Wawasee Warriors Win 'W' Trophy
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Robert and Patricia Reiff began the tradition of Wawasee and Warsaw playing for the trophy 25 years ago, and with members of the Reiff family at the homecoming game, Wawasee reclaimed the trophy with a 26-7 win Friday at Warrior Field.[[In-content Ad]]"Coming here as Goshen grad, I really didn't realize what this night represents," Wawasee coach Tom Wogomon said about the Warsaw rivalry.
"This is a special night," he added. "We have graduates on our football staff. They have been so excited to get this game started. As a kid, you think of it being a pretty cool moment, but it's once you graduate that you can realize what the rivalry represents. It is truly a great high school rivalry."
Wawasee (5-2, 4-1 Northern Lakes Conference) got the conference win by outrushing the Tigers (1-6, 1-4 NLC) 304-119.
"The offensive line played about as well as they could," Wogomon said.
The Wawasee line helped open huge holes for quarterback Tyler Hare to make easy decisions in a spread option.
Set up in shotgun, Hare had the option of either running the ball or handing off to Trevor McKibben, depending on how the Warsaw defenders reacted.
Showing his knowledge of the system, Hare ran the ball 16 times for 104 yards and two scores, while McKibben had 175 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
"Tyler just played another solid game tonight," Wogomon said. "He knows how to run that offense. He's not gifted with the most speed, but he knows where those little seams are at. When you get hit by (Hare), kids know about it because he lowers his shoulder."
On the night, Wawasee didn't punt the ball and only lost possession once on a third-quarter fumble by Hare.
That turnover led to Warsaw's lone score when senior Jeremy Coppes pushed it in from one yard out with 2:41 remaining in the third, cutting the Wawasee lead to 13-7 at the time.
However, after the score, Wawasee kick returner Andrew Hepler returned the ball to the 50-yard line. Eight plays later, Hare scored his second touchdown of the game, killing the Warsaw momentum and giving his team a 20-7 lead.
"It was only 10-0 at half, and we tried to rally the kids," Jensen said. "We did, but we just weren't able to sustain it through adversity."
Wawasee has had its fair share of adversity over the past three seasons, going 5-25 coming into this season.
Now at 5-2 and in sole possession of second place in the NLC with a 4-1 mark, things are looking up.
"The motto has been 'Gaining respect one step at a time' and that's kind of how we've been playing football this last month-and-a-half," Wogomon said.
Wawasee handed Plymouth its first regular season loss in 23 games last week, but Wogomon was cautious coming into its game against one-win Warsaw.
"The kids understood it was special what we did at Plymouth, but we knew if we came out and fell a little flat, that (win) wouldn't mean too much," he said. "Warsaw's a dangerous football team. We knew it was going to be a fight."
Warsaw earned its first win last week against Goshen, running for 287 yards, but that wasn't happening against Wawasee.
"We had our moments," Jensen said about his rush attack, which was led by Tyler Adams' 65 yards on 10 carries. "We just didn't have the ball enough, and when you fall behind like we did, that takes you out of your game."
And Wawasee did have the ball, scoring on both of its first-half drives which consumed 6:06 and 7:21 of the clock.
"I don't even know if it's anything special," Wogomon said about his team's turnaround on offense. "We've shortened down the play book a lot. We've really thinned it down since Week 1, and the kids have been gaining confidence week after week."
Wogomon will try to carry that moment into this Friday's NLC game at Elkhart Memorial.
"We've been striving to play football the way it's meant to be played in the NLC," Wogomon said. "We tell the kids each week that we need to be more physical than our opponents. That's so much about what this conference is. The more physical team is walk off the field with the win."
The Tigers are at NorthWood Friday, where they'll try to right the ship after losing to a team that played better than them.
"They controlled the football, they controlled the clock, they controlled field possession," Jensen said. "They had a great game plan. It wasn't anything we didn't expect or see. They just did it better than we could defend it.
"Wawasee's a good football team," he added. "Well-coached, play hard, good kids and they deserve this win tonight."
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Robert and Patricia Reiff began the tradition of Wawasee and Warsaw playing for the trophy 25 years ago, and with members of the Reiff family at the homecoming game, Wawasee reclaimed the trophy with a 26-7 win Friday at Warrior Field.[[In-content Ad]]"Coming here as Goshen grad, I really didn't realize what this night represents," Wawasee coach Tom Wogomon said about the Warsaw rivalry.
"This is a special night," he added. "We have graduates on our football staff. They have been so excited to get this game started. As a kid, you think of it being a pretty cool moment, but it's once you graduate that you can realize what the rivalry represents. It is truly a great high school rivalry."
Wawasee (5-2, 4-1 Northern Lakes Conference) got the conference win by outrushing the Tigers (1-6, 1-4 NLC) 304-119.
"The offensive line played about as well as they could," Wogomon said.
The Wawasee line helped open huge holes for quarterback Tyler Hare to make easy decisions in a spread option.
Set up in shotgun, Hare had the option of either running the ball or handing off to Trevor McKibben, depending on how the Warsaw defenders reacted.
Showing his knowledge of the system, Hare ran the ball 16 times for 104 yards and two scores, while McKibben had 175 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
"Tyler just played another solid game tonight," Wogomon said. "He knows how to run that offense. He's not gifted with the most speed, but he knows where those little seams are at. When you get hit by (Hare), kids know about it because he lowers his shoulder."
On the night, Wawasee didn't punt the ball and only lost possession once on a third-quarter fumble by Hare.
That turnover led to Warsaw's lone score when senior Jeremy Coppes pushed it in from one yard out with 2:41 remaining in the third, cutting the Wawasee lead to 13-7 at the time.
However, after the score, Wawasee kick returner Andrew Hepler returned the ball to the 50-yard line. Eight plays later, Hare scored his second touchdown of the game, killing the Warsaw momentum and giving his team a 20-7 lead.
"It was only 10-0 at half, and we tried to rally the kids," Jensen said. "We did, but we just weren't able to sustain it through adversity."
Wawasee has had its fair share of adversity over the past three seasons, going 5-25 coming into this season.
Now at 5-2 and in sole possession of second place in the NLC with a 4-1 mark, things are looking up.
"The motto has been 'Gaining respect one step at a time' and that's kind of how we've been playing football this last month-and-a-half," Wogomon said.
Wawasee handed Plymouth its first regular season loss in 23 games last week, but Wogomon was cautious coming into its game against one-win Warsaw.
"The kids understood it was special what we did at Plymouth, but we knew if we came out and fell a little flat, that (win) wouldn't mean too much," he said. "Warsaw's a dangerous football team. We knew it was going to be a fight."
Warsaw earned its first win last week against Goshen, running for 287 yards, but that wasn't happening against Wawasee.
"We had our moments," Jensen said about his rush attack, which was led by Tyler Adams' 65 yards on 10 carries. "We just didn't have the ball enough, and when you fall behind like we did, that takes you out of your game."
And Wawasee did have the ball, scoring on both of its first-half drives which consumed 6:06 and 7:21 of the clock.
"I don't even know if it's anything special," Wogomon said about his team's turnaround on offense. "We've shortened down the play book a lot. We've really thinned it down since Week 1, and the kids have been gaining confidence week after week."
Wogomon will try to carry that moment into this Friday's NLC game at Elkhart Memorial.
"We've been striving to play football the way it's meant to be played in the NLC," Wogomon said. "We tell the kids each week that we need to be more physical than our opponents. That's so much about what this conference is. The more physical team is walk off the field with the win."
The Tigers are at NorthWood Friday, where they'll try to right the ship after losing to a team that played better than them.
"They controlled the football, they controlled the clock, they controlled field possession," Jensen said. "They had a great game plan. It wasn't anything we didn't expect or see. They just did it better than we could defend it.
"Wawasee's a good football team," he added. "Well-coached, play hard, good kids and they deserve this win tonight."
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