HUNTERTOWN – Braden Steely, a sophomore kick returner for the Carroll Chargers, returned Mason Smythe’s opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with the help of a perfectly executed wall up the left sideline. The hosts never looked back, shutting out the Warsaw Tigers 36-0 to hoist one of 48 sectional championship trophies awarded this weekend among Indiana’s six football classes.

The Tigers thought they had Steely corralled around the Chargers’ 25-yard line before things fell apart at the start of the evening’s action.

“We had guys out of lanes, and it goes downhill from there,” Warsaw had coach Bart Curtis said. “We fumbled the ball away when we had a nice drive. It didn’t go our way. Very disappointing that we came out and played like this.”

The miscues Curtis cited put the Tigers behind 29-0 by halftime, and Carroll only had one scoring drive starting from their side of the field, but still found payback when South Dakota State commit Jeff Becker ran 65-yards on a quarterback score with 52.9 ticks on the clock.

“It was a called draw,” Curtis noted. “Our backers went out to cover the pass. He found the seam.”

Becker, who threw for 228 yards in last year’s 42-35 post season loss to Warsaw, was a nuisance on the ground this year gaining 131 yards on nine carries with three touchdown runs (one yard, 65 yards, 13 yards).

Accuracy was more of a problem this year. Becker connected on five of 15 pass attempts for 59 yards and a touchdown pass to AJ Lazoff with 7:12 left on the first half.

The Tigers’ who were scored upon in six of seven meaningful Charger possessions for the game, put Carroll in a position where they didn’t need to put together any long drives for a score. Warsaw’s first four possessions ended with a fumble, a bad punt snap resulting in a 19-yard loss, another fumble, and turnover on downs.

Warsaw’s fans are accustomed to seeing their squad execute such brutal offensive efficiency, but it did not happen last night in Huntertown. The Tigers suffered their first shutout since Curtis took the program’s reins in 2018.

Warsaw held its hosts to 58 second half yards and one touchdown, however, while the orange and black rushed for 125 yards in the same two periods.

The Tigers remarkably rolled up 16 first downs to the Chargers’ eight, but Warsaw spent the evening getting in its own way.

“We came out in the second half and fought like crazy on both sides of the ball,” Curtis said. “You can’t give up a kick return for a touchdown and fumble the ball three times and expect to win.”

“Bad things happened so quickly,” Curtis continued. “We didn’t respond very well. We got a little wide-eyed, and that’s my fault. I’ve gotta get my kids ready for those types of scenarios”

The Tigers ended their 2021 campaign with a 7-3 overall record including six straight wins before two straight losses to Concord and the Chargers last night. Warsaw had two consecutive trophy games (conference, sectional), but couldn’t finish well enough to hoist the hardware at the end of either of those games.

“I’m proud of the kids. The season didn’t end the last two games the way I’d hoped,” Curtis remarked regarding this year’s campaign. “It was a little disappointing particularly with the start we had throughout most of the year.”

“I hope the seniors can take away from this that they’re a better person because of the game of football,” Curtis remarked. “I certainly enjoyed coaching them.”

Julius Jones, getting most of his reps at B-back last night, had 101 yards on 24 carries. Tucker Curtis added 62 yards on 15 totes. Jace Sawyer (17 car. 49 yds.), and Bryson Brown (4 car. 20 yds.) rounded out Warsaw’s offensive output. They did not complete any passes among seven attempts.