Opportunistic Tigers Retain W Trophy
October 1, 2016 at 6:54 a.m.
Opportunistic Tigers Retain W Trophy
By Mark [email protected]
Wawasee won the coin toss and deferred its choice to the second half. After mishandling the kickoff, Warsaw started at its own 13, but drove 87 yards in 11 plays to take an early lead on junior Will McGarvey’s 38-yard scamper.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wawasee junior Alec Rosbrugh was stripped and the Tigers recovered. Six plays later, D’Andre Street caught a nine-yard pass from Michael Jensen for a second touchdown, and a feeling that the game could get out of hand quickly.
“They’re a good team; they’re gonna score. But to give them the ball back, I don’t know what to do to prevent that,” said a frustrated Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich. “Rosbrugh was doing a heck of a job fighting for extra yards, but sometimes you need to know when to get on the ground.”
Wawasee answered quite quickly. On its first play from scrimmage, senior Noah Wadkins found a hole just left of the center of the line, and scored from 74 yards out.
It looked like Wawasee was going to catch a big break in the second quarter. Warsaw was in punt formation at its 28-yard line, and the snap sailed past all-purpose kicker Andrew Mevis. He scooped the ball up about two yards short of the end zone, ducked away from the Warrior rush and got off a rugby-style kick to midfield and out of danger.
“That was a great play,” Warsaw head coach Phil Jensen said. “That could have been a disaster, but (Mevis) steadies himself and kicks it back out to midfield. With our defense, midfield isn’t a bad starting spot with the kicking game we have. But that was an incredible play that let us keep it at 14-6 there.”
The score stayed there until Warsaw’s first possession of the second half. Facing second down and 29, Tiger quarterback Jensen found Tristan Larsh for a 53-yard, catch-and-run touchdown.
“Tristan Larsh is back in football for the first time since eighth grade, and he makes a great catch and run. Man, is he fast,” Phil Jensen said.
“But we had six different receivers catch the ball tonight, with a couple of different guys scoring touchdowns. Then we had McGarvey and our offensive line, really started top take control of the game after that.”
Indeed, they did. After Mevis kicked a 36-yard field goal, Wawasee got a stop on the Tigers next possession. But the Mevis punt touched a Wawasee player, Warsaw recovered at the two yard line, and McGarvey punched it in from there, effectively putting the game away.
Statistically, the teams were fairly even, with Warsaw outgaining the Warriors by 14 yards of total offense and two first downs. But Wawasee had the same ol’ bugaboos that have plagues them in the last month; turnovers and penalties. They lost two fumbles and an interception, but had five ill-timed flags.
“We played well in the first half, other than the first six minutes, “ Ekovich said. “We had our opportunities, we just have self-inflicted wounds. Same story the last three weeks.
“We don’t fumble in practice, we aren’t rough on people with late hits in practice. How to solve that is the million-dollar question.
“Warsaw is a good team; they’re not a bunch of Joe Schmoe’s out there. There’s a reason why they’re in the thick of it for the conference title.
The Tigers are now alone in second place in the Northern Lakes Conference at 4-1. They visit 5-0 NorthWood with a share of the lead on the line Friday.
I told the guys after the Plymouth loss (Sept. 2) that we still control our own destin,” Phil Jensen said. “So we go to NorthWood and then we have Concord coming in after that. So our schedule doesn’t get any easier, but it’s all ahead of us and we have the opportunity to control our fate.”
Warsaw is 5-2 overall, and NorthWood was ranked No. 2 in Class 4A in its 52-21 win over Elkhart Memorial Friday. Wawasee is now 3-4 overall, 1-4 in the NLC and travels to Memorial Friday.
WARSAW 38, WAWASEE 14
War 14 0 17 7 – 38
Waw 6 0 0 8 – 14
War Waw
1st downs 15 13
Rushing yds 119 187
Passing yds 178 96
Comp-Att-Int 15-26-0 12-20-1
Total yds 297 283
Fumbles/lost 4/0 6/2
Penalties/yds 7/70 5/40
Punts/avg. 7/33.6 5/34.6
First Quarter
War – Will McGarvey 38 run (Andrew Mevis kick) 8:35, 7-0
War – D’Andre Street 9 pass from Michael Jensen (Mevis kick) 6:39, 14-0
Waw – Noah Wadkins 74 run (kick failed) 6:26, 14-6
Third Quarter
War – Tristan Larsh 53 pass from Jensen (Mevis kick) 8:09, 21-6
War – Mevis FG 36 4:46, 24-6
War – McGarvey 2 run (Mevis kick) 4:46, 31-6
Fourth Quarter
Waw – Tyler Smith 3 run (Paul Mendoza pass from Smith) 10:56, 31-14
War – D’Andre Street 36 pass from Jensen (Mevis kick) 6:56, 38-14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Warsaw, McGarvey 15-122, Bruce Garner 3-9, Jeremy David 1-2, Rane Kilburn 1-2, Mason Faas 2-(minus 3), Jensen 11-(minus 6), Larsh 1-(minus 7); Wawasee, Wadkins 7-93, Smith 19-65, Michael Katzer 7-14, Mendoza 2-9, Cole VanLue 2-6, Will Geer 1-0.
Passing – Warsaw, Jensen 15-26-178 yds. 3 TD, 0 Int.; Wawasee, Smith 12-20-96 yds. 0 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving – Warsaw, Larsh 3-64, D’Andre Street 3-48, Devin Street 2-33, Jeremy David 2-22, Rane Kilburn 2-22, McGarvey 2-(minus 15).
Wawasee won the coin toss and deferred its choice to the second half. After mishandling the kickoff, Warsaw started at its own 13, but drove 87 yards in 11 plays to take an early lead on junior Will McGarvey’s 38-yard scamper.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wawasee junior Alec Rosbrugh was stripped and the Tigers recovered. Six plays later, D’Andre Street caught a nine-yard pass from Michael Jensen for a second touchdown, and a feeling that the game could get out of hand quickly.
“They’re a good team; they’re gonna score. But to give them the ball back, I don’t know what to do to prevent that,” said a frustrated Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich. “Rosbrugh was doing a heck of a job fighting for extra yards, but sometimes you need to know when to get on the ground.”
Wawasee answered quite quickly. On its first play from scrimmage, senior Noah Wadkins found a hole just left of the center of the line, and scored from 74 yards out.
It looked like Wawasee was going to catch a big break in the second quarter. Warsaw was in punt formation at its 28-yard line, and the snap sailed past all-purpose kicker Andrew Mevis. He scooped the ball up about two yards short of the end zone, ducked away from the Warrior rush and got off a rugby-style kick to midfield and out of danger.
“That was a great play,” Warsaw head coach Phil Jensen said. “That could have been a disaster, but (Mevis) steadies himself and kicks it back out to midfield. With our defense, midfield isn’t a bad starting spot with the kicking game we have. But that was an incredible play that let us keep it at 14-6 there.”
The score stayed there until Warsaw’s first possession of the second half. Facing second down and 29, Tiger quarterback Jensen found Tristan Larsh for a 53-yard, catch-and-run touchdown.
“Tristan Larsh is back in football for the first time since eighth grade, and he makes a great catch and run. Man, is he fast,” Phil Jensen said.
“But we had six different receivers catch the ball tonight, with a couple of different guys scoring touchdowns. Then we had McGarvey and our offensive line, really started top take control of the game after that.”
Indeed, they did. After Mevis kicked a 36-yard field goal, Wawasee got a stop on the Tigers next possession. But the Mevis punt touched a Wawasee player, Warsaw recovered at the two yard line, and McGarvey punched it in from there, effectively putting the game away.
Statistically, the teams were fairly even, with Warsaw outgaining the Warriors by 14 yards of total offense and two first downs. But Wawasee had the same ol’ bugaboos that have plagues them in the last month; turnovers and penalties. They lost two fumbles and an interception, but had five ill-timed flags.
“We played well in the first half, other than the first six minutes, “ Ekovich said. “We had our opportunities, we just have self-inflicted wounds. Same story the last three weeks.
“We don’t fumble in practice, we aren’t rough on people with late hits in practice. How to solve that is the million-dollar question.
“Warsaw is a good team; they’re not a bunch of Joe Schmoe’s out there. There’s a reason why they’re in the thick of it for the conference title.
The Tigers are now alone in second place in the Northern Lakes Conference at 4-1. They visit 5-0 NorthWood with a share of the lead on the line Friday.
I told the guys after the Plymouth loss (Sept. 2) that we still control our own destin,” Phil Jensen said. “So we go to NorthWood and then we have Concord coming in after that. So our schedule doesn’t get any easier, but it’s all ahead of us and we have the opportunity to control our fate.”
Warsaw is 5-2 overall, and NorthWood was ranked No. 2 in Class 4A in its 52-21 win over Elkhart Memorial Friday. Wawasee is now 3-4 overall, 1-4 in the NLC and travels to Memorial Friday.
WARSAW 38, WAWASEE 14
War 14 0 17 7 – 38
Waw 6 0 0 8 – 14
War Waw
1st downs 15 13
Rushing yds 119 187
Passing yds 178 96
Comp-Att-Int 15-26-0 12-20-1
Total yds 297 283
Fumbles/lost 4/0 6/2
Penalties/yds 7/70 5/40
Punts/avg. 7/33.6 5/34.6
First Quarter
War – Will McGarvey 38 run (Andrew Mevis kick) 8:35, 7-0
War – D’Andre Street 9 pass from Michael Jensen (Mevis kick) 6:39, 14-0
Waw – Noah Wadkins 74 run (kick failed) 6:26, 14-6
Third Quarter
War – Tristan Larsh 53 pass from Jensen (Mevis kick) 8:09, 21-6
War – Mevis FG 36 4:46, 24-6
War – McGarvey 2 run (Mevis kick) 4:46, 31-6
Fourth Quarter
Waw – Tyler Smith 3 run (Paul Mendoza pass from Smith) 10:56, 31-14
War – D’Andre Street 36 pass from Jensen (Mevis kick) 6:56, 38-14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Warsaw, McGarvey 15-122, Bruce Garner 3-9, Jeremy David 1-2, Rane Kilburn 1-2, Mason Faas 2-(minus 3), Jensen 11-(minus 6), Larsh 1-(minus 7); Wawasee, Wadkins 7-93, Smith 19-65, Michael Katzer 7-14, Mendoza 2-9, Cole VanLue 2-6, Will Geer 1-0.
Passing – Warsaw, Jensen 15-26-178 yds. 3 TD, 0 Int.; Wawasee, Smith 12-20-96 yds. 0 TD, 1 Int.
Receiving – Warsaw, Larsh 3-64, D’Andre Street 3-48, Devin Street 2-33, Jeremy David 2-22, Rane Kilburn 2-22, McGarvey 2-(minus 15).
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