Warsaw Tigers Open Season With Win Over Columbia City
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
In Friday’s season opener at Fisher Field, 5-foot-9, 185-pound sophomore running back Will McGarvey made it clear the Tigers’ ground game isn’t to be overlooked.
In a 27-3 win over the visiting Columbia City Eagles, McGarvey showed both thunder and lightning, powering his way to touchdown plunges of 1 and 2 yards and later racing 42 yards to paydirt.
McGarvey’s 42-yard score completely took the wind out of Columbia City’s sails, giving the home team a 24-point lead with 11:45 remaining in the game.
“Will’s a strong kid, he runs it hard,” said veteran Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. “Rob (Sullivan) is a little more shifty and he’s a better blocker, so that’s a great 1-2 punch for us. I’m pleased with the effort at running back by both of those guys tonight.”
McGarvey, who barrelled his way in from a yard out with 8:28 left in the first quarter and from two yards out with 1:46 remaining in the opening stanza, finished the game with 16 carries for 91 yards, an average of nearly six yards per attempt.
Sullivan, a 5-11, 170-pound junior, added 34 yards on 11 carries.
As a team, Warsaw racked up 155 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries.
The Tigers’ passing game, which created the most buzz in the offseason because of its depth at receiver, produced 170 yards and a touchdown.
Junior Michael Jensen, who didn’t play last year, made his first varsity start under center and completed 13 of 25 attempts for 151 yards and a score without throwing an interception.
Faced with the task of stepping in for record-breaking quarterback Jake Mangas, now a student at Indiana University, the younger Jensen certainly showed promise in his debut.
A 19-yard scoring strike from Jensen to 6-4 senior wideout Riley Rhoades gave the Tigers a 20-3 lead with 7:01 left in the third quarter.
“I was pleased with Michael’s poise,” said the elder Jensen, whose team upped the program’s overall record against Columbia City to 48-20-2. “You know, coming out tonight in front a big crowd, lots of people ... I thought he played with some real poise. He missed some reads, but they played some defenses that we didn’t prepare for because you don’t see it, nobody shows anything in the scrimmage. They did some things we didn’t practice against, so he’s got to get better at recognizing those kinds of things, but I was pleased with his poise.”
Rhoades led Warsaw’s receiving corps with six catches for 71 yards, while fellow seniors Sterling Hay (28 yards), Thomas Hickerson (22 yards), junior Jeremy David (25 yards) and sophomore Zach Riley (19 yards) reeled in two passes each.
Just as he was pleased with his son’s poise running the offense, Jensen was proud of his defense.
Left with some big holes after the graduation of standouts Caleb Woolridge, Ben Plummer and Darren Schaefer, Warsaw’s defense was solid Friday night and held Columbia City to 88 rushing yards on 44 carries and to 10 of 20 through the air for 64 yards.
Junior Josh Malagon made two interceptions for the Tigers from his secondary position.
After the game, Jensen raved about the offseason work his defense put in, and pointed out that a number of his players on that side of the ball are on the track team.
“They were flying to the ball weren’t they,” Jensen said of his defensive players, smiling from ear to ear. “They showed what track guys can do that get stronger. It’s a combination of what Coach (Matt) Thacker does with our track program, obviously their record speaks for itself, but also our program this winter where we got tremendously stronger, and I think that you saw that on the field tonight. That’s probably as physical of an effort from a defense that we’ve had in a while.”
Columbia City starting quarterback Brock Snouffer completed 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards, throwing two picks and no touchdowns.
Noah Judd led the Eagles with two catches for 18 yards, while Carson Reed led Columbia City’s ground game with 18 carries for 59 yards.
Cory Behm scored the Eagles’ only points when he made good on a 38-yard field goal with 9:33 left in the third quarter, cutting Warsaw’s lead to 14-3 at the time.
The Tigers are in action again Friday at East Noble, while Columbia City hosts county rival Whitko.
WARSAW 27, COL. CITY 3
CC 0 0 3 0 — 3
War 14 0 6 7 — 27
CC War
1st downs 12 16
Rushing yds 88 155
Passing yds 64 170
Comp-Att-Int 10-20-2 15-30-0
Total yds 152 325
Fumbles/lost 1/0 1/1
Penalties/yds 2/10 4/35
Punts/avg 6/29 4/44
First Quarter
W – Will McGarvey 1 run (Andrew Mevis kick) 8:28, 7-0
W – McGarvey 2 run (Mevis kick) 1:46, 14-0
Third Quarter
CC – Cory Behm 38 FG 9:33, 14-3
W – Michael Jensen 19 pass to Riley Rhoades (kick failed) 7:01, 20-3
Fourth Quarter
W – McGarvey 42 run (Mevis kick) 11:45, 27-3
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Col. City, Carson Reed 18-59, Brock Snouffer 4-14, Davin Lawrence 4-11, Noah Judd 2-7, Devin Minier 4-(-1), Ryan Mosher 8-(-15); Warsaw, McGarvey 16-91, Rob Sullivan 11-34, Michael Jensen 4-17, Kyle Kuhn 5-13.
Passing — Col. City, Snouffer 5-12-35, 0 TD, 2 INT, Mosher 4-6-22, 0 TD, 0 INT, Logan Smith 1-2-7, 0 TD, 0 INT; Warsaw, Jensen 13-25-151, 1 TD, 0 INT, Joseph Harness 2-5-19, 0 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving — Col. City, Judd 2-18, Rob Wood 1-16, Josh Christen 2-10, Ashten Barnes 2-9, Mosher 2-6, Trevor Scharpenberg 1-5 ; Warsaw, Rhoades 6-71, Sterling Hay 2-28, Jeremy David 2-25, Thomas Hickerson 2-22, Zach Riley 2-19, Sullivan 1-5[[In-content Ad]]
In Friday’s season opener at Fisher Field, 5-foot-9, 185-pound sophomore running back Will McGarvey made it clear the Tigers’ ground game isn’t to be overlooked.
In a 27-3 win over the visiting Columbia City Eagles, McGarvey showed both thunder and lightning, powering his way to touchdown plunges of 1 and 2 yards and later racing 42 yards to paydirt.
McGarvey’s 42-yard score completely took the wind out of Columbia City’s sails, giving the home team a 24-point lead with 11:45 remaining in the game.
“Will’s a strong kid, he runs it hard,” said veteran Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. “Rob (Sullivan) is a little more shifty and he’s a better blocker, so that’s a great 1-2 punch for us. I’m pleased with the effort at running back by both of those guys tonight.”
McGarvey, who barrelled his way in from a yard out with 8:28 left in the first quarter and from two yards out with 1:46 remaining in the opening stanza, finished the game with 16 carries for 91 yards, an average of nearly six yards per attempt.
Sullivan, a 5-11, 170-pound junior, added 34 yards on 11 carries.
As a team, Warsaw racked up 155 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries.
The Tigers’ passing game, which created the most buzz in the offseason because of its depth at receiver, produced 170 yards and a touchdown.
Junior Michael Jensen, who didn’t play last year, made his first varsity start under center and completed 13 of 25 attempts for 151 yards and a score without throwing an interception.
Faced with the task of stepping in for record-breaking quarterback Jake Mangas, now a student at Indiana University, the younger Jensen certainly showed promise in his debut.
A 19-yard scoring strike from Jensen to 6-4 senior wideout Riley Rhoades gave the Tigers a 20-3 lead with 7:01 left in the third quarter.
“I was pleased with Michael’s poise,” said the elder Jensen, whose team upped the program’s overall record against Columbia City to 48-20-2. “You know, coming out tonight in front a big crowd, lots of people ... I thought he played with some real poise. He missed some reads, but they played some defenses that we didn’t prepare for because you don’t see it, nobody shows anything in the scrimmage. They did some things we didn’t practice against, so he’s got to get better at recognizing those kinds of things, but I was pleased with his poise.”
Rhoades led Warsaw’s receiving corps with six catches for 71 yards, while fellow seniors Sterling Hay (28 yards), Thomas Hickerson (22 yards), junior Jeremy David (25 yards) and sophomore Zach Riley (19 yards) reeled in two passes each.
Just as he was pleased with his son’s poise running the offense, Jensen was proud of his defense.
Left with some big holes after the graduation of standouts Caleb Woolridge, Ben Plummer and Darren Schaefer, Warsaw’s defense was solid Friday night and held Columbia City to 88 rushing yards on 44 carries and to 10 of 20 through the air for 64 yards.
Junior Josh Malagon made two interceptions for the Tigers from his secondary position.
After the game, Jensen raved about the offseason work his defense put in, and pointed out that a number of his players on that side of the ball are on the track team.
“They were flying to the ball weren’t they,” Jensen said of his defensive players, smiling from ear to ear. “They showed what track guys can do that get stronger. It’s a combination of what Coach (Matt) Thacker does with our track program, obviously their record speaks for itself, but also our program this winter where we got tremendously stronger, and I think that you saw that on the field tonight. That’s probably as physical of an effort from a defense that we’ve had in a while.”
Columbia City starting quarterback Brock Snouffer completed 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards, throwing two picks and no touchdowns.
Noah Judd led the Eagles with two catches for 18 yards, while Carson Reed led Columbia City’s ground game with 18 carries for 59 yards.
Cory Behm scored the Eagles’ only points when he made good on a 38-yard field goal with 9:33 left in the third quarter, cutting Warsaw’s lead to 14-3 at the time.
The Tigers are in action again Friday at East Noble, while Columbia City hosts county rival Whitko.
WARSAW 27, COL. CITY 3
CC 0 0 3 0 — 3
War 14 0 6 7 — 27
CC War
1st downs 12 16
Rushing yds 88 155
Passing yds 64 170
Comp-Att-Int 10-20-2 15-30-0
Total yds 152 325
Fumbles/lost 1/0 1/1
Penalties/yds 2/10 4/35
Punts/avg 6/29 4/44
First Quarter
W – Will McGarvey 1 run (Andrew Mevis kick) 8:28, 7-0
W – McGarvey 2 run (Mevis kick) 1:46, 14-0
Third Quarter
CC – Cory Behm 38 FG 9:33, 14-3
W – Michael Jensen 19 pass to Riley Rhoades (kick failed) 7:01, 20-3
Fourth Quarter
W – McGarvey 42 run (Mevis kick) 11:45, 27-3
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Col. City, Carson Reed 18-59, Brock Snouffer 4-14, Davin Lawrence 4-11, Noah Judd 2-7, Devin Minier 4-(-1), Ryan Mosher 8-(-15); Warsaw, McGarvey 16-91, Rob Sullivan 11-34, Michael Jensen 4-17, Kyle Kuhn 5-13.
Passing — Col. City, Snouffer 5-12-35, 0 TD, 2 INT, Mosher 4-6-22, 0 TD, 0 INT, Logan Smith 1-2-7, 0 TD, 0 INT; Warsaw, Jensen 13-25-151, 1 TD, 0 INT, Joseph Harness 2-5-19, 0 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving — Col. City, Judd 2-18, Rob Wood 1-16, Josh Christen 2-10, Ashten Barnes 2-9, Mosher 2-6, Trevor Scharpenberg 1-5 ; Warsaw, Rhoades 6-71, Sterling Hay 2-28, Jeremy David 2-25, Thomas Hickerson 2-22, Zach Riley 2-19, Sullivan 1-5[[In-content Ad]]
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