Warsaw Opens NLC With Thrilling Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
It worked out well for the host Tigers, who got two fourth-quarter touchdown passes from senior Austin Head, as they rallied to beat the Plymouth Rockies 20-19 in thrilling fashion.
It was the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams.
Warsaw improved to 2-1 overall, while Plymouth, which had won its first two games by a combined score of 69-13, fell to 2-1.
“We stepped up big,” Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of his team, which fell 49-14 last week at Class 4A No. 7 East Noble. “We knew (Plymouth) Coach (John) Barron was going to challenge us up front. We felt like we had to work on our perimeter game. We’re not a great drop-back passing team, but our quick-pass game is there.”
Through the first two games of the season, Head completed 8 of 22 passes for 116 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Friday night against the Rockies, however, he was 13 of 18 for 208 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
With the Tigers trailing 19-7 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, Head found classmate Tanner Balazs on a 64-yard scoring strike that cut Plymouth’s advantage to 19-14 after Caleb Klusman’s PAT kick split the uprights.
After forcing the Rockies to punt, Warsaw took over on the Plymouth 22-yard line with 8:40 left in the game.
With 78 yards of real estate in front of them, the Tigers embarked on a 13-play drive that culminated with Head tossing an 11-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown pass to senior Conner McCammack in the corner of the end zone.
The scoring strike gave Warsaw a 20-19 lead, its first advantage of the game.
The Tigers went for a two-point conversion, trying to push the lead to three points, but failed.
“No doubt,” Head said when asked if he had a high level of confidence in his receivers. “They’re two of the best athletes on the team. It’s huge to come out and get a win in the first game of the conference (season), start off on the right foot.”
Balazs finished the game with six catches for 157 yards, while McCammack reeled in five passes for 35 yards.
“Both of those guys have done a great job accepting their role,” Jensen said of Balazs and McCammack. “We’re a ball-control, running team. They do more blocking in practice than anything. Those guys have stepped up and accepted their role.”
And because of it, Warsaw won Friday night.
As every team will do, the Rockies focused their defensive effort around slowing all-conference running back Tristan McClone.
McClone entered the contest averaging 160 yards per game and five yards per carry.
He finished Friday night’s battle with 32 carries for 72 yards and one touchdown.
His 4-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds remaining in the first half helped cut Plymouth’s advantage to 13-7.
But just as the Rockies keyed on McClone, the Tigers set out to slow Plymouth offensive stars Michael Hartman and Justin Drudge.
In last week’s 35-0 win over Rochester, Hartman carried 14 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
Warsaw held him to 18 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown, a 1-yard plunge that gave Plymouth its 19-7 lead.
“Some big stands by our defense, big stands,” said Jensen.
Sophomore quarterback Jack Barron, the coach’s son, rushed 10 times for 47 yards and scored the Rockies’ first two touchdowns on runs of 5 yards and 1 yard, respectively.
Barron also finished the game 11 of 19 for 172 yards.
“Barron is a gonna be a pretty good football player,” Jensen said of Plymouth’s sophomore signal caller. “He’s a winner like his dad. We knew we had to play assignment football. Coach (Kris) Hueber, our defensive coordinator, and his staff did a great job of calming the kids down. We gave up some plays, but they did a good job of calming them down and getting them ready for the next play.”
After the Tigers turned the ball over on downs with 1:11 remaining, Plymouth started a drive on its own 31-yard line, trying to erase the 20-19 deficit and win the game.
After a pair of catches by Drudge, who finished the game with four receptions for 95 yards, Barron threw a trio of incomplete passes.
On 4th-and-10 from the 41, Barron connected with senior Dakota Brooke for seven yards.
The Tigers then took over possession and ran the clock out, putting themselves in the win column with fellow NLC schools Concord, Northridge and Elkhart Memorial.
Concord is 2-0 in NLC play, while Northridge and Warsaw are 1-0 and Memorial is 1-1.
NorthWood, Plymouth, Wawasee and Goshen are all 0-1 in conference play.
“We’re trying to fight our way back (to the top of the conference),” said Jensen. “It’s been Plymouth and Concord forever. There’s a shift taking place. Plymouth and Concord are still very good, but they’ve forced the other teams to get better.”
The Tigers will try and stay among the conference unbeatens Friday when they travel to Elkhart Memorial.
Plymouth hosts Northridge.
WARSAW 20, PLYMOUTH 19
P 7 6 0 6 — 19
W 0 7 0 13 — 20
W P
1st downs 13 12
Rushing yds 56 85
Passing yds 208 172
Comp-Att-Int 13-18-0 11-19-0
Total yds 264 257
Fumbles/lost 1/0 1/0
Penalties/yds 2/15 3/30
Punts/avg 4/31 3/36
First Quarter
P – Jack Barron 5 run (Jacob LaFree kick) 6:34, 7-0
Second Quarter
P – Barron 1 run (kick blocked) 11:55, 13-0
W – Tristan McClone 4 run (Caleb Klusman kick) :34, 13-7
Fourth Quarter
P – Michael Hartman 1 run (conversion failed) 11:10, 19-7
W – Austin Head 64 pass to Tanner Balazs (Klusman kick) 10:00, 19-14
W – Head 11 pass to Conner McCammack (conversion failed) 3:27 20-19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Plymouth, Hartman 18-40, Barron 10-47, Justin Drudge 4-(-2); Warsaw, McClone 32-72, Head 5-(-9), Jason Taylor 3-0, Tanner Balazs 1-(-7).
Passing — Plymouth, Barron 11-19-172, 0 TD, 0 INT; Warsaw, Head 13-18-208, 2 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving — Plymouth, Drudge 4-95, Dakota Brooke 5-38, Trenton Briles 2-39; Warsaw, Balazs 6-157, McCammack 5-35, Chad Goon 1-10, Taylor 1-6[[In-content Ad]]
It worked out well for the host Tigers, who got two fourth-quarter touchdown passes from senior Austin Head, as they rallied to beat the Plymouth Rockies 20-19 in thrilling fashion.
It was the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both teams.
Warsaw improved to 2-1 overall, while Plymouth, which had won its first two games by a combined score of 69-13, fell to 2-1.
“We stepped up big,” Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of his team, which fell 49-14 last week at Class 4A No. 7 East Noble. “We knew (Plymouth) Coach (John) Barron was going to challenge us up front. We felt like we had to work on our perimeter game. We’re not a great drop-back passing team, but our quick-pass game is there.”
Through the first two games of the season, Head completed 8 of 22 passes for 116 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Friday night against the Rockies, however, he was 13 of 18 for 208 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
With the Tigers trailing 19-7 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, Head found classmate Tanner Balazs on a 64-yard scoring strike that cut Plymouth’s advantage to 19-14 after Caleb Klusman’s PAT kick split the uprights.
After forcing the Rockies to punt, Warsaw took over on the Plymouth 22-yard line with 8:40 left in the game.
With 78 yards of real estate in front of them, the Tigers embarked on a 13-play drive that culminated with Head tossing an 11-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown pass to senior Conner McCammack in the corner of the end zone.
The scoring strike gave Warsaw a 20-19 lead, its first advantage of the game.
The Tigers went for a two-point conversion, trying to push the lead to three points, but failed.
“No doubt,” Head said when asked if he had a high level of confidence in his receivers. “They’re two of the best athletes on the team. It’s huge to come out and get a win in the first game of the conference (season), start off on the right foot.”
Balazs finished the game with six catches for 157 yards, while McCammack reeled in five passes for 35 yards.
“Both of those guys have done a great job accepting their role,” Jensen said of Balazs and McCammack. “We’re a ball-control, running team. They do more blocking in practice than anything. Those guys have stepped up and accepted their role.”
And because of it, Warsaw won Friday night.
As every team will do, the Rockies focused their defensive effort around slowing all-conference running back Tristan McClone.
McClone entered the contest averaging 160 yards per game and five yards per carry.
He finished Friday night’s battle with 32 carries for 72 yards and one touchdown.
His 4-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds remaining in the first half helped cut Plymouth’s advantage to 13-7.
But just as the Rockies keyed on McClone, the Tigers set out to slow Plymouth offensive stars Michael Hartman and Justin Drudge.
In last week’s 35-0 win over Rochester, Hartman carried 14 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
Warsaw held him to 18 carries for 40 yards and a touchdown, a 1-yard plunge that gave Plymouth its 19-7 lead.
“Some big stands by our defense, big stands,” said Jensen.
Sophomore quarterback Jack Barron, the coach’s son, rushed 10 times for 47 yards and scored the Rockies’ first two touchdowns on runs of 5 yards and 1 yard, respectively.
Barron also finished the game 11 of 19 for 172 yards.
“Barron is a gonna be a pretty good football player,” Jensen said of Plymouth’s sophomore signal caller. “He’s a winner like his dad. We knew we had to play assignment football. Coach (Kris) Hueber, our defensive coordinator, and his staff did a great job of calming the kids down. We gave up some plays, but they did a good job of calming them down and getting them ready for the next play.”
After the Tigers turned the ball over on downs with 1:11 remaining, Plymouth started a drive on its own 31-yard line, trying to erase the 20-19 deficit and win the game.
After a pair of catches by Drudge, who finished the game with four receptions for 95 yards, Barron threw a trio of incomplete passes.
On 4th-and-10 from the 41, Barron connected with senior Dakota Brooke for seven yards.
The Tigers then took over possession and ran the clock out, putting themselves in the win column with fellow NLC schools Concord, Northridge and Elkhart Memorial.
Concord is 2-0 in NLC play, while Northridge and Warsaw are 1-0 and Memorial is 1-1.
NorthWood, Plymouth, Wawasee and Goshen are all 0-1 in conference play.
“We’re trying to fight our way back (to the top of the conference),” said Jensen. “It’s been Plymouth and Concord forever. There’s a shift taking place. Plymouth and Concord are still very good, but they’ve forced the other teams to get better.”
The Tigers will try and stay among the conference unbeatens Friday when they travel to Elkhart Memorial.
Plymouth hosts Northridge.
WARSAW 20, PLYMOUTH 19
P 7 6 0 6 — 19
W 0 7 0 13 — 20
W P
1st downs 13 12
Rushing yds 56 85
Passing yds 208 172
Comp-Att-Int 13-18-0 11-19-0
Total yds 264 257
Fumbles/lost 1/0 1/0
Penalties/yds 2/15 3/30
Punts/avg 4/31 3/36
First Quarter
P – Jack Barron 5 run (Jacob LaFree kick) 6:34, 7-0
Second Quarter
P – Barron 1 run (kick blocked) 11:55, 13-0
W – Tristan McClone 4 run (Caleb Klusman kick) :34, 13-7
Fourth Quarter
P – Michael Hartman 1 run (conversion failed) 11:10, 19-7
W – Austin Head 64 pass to Tanner Balazs (Klusman kick) 10:00, 19-14
W – Head 11 pass to Conner McCammack (conversion failed) 3:27 20-19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Plymouth, Hartman 18-40, Barron 10-47, Justin Drudge 4-(-2); Warsaw, McClone 32-72, Head 5-(-9), Jason Taylor 3-0, Tanner Balazs 1-(-7).
Passing — Plymouth, Barron 11-19-172, 0 TD, 0 INT; Warsaw, Head 13-18-208, 2 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving — Plymouth, Drudge 4-95, Dakota Brooke 5-38, Trenton Briles 2-39; Warsaw, Balazs 6-157, McCammack 5-35, Chad Goon 1-10, Taylor 1-6[[In-content Ad]]
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