The 2000 Warsaw football team continued to etch its place in school history Friday night with a 41-13 win over Concord at Fisher Field.

Not only did Kris Hueber shatter the single-season tackle record with 7:24 left in the second quarter, the Tigers also won the Northern Lakes Conference for the second year in a row. It is the first time in history that Warsaw has won back-to-back NLC titles.

Last year the Tigers shared the NLC title with NorthWood, but a 29-28 overtime win over the Panthers last week put Warsaw's destiny in its own hands.

And the Tigers fulfilled that destiny. The win over Concord left the Tigers the lone undefeated team in the NLC and gave them the outright title for the first time in 10 years.

Although Concord was 2-6 overall heading into Friday night's game, the Minutemen came out like champions by starting the game with a bold on-side kickoff in an attempt to take the first possession away from Warsaw.

"Coach (Tim) Dawson is a good coach, and Concord came in here ready to win," said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. "We were watching them in the pregame and saw them practicing the onside kick. We warned our guys to watch out for it, and they played it well."

The failed onside attempt left Warsaw with good field position, and after starting at the Concord 49, it looked as if the Tigers would start the game with an early touchdown.

However, a fumble by Brad Seiss was recovered by Concord at the 13-yard line and stopped the Tiger drive.

Just three plays later, Concord returned the favor. The Minutemen fumbled the ball on their own 22-yard line and Warsaw recovered.

"After we got the ball back on the fumble, the offense clicked the rest of the half," said Jensen.

The offense definitely clicked in the first half.

Three plays after Warsaw recovered the fumble, Seiss ran 11 yards into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. Adam Sisson's kick sailed through the uprights to put the Tigers up 7-0 with 7:04 left on the first quarter clock.

Seiss' touchdown was a forecast of things to come for Warsaw. Throughout the next two quarters, Seiss returned to the end zone four more times for a total of five touchdowns in the game (three rushing and two receiving).

Seiss was a thorn in Concord's side all evening, rushing for 110 yards and catching four passes for 48 more yards in the game to lead the Tigers in both categories.

By the end of the first half, Warsaw held a 34-0 lead over Concord, and it looked as if the Minutemen were in for a sound drubbing. However, Concord fought back in the second half, outscoring Warsaw 13-7 in the final two quarters of play.

But Warsaw's early lead was too large for Concord to overcome. The 41-13 win allowed the Tigers to finish the season 8-1 overall and an undefeated 6-0 in NLC play.

"I'm awful proud of them, my dad was awful proud of them, and you shoud be awful proud of them too," said Jensen in a post-game pep session. "Now I want to see the stands packed next week when we play Elkhart Central in the sectional game."

Warsaw will face Elkhart Central at Fisher Field Friday night in the first round of the sectional.

WARSAW 41, CONCORD 13

Warsaw 7 27 7 0 - 41

Concord 0 0 7 6 - 13

W C

First downs 13 20

Rushes/yards 36-242 36-144

Passing yards 91 110

Comp.-Att.-Int. 7-12-0 13-25-2

Total offense 323 254

Fumbles/lost 3-2 1-1

Penalties/yards 6-65 1-5

First Quarter

W -ÊBrad Seiss 11 run (Adam Sisson kick), 7:04, 7-0 W

Second Quarter

W -ÊSeiss 9 run (Sisson kick), 11:27, 14-0 W

W -ÊSeiss 24 pass from Jared Scrafton (kick failed), 10:36, 20-0 W

W -ÊDavid Muta 7 run (Sisson kick), 8:56, 27-0 W

W -ÊSeiss 10 pass from Scrafton (Sisson kick), 0:05, 34-0 W

Third Quarter

C -ÊNick Matney 1 run (Jeremy Lugbill kick), 3:42, 34-7 W

W - Seiss 37 run (Sisson kick), 1:32, 41-7 W

Fourth Quarter

C - Lugbill 30 pass from Ian Nelson (kick failed), 8:26, 41-13 W

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - W: Brad Seiss 17-110, David Muta 8-63, Jared Scrafton 6-67, Stanton Moore 3-10, Ryan DeGeeter 2 (-8); C: Erik Watson 14-48, Nick Matney 15-51, Ian Nelson 2-(-15), Jeremy Lugbill 1-8, Mike Simpson 3-51, Dustin Blaine 1-1

Passing - W: Scrafton 7-12-91 yards, 0 int. 2 TD; C: Nelson13-23-110 yards, 2 int., 0 TD, Matney 0-1-0, 0 int., 0 TD, Tom Stafford 0-1-0, 0 int., 0 TD

Receiving - W: Adam Sisson 1-13, Seiss 4-48, Josh Shepherd 1-25, Chris Clay 1-5; C: Micah Stanley 7-65, Sam Hamilton 1-8, Lugbill 2-8, Matney 2-29 [[In-content Ad]]