DUNLAP - If Warsaw football coach Phil Jensen had questions about how good his football team was, he more than likely found those answers Friday night in a 20-3 win at Concord.

In the first eight games of the season the Tigers established themselves as one of the best passing offenses in the state, going 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Northern Lakes Conference. But the Tigers won in different fashion last night.

It wasn't senior Ross Kesler and his flypaper-like hands that put away the Minutemen. He was out with a back injury. Senior signal-caller Greg Seiss was able to add to his already impressive passing stats, but it was Gabe Koser's foot and Jared Scrafton's leg that, in large part, led Warsaw to the win.

Koser, also a soccer player, kicked field goals of 31 and 35 yards in the first quarter to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead after the first frame. The senior hadn't kicked a field goal since the first game of the season against Columbia City.

In the fourth quarter, Scrafton's 42-yard punt trapped the Minutemen on their own 1-yard line, where they went three and out.

The win gave the Tigers (8-1, 5-1 NLC) a share of the conference crown with NorthWood, who, with a 37-6 win at home over Plymouth, also finished 8-1 and 5-1. The Panthers topped Warsaw 42-28 a week ago for the Tigers' only loss. The last time the Tigers had at least a share of the conference title was 1992, when they finished the regular season 7-1 and 5-1 to tie with NorthWood. The Panthers also accounted for Warsaw's only loss that season.

"It was a great team effort," said Jensen. "We had kids making plays everywhere. Our defense kept us in the game. And its to have a good kicker who gave us the lead in the first half. But the second half was another story."

Indeed the second half was a different story.

After Warsaw's offense clung to a 6-3 lead at the break and only rushed for 55 yards in the first half, it started the third quarter with a drive that covered 15 plays and took 9:01 off the clock. The drive ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Seiss to Zach Nelson that extended Warsaw's lead to 13-3.

Seiss finished the evening with 140 passing yards, completing 9 of 17 attempts and throwing two interceptions. Seiss also rushed 15 times for 82 yards. Sophomore Brad Seiss carried the ball 18 times for 69 yards.

But these are these are offensive weapons that have been there all season long for Jensen, so againg he had to praise his offensive line.

"There's been stories about Greg and Brad Seiss and Ross Kesler all year long," said Jensen, "I'll give you five names: Taylor Goon, Caleb Churchill, Nick Perkins, Clint Davis and Jarod Leasure. We put together a 16-play, 9-minute drive for the conference championship. It can't get any better than that. And I love to throw."

On a normal night Concord coach Tim Dawson loves to let senior tailback Rickey McKenzie run the ball. But McKenzie, who had been among the state leaders in rushing all season, was on the sideline with an injury.

"He got hurt Wednesday in practice," said Dawson. "He took a hit on the back of his right shoulder and couldn't raise his arm out there tonight. But we're not wearing the white flag yet. And they kept Kesler out."

But while Seiss was able to find other targets, Concord couldn't replace McKenzie's near 150-yard per game average.

Josh Buck caught two Seiss passes for 66 yards, one of them a 49 yard catch seconds before the first half ended. Nelson reeled in two passes for a total of 40 yards. Concord's rushing attack was spearheaded by Jeremy Lugbill's nine carries for 22 yards. Lugbill made good on a 33-yard field to put the Minutemen on the board. In all Concord's racked up 132 total yards and five first downs. Warsaw's offense broke free for 340 yards of offense with 16 first downs.

"We shut down their running game," said Jensen, "that's an advantage when McKenzie's out. We have a great staff that kept focused to what they did. We were playing without an all-state receiver. It's unfortunate but it's week nine. That's not to take away from the kids who played tonight."

Warsaw's final score of the evening came with 5:12 remaining in the game when Zach Sheetz rumbled in from three yards out. Koser added the kick to account for the 17-point win. The Tigers now own a 19-17 overall series advantage over Concord.

After starting the season 4-0 the Minutemen have lost four of their last five games.

"When it rains it pours for us," said Dawson. "It wasn't a lack of heart or effort. They (Warsaw) can run the football."

Concord will host Wawasee Friday in the first round of the sectional. Warsaw will host Class 5A No. 4 Penn (8-1).

Said Dawson of Warsaw's chances against the powerful Kingsmen, who have won the state championship in three of the last four years: "Their chances are good. It's nice to see different teams win the conference. It's nice to see that in the last week it could've been five teams. I'm proud to be a part of it. I'm proud of our kids.

Said Jensen: "As much as I'd like to go watch film on Penn, we're going to enjoy this one first. It's been a lot of hard work by a lot of people. We're going to make them enjoy this. Tommorrow we'll get ready for Penn."

WARSAW 20, CONCORD 3

Warsaw 6 0 7 7 - 20

Concord 0 3 0 0 - 3

W C

First Downs 16 5

Rushes-Yards 44-200 22-64

Passing Yards 140 68

Comp.-Att.-Int. 9-17-2 4-14-1

Total Offense 340 132

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Punts-Avg. 2-31.5 7-23.6

Penalties-Yards 8-70 1-15

First Quarter

W - Gabe Koser 31 field goal, 8:38

W - Koser 35 field goal, 3:34

Second Quarter

C - Jeremy Lugbill 33 field goal, 5:46

Third Quarter

W - Zach Nelson 14 catch from Greg Seiss (Koser kick), 2:59

Fourth Quarter

W - Zach Sheetz 3 run (Koser kick) 5:12

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing - Warsaw, G. Seiss 15-82, Brad Seiss 18-69; Concord, Lugbill 9-22

Passing - Warsaw, G. Seiss 9-17-140-2; Concord, Tim Koontz 4-14-68-1

Receiving - Warsaw, Josh Buck 2-66, Nelson 3-40; Concord, Stephen Lyon 2-54 [[In-content Ad]]