊWhen asked about the key to Friday night's game last week, both Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger and Columbia City coach Ron Frickey said it would come down to turnovers.

Were they ever right. Columbia City took advantage of Whitko turnovers in the second half to pick up a 28-26 win.

Whitko took the lead early. Behind the legs of junior halfback Brandon Waterson, senior wingback Alan Robbins and senior fullback Dane Bause, the Wildcats moved the ball 80 yards down the field. That set up a 19-yard pass from Brad Walpole to Brett Lukens for a touchdown at the 4:47 mark in the first quarter. After the kick attempt failed, Whitko held a 6-0 lead.

But the Whitko squad was not finished.

After taking control of the ball on their own 30-yard line, the Wildcats moved the ball to the Eagle 6-yard line in just seven plays by the end of the first quarter.

Then on the first play of the second period, Bause scampered six yards to score the second Whitko touchdown of the night. But the Wildcats struggled on the PAT attempt again, this time a pass for the two-point conversion missed the mark.

At the 3:26 mark in the second quarter, Whitko struck gold again. Bause crossed the goalline after a 3-yard run to score the third Wildcat touchdown of the evening. After another missed conversion attempt, Whitko held an 18-0 advantage.

Later in the quarter, Waterson blocked a Columbia City punt attempt near the goalline, and Eagle kicker Phillip Buchanan booted the ball out of the endzone to avoid a possible Wildcat score. That gave the Whitko squad two more points on the safety and put it up 20-0 at the half.

But Columbia City capitalized on a Whitko turnover to open the quarter and shift the momentum to the Eagles' side of the ball.

The Eagles kicked off to the Wildcats to open the second half, but Whitko could not handle the ball. Columbia City's Bo Sallee picked up the fumble and moved to the 3-yard line.

Four plays later the Eagles hit paydirt and scored their first touchdown of the game.

Later in the quarter Columbia City scored again to slice Whitko's lead to 20-14.

The Eagles took their first lead of the game, 21-20, at the 8:08 mark in the fourth frame, and they hoped to hold on from there.

However, with 1:44 left in the game, Columbia City scored another touchdown to pad its lead.

Turns out the Eagles needed that insurance touchdown.

With under two minutes left in regulation, the Wildcats turned on their offensive power. They got the ball on their own 15-yard line and with a third-and-11 situation handed the ball to Waterson, who rolled 31 yards down the field for a first down. Then Walpole connected with Waterson for five yards to put the Wildcats on the 50 yard line with less than a minute left on the clock.

Walpole then found Lukens open and connected for a 50-yard touchdown pass that put the Wildcats within two, 28-26, with 25 ticks left on the clock. However, the extra-point plague stuck with the Wildcats and the two-point conversion pass failed yet again.

"We have to hang on to the football," said Whitko coach Sprunger. "That absolutely killed us tonight. We just turned the ball over too much.

"Extra points killed us, too. That cost us the football game. We need to be able to kick it or make the two-point conversion to be successful."

Waterson was the Wildcats workhouse, rushing 19 times for 225 yards. He also caught one pass for five yards.

Bause ran the ball 15 times for 61 yards and scored two Whitko touchdowns.

The Wildcats fall to 0-2 and face off against Three Rivers Conference opponent Southwood Friday night. Columbia City improves to 1-1 with the win.

Lukens caught three passes for 98 yards and one touchdown.

COLUMBIA CITY 28, WHITKO 26

Col. City 0 0 14 14 - 28

Whitko 6 14 0 6 - 26

CC W

First downs 11 16

Rushing yards 135 310

Passing yards 36 120

Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-13-2 6-14-3

Total offense 171 430

Fumbles/lost 0-0 3-2

Punts/avg. 4-32.5 2-30

Penalties/yards 4-35 5-20

First Quarter

W - Brad Walpole 19 pass to Brett Lukens (kick failed), 4:47, 6-0 W

Second Quarter

W -ÊDane Bause 6 run (pass failed), 11:54, 12-0 W

W -ÊBause 3 run (run failed), 3:26, 18-0 W

W -ÊSafety, 2:22, 20-0 W

Third Quarter

CC -ÊChad Eckert 5 pass to Tyler Anglin (Phillip Buchanan kick), 10:08, 20-7 W

CC -ÊKyle Nelson 20 run (Buchanan kick), 6:45, 20-14

Fourth Quarter

CC - Jake Rosenberger 35 interception return (Buchanan kick), 8:08, 21-20 CC

CC -ÊNelson 1 run (Buchanan kick), 1:44, 28-20 CC

W - Walpole 50 pass to Lukens (pass failed), 0:25, 28-26 CC

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Columbia City: Nelson 20-110, Tyler Anglin 7-22, Eckert 4-66; Whitko: Brandon Waterson 19-225, Bause 15-61, Alan Robbins 4-14

Passing - Columbia City: Eckert 3-12-27 2 INT, TD; Whitko: Walpole 4-7-65, 1 INT., 2 TD

Receiving - Columbia City: Anglin 2-16, Grant Larsen 1-11; Whitko: Lukens 3-98, Robbins 1-15

Squires Pull Off Early Season Upset

By Dan Riordan, Times-Unio Sports Correspondent

NORTH MANCHESTER - This year's version of the Manchester football team was supposed to have its ups and downs.

At this early point in this season however it's only been up. The Squires were powered by a yeomen-like effort by their offensive line, exceptional individual plays by senior Dustin Westafer, and a little luck en route to a 22-14 victory over the Heritage Patriots Friday.

Last year these two teams squared off on the Patriots' turf, with Heritage coming away with a 20-0 victory.

But this year the Squires were determined to right the ship.

Both teams struggled to move the ball early. On Heritage's third possesion, the Partiots found themselves pinned deep in their own end.

Patriot quarterback Billy Craig rolled out on second down and found Dustin Westafer.

The problem?

Westafer wears a black and red Manchester uniform. Westafer scampered in from 16 yards out to draw first blood for Manchester.

The Squire defense was tough, forcing sophomore Doug Wasylk to fumble three times in the first half. One fumble came early in the second quarter and the Squires found themselves with the pigskin 11 yards away from paydirt.

The Squires wasted no time. The very first play saw Westafer run it in for his second touchdown of the evening. A two-point conversion brought the Squire lead to 16-0.

But Heritage answered quickly. On their very next drive, the Patriots used 11 plays and marched 90 yards down the field. After adding a two-point conversion, Heritage cut Mancehster's lead in half, 16-8.

The drive was capped off on a 3-yard run by Jared Meyers. Wasylk made ammends for his errors during the drive. The sophomore tailback tallied 104 yards on 14 carries. He finished the game with 212 yards on 25 carries.

Wasylk's fumbles, however, would prove costly.

The second half saw the Squires begin to wear down and become conservative on offense. Nine players for Manchester play both sides of the ball and it began to show. The Squires went without a first down in the quarter. They also got pushed around on defense by the Patriots.

Heritage's first drive of the second half saw the Patriots march the ball 64 yards, capped off by a Wasylk run of three yards. The Patriots missed on the two-point conversion attempt.

In the first half, both teams combined to throw the ball four times.

The second half looked like a St. Louis Rams game compared to the first with three passes attempted in the third quarter. In the air was not where this game was played.

After Heritage scored to close the gap 16-14, it was gut check time for Manchester.

The Patriots' next drive started at their own 4-yard line. On the heels of a 48-yard run by Wasylk, they found themselves on Manchester's 1-yard line looking to take their first lead of the game.

Call it divine intervention or just plain luck but the exchange between quarterback Craig and Wayslk was bobbled, forcing the ball to the turf and into the arms of Manchester senior Josh Staton.

The fourth quarter really showed what Manchester was made of. Starting at their own 1-yard line, the Squires needed a long drive to run off the clock and put pressure on Heritage.

The drive seemed to stall but once again the fates were on Manchester's side.

On fourth down, a bad long snap forced punter/cornerback/running back Westafer out of the pocket.

The former quarterback found Farron Gaerte 19 yards downfield for a first down. The Squires then proceeded to hold the ball for more than 10 minutes.

The offensive line willed their running backs down the field. Besides Westafer's pass, the ball did not get aired out one time. The Squires then pushed Heritage's defensive line back on its own 1-yard line allowing quarterback Ryan Roth to sneak in for the score.

The following two point conversion attempt failed, leaving Heritage with a glimmer of hope. That glimmer was extinguished promptly by a Manchester defense intent on closing things out.

Manchester coach Al Bailey was impressed with his team's effort.

"This game came down to our big guys against theirs. This game had all you could ask for. Our kids gave a great effort and we came out on top. This is a big boost for us."

Manchester improves to 2-0 and will face Tippecanoe Valley in Mentone Friday to open the Three Rivers Conference season.

MANCHESTER 22,

HERITAGE 14

Manchester 8 8 0 6 - 22

Heritage 0 8 6 0 - 14

M H

First downs 10 15

Rushing yards 212 303

Passing yards 34 12

Comp.-Att.-Int. 2-4-0 1-5-1

Total offense 246 315

Fumbles/lost 0/0 4/4

Punts/avg. 2-43 0-0

Penalties/yards 5-35 2-15

First Quarter

M-Dustin Westafer 16 interception retrun (2 point conversion) 8-0 2:36

Second Quarter

M-Westafer 11 run (2 point conversion) 16-0 5:53

H-Jared Meyers 3 run (2 point conversion) 16-8 1:45

Third Quarter

H-Doug Wayslk 3 run (2 point conversion failed) 16-14 5:38

Fourth Quarter

M-Ryan Roth 1 run (2 point conversion failed) 22-14 1:32

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Manchester, Westafer 14-55, Greer 13-58, Staton 17-57, Roth 2-(-6) ; Heritage, Wayslk 25-212, Meyers 13-84, Bearman 2-5, Craig 1-2.

Passing - Manchester, Roth 1-3-0 16, Westafer 1-1 18; Heritage, Craig 1-5-1 12.

Receiving - Manchester; Gaerte 2-34, Bearman 1-12.

Valley Squeaks By With Late-Game Score

Times-Union Staff Report

GAS CITY - Trailing host Mississinewa since the second quarter, Tippecanoe Valley scored the game-winner with 34 seconds remaining when Jon Rice stepped in from a yard out to knot the score at six.

Matt Eby's P.A.T. kick gave the Vikings a 7-6 win, Valley's first of the season.

Rebounding from a 46-0 setback last week to North Judson, Valley is now 1-1.

After a drubbing in last week's opener with Manchester, Mississinewa falls to 0-2.

The Vikings picked up the win Friday despite only 131 yards of total offense, 53 on the ground and 78 through the air. M

Mississinewa pounded out 152 yards on the ground, but only managed 39 through the air on 3-of-10 passing with two interceptions.

Valley opens up Three Rivers Conference play next Friday by hosting Manchester (2-0).

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 7,

MISSISSINEWA 6

T. Valley 0 0 0 7 - 7

Mississinewa 0 6 0 0 - 6

TV M

First downs 8 10

Rushing yards 53 152

Passing yards 78 39

Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-14-1 3-10-2

Total offense 131 191

Fumbles/lost 4/2 3/2

Punts/avg. 3-30 5-17

Penalties/yards 3-30 5-45

Second Quarter

M - Pattison fumble return (kick failed) 6-0

Fourth Quarter

TV - Jon Rice 1 run (Matt Eby kick) 7-6

Triton Picks Up First Win

Times-Union Staff Report

WABASH - After scoring but 57 points all of last year, Triton ran roughshod over host Northfield, pummeling the Norsemen 33-0 Friday.

The win improves the Trojans to 1-1 on the young season and is the first under new head coach Rodney Younis.

A week after falling 24-0 to Caston, it was the Trojans this week that had their way with with the opposition. Triton racked up 263 yards on the ground and 322 yard of total offense, while Northfield picked up just 65 yards on the ground and two through the air.

Bryan Watkins spearheaded the Trojan rushing attack, gaining 106 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries. Bryan Overmyer rushed three times for 71 yards. Leading the receiving corps was Kyle Bell, who caught all three of Daniel Kuhn's completions for 59 yards.

Triton will open up its Northern State Conference schedule by hosting Culver Friday.

TRITON 33, NORTHFIELD 0

Triton 7 13 7 6 - 33

Northfield 0 0 0 0 - 0

T NF

First downs 13 5

Rushing yards 263 65

Passing yards 59 2

Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-4-0 1-3-0

Total offense 322 67

Fumbles/lost 5/2 3/3

Punts/avg. 2-39 6-20

Penalties/yards 7-65 3-15

First Quarter

T - Bryan Watkins 2 run (Bryan Moriarty kick) 7:44, 7-0

Second Quarter

T - Watkins 9 run (Moriarty kick) 6:51, 14-0

T - Watkins 7 run (kick failed) 2:38, 20-0

Third Quarter

T - Watkins 4 run (Moriarty kick) :18, 27-0

Fourth Quarter

T - Moriarty 4 run (kick failed) 9:19, 33-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Triton, Watkins 21-106, 4 TDs; Bryan Overmyer 3-71

Passing - Triton, Daniel Kuhn 3-4-59, 0 INT

Receiving - Triton, Kyle Bell 3-59

Warriors Ground Falcons

Times-Union Staff Report

GOSHEN - Led by an offensive outburst in the second and third quarters and a defense that gave up just 17 rushing yards, Wawasee drilled host Fairfield 49-0 Friday night.

The Warriors, now 2-0 on the season, scored 20 points in the second stanza and added 16 more in the third to blow the game wide open.

Warrior sophomore signal caller Kory Lantz finished the game 9 of 13 for 104 yards passing, including a seven-yard strike to James Stucky for the game's first points. Ben Champoux kicked three field goals for Wawasee in the win.

The Warriors open Northern Lakes Conference play next Friday by hosting Northridge.

WAWASEE 49, FAIRFIELD 0

Wawasee 7 20 16 6 - 49

Fairfield 0 0 0 0 - 0

W FF

First downs 22 8

Rushing yards 215 17

Passing yards 171 133

Comp.-Att.-Int. 12-24-1 12-23-1

Total offense 392 148

Fumbles/lost 1/0 6/5

Punts/avg. 2-36 7-30

Penalties/yards 5-70 1-5

First Quarter

W - James Stucky 7 pass from Kory Lantz (Ben Champoux kick) 7-0

Second Quarter

W - Jordan Swain 1 run (Champoux kick) 14-0

W - Swain 5 run (Champoux kick) 21-0

W - Champoux 39 field goal, 24-0

W - Champoux 24 field goal, 27-0

Third Quarter

W - Lantz 18 run (Champoux kick) 34-0

W - Grant Gibson 80 punt return (kick failed) 40-0

W - Champoux 31 field goal, 43-0

Fourth Quarter

W - Kyle Vanlaningham 25 pass from Justin McCullough (kick failed) 49-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Wawasee, Swain 12-78, Rhett Mikel 10-63, Chad Brennaman 9-64, Lantz 5-45; Fairfield, Trennen Kidder 8-14, Joel Hawkins 5-8, Kevin Lehman 5-3, Drew Kellenberger 4-6, Roger Beiler 3-18

Passing - Wawasee, Lantz 9-13-104, 0 INT, 1 TD; McCullough 3-4-73, 0 INT; Siri 0-7-0, 1 INT; Fairfield, Kidder 12-22-131, 1 INT; Hawkins 0-1-0, O INT

Receiving - Wawasee, Stucky 4-42, Vanlaningham 3-73, Drew Evans 2-24; Fairfield, Brad Bullock 5-96, Kellenberger 5-22, Jacob Bontrager 2-13 [[In-content Ad]]