Tigers Eye Football Sectional Title
November 3, 2016 at 3:52 p.m.
Tigers Eye Football Sectional Title
By Dale [email protected]
He was in his third season as Warsaw’s football coach, and the Tigers scored their first playoff victory in program history with a 46-20 win over the Marion Giants.
Years from now, Jensen hopes there’s fond memories of Nov. 4, 2016.
Warsaw hosts No. 11 Homestead Friday at Fisher Field in the championship game of Class 6A Sectional 3.
The Tigers have won 12 playoff games in program history, but never a sectional championship in three previous tries.
Jensen would like that to change Friday, and in a phone conversation Wednesday he said he sees similarities with his current team and the one of nearly 20 years ago.
The first step in winning Friday’s game, said Jensen, is believing.
“That was a great night,” Jensen said of Warsaw’s first playoff victory, which came on the field behind what is now Lakeview Middle School. “It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago.
“That was a great group of kids, and they were really close. They were a close-knit group that hung out together and did things together, a lot like this year’s team. That group put it together and got a win. The biggest challenge sometimes is getting out of your own way, not letting things get to you, and you’ve got to believe you can win.”
Warsaw beat Carroll 23-13 in last week’s sectional opener and enters Friday’s contest with a 6-4 record.
Homestead beat Fort Wayne Northrop 66-31 last week and brings an 8-2 record to Fisher Field.
Jensen promised to make football matter in Warsaw when he took the job 20 years ago. What would it mean to finally celebrate a sectional championship?
“I think about it all the time, but still I can’t even imagine,” said Jensen. “The first time we won a playoff game, there were older fans who came down to the field, they were crying. It was something they’d never seen before.”
To win Friday night, the Tigers will have to slow a Homestead team that averages 38 points per game.
The Spartans have won five games in a row.
Their two losses this season were back-to-back, a 34-13 loss to Fort Wayne Dwenger on Sept. 9 and a 23-17 setback to Fort Wayne Snider on Sept. 16.
Snider, the defending state champion, is 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 5A. Dwenger is 8-3 and No. 8 in the 4A poll.
“We’re not a 50-point underdog, but Homestead is a very good football team,” said Jensen. “They’ve got three Division I kids on their team, and they’ve got some big linemen. If you look at their schedule and their results, and how they played Carroll, if we play well in all three phases of the game we have a chance. But we’ve got to believe we can win ... that’s the first step, we’ve got to believe we can win.”
Homestead averages 280 rushing yards per game and 120 yards through the air.
Sophomore Jordan Presley has carried the ball 180 times for 1,548 yards and 24 touchdowns. He averages 8.6 yards per carry.
Junior Jiya Wright has rushed for 781 yards and nine scores on 114 carries, and also completed 72 of 117 pass attempts for 1,071 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
“Their sophomore running back has broken all their single season records,” said Jensen. “Their quarterback is a backup. Their starting quarterback is injured, and the backup has played very well. He’s got big offensive linemen in front of him, bigger linemen than we saw during the regular season.”
For Warsaw, senior quarterback Michael Jensen has completed 124 of 226 pass attempts for 1,872 yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Junior Will McGarvey leads the Tigers’ ground game with 161 carries for 1,019 yards and five scores.
Senior Rob Sullivan has carried the ball 39 times this season for 132 yards, most of which came against Carroll, as he tallied 24 touches for 80 yards while filling in for McGarvey.
Warsaw’s receiving corps is led by seniors Jeremy David, D’Andre Street and Devin Street.
David has caught 34 passes for 596 yards and five touchdowns, while D’Andre Street has 39 catches for 516 yards and 12 scores, and Devin Street has 18 catches for 329 yards and three touchdowns.
Warsaw and Homestead have met 16 times on the gridiron, with the Spartans leading the series 10-6.
The teams haven’t squared off since 2012, and Warsaw’s most recent win over Homestead is a 10-7 win in rainy, muddy conditions at Fisher Field in a 2009 sectional game.
He was in his third season as Warsaw’s football coach, and the Tigers scored their first playoff victory in program history with a 46-20 win over the Marion Giants.
Years from now, Jensen hopes there’s fond memories of Nov. 4, 2016.
Warsaw hosts No. 11 Homestead Friday at Fisher Field in the championship game of Class 6A Sectional 3.
The Tigers have won 12 playoff games in program history, but never a sectional championship in three previous tries.
Jensen would like that to change Friday, and in a phone conversation Wednesday he said he sees similarities with his current team and the one of nearly 20 years ago.
The first step in winning Friday’s game, said Jensen, is believing.
“That was a great night,” Jensen said of Warsaw’s first playoff victory, which came on the field behind what is now Lakeview Middle School. “It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago.
“That was a great group of kids, and they were really close. They were a close-knit group that hung out together and did things together, a lot like this year’s team. That group put it together and got a win. The biggest challenge sometimes is getting out of your own way, not letting things get to you, and you’ve got to believe you can win.”
Warsaw beat Carroll 23-13 in last week’s sectional opener and enters Friday’s contest with a 6-4 record.
Homestead beat Fort Wayne Northrop 66-31 last week and brings an 8-2 record to Fisher Field.
Jensen promised to make football matter in Warsaw when he took the job 20 years ago. What would it mean to finally celebrate a sectional championship?
“I think about it all the time, but still I can’t even imagine,” said Jensen. “The first time we won a playoff game, there were older fans who came down to the field, they were crying. It was something they’d never seen before.”
To win Friday night, the Tigers will have to slow a Homestead team that averages 38 points per game.
The Spartans have won five games in a row.
Their two losses this season were back-to-back, a 34-13 loss to Fort Wayne Dwenger on Sept. 9 and a 23-17 setback to Fort Wayne Snider on Sept. 16.
Snider, the defending state champion, is 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 5A. Dwenger is 8-3 and No. 8 in the 4A poll.
“We’re not a 50-point underdog, but Homestead is a very good football team,” said Jensen. “They’ve got three Division I kids on their team, and they’ve got some big linemen. If you look at their schedule and their results, and how they played Carroll, if we play well in all three phases of the game we have a chance. But we’ve got to believe we can win ... that’s the first step, we’ve got to believe we can win.”
Homestead averages 280 rushing yards per game and 120 yards through the air.
Sophomore Jordan Presley has carried the ball 180 times for 1,548 yards and 24 touchdowns. He averages 8.6 yards per carry.
Junior Jiya Wright has rushed for 781 yards and nine scores on 114 carries, and also completed 72 of 117 pass attempts for 1,071 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
“Their sophomore running back has broken all their single season records,” said Jensen. “Their quarterback is a backup. Their starting quarterback is injured, and the backup has played very well. He’s got big offensive linemen in front of him, bigger linemen than we saw during the regular season.”
For Warsaw, senior quarterback Michael Jensen has completed 124 of 226 pass attempts for 1,872 yards with 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Junior Will McGarvey leads the Tigers’ ground game with 161 carries for 1,019 yards and five scores.
Senior Rob Sullivan has carried the ball 39 times this season for 132 yards, most of which came against Carroll, as he tallied 24 touches for 80 yards while filling in for McGarvey.
Warsaw’s receiving corps is led by seniors Jeremy David, D’Andre Street and Devin Street.
David has caught 34 passes for 596 yards and five touchdowns, while D’Andre Street has 39 catches for 516 yards and 12 scores, and Devin Street has 18 catches for 329 yards and three touchdowns.
Warsaw and Homestead have met 16 times on the gridiron, with the Spartans leading the series 10-6.
The teams haven’t squared off since 2012, and Warsaw’s most recent win over Homestead is a 10-7 win in rainy, muddy conditions at Fisher Field in a 2009 sectional game.
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