The final game of the high school football season in Indiana promised one thing on Saturday night: Either the Warsaw Tigers or the Decatur Central Hawks were going to leave Lucas Oil Stadium with the first state title in school history. Decatur Central started the game with the ball, took the lead, and never looked back, going wire-to-wire for a 38-24 win in the 5A State Championship Game.
When the final horn sounded, the players accepted their runner-up medals with tears in their eyes, but the sea of orange that traveled to Indianapolis with them never stopped cheering. While Warsaw didn’t finish the job with the storybook ending they had hoped for, their impact on the community and future generations of Tiger football players will be felt for years to come.

    Warsaw students celebrate after a third quarter touchdown...Nieter

“It’s been a magical month of November for this team and this community. It started back on November 1st against Goshen and ended here tonight,” head coach Bart Curtis said after the game. “The thing I’m most sad about right now is not that we got beat, it’s not that they aren’t champions, because they are, it’s that I won’t be able to coach them on Monday.”
Three costly fumbles and an interception proved fatal in what would be a heartbreaking ending to the most miraculous run in Tiger football history.
“It’s sad that we didn’t come out and play our best game but a lot of that was Decatur,” Curtis said. “They played some physical defense on us and messed with our reads a little bit but we didn’t take care of the football.”
Despite ending the season as the state runner up, the Tigers made history multiple times this season, winning the second sectional title in program history as well as the first regional and Semi-State championships.
“It was magical to watch them play and practice. To learn to trust and depend on each other. I haven’t seen anything like this in awhile. They’ll have a bond that’ll last forever,” Curtis said.

    Senior Quinton Brock breaks through the line for a long gain during the third quarter...Nieter

The Hawks won the game’s opening coin toss and elected to receive, which ended up being a good choice for the visitors on the scoreboard. Decatur Central used its speed and physicality to move down the field with ease on the first possession of the game. After getting the ball onto the Warsaw side of the field, the Hawks struck first with the game’s opening touchdown as quarterback Bo Polston connected with his top receiver Kasmier Hicks on a pass at the line of scrimmage. Hicks did the rest from there, beating three different defenders on his way to a 38-yard house call a little under four minutes into the game.
The lead didn’t last for long. Employing its signature option offense, the Warsaw offense took the field and little by little, made its way towards the end zone. The big play of the drive came on a pitch play to Quinton Brock, who found the sideline and picked up a solid 30 yards to get into Decatur Central territory. From there, the Tigers methodically crept closer and closer to the blue end zone, with the home team on the scoreboard finally scoring on a 1-yard carry by quarterback Drew Sullivan with 3:45 to go in the first. One Mason Smythe PAT later, and things were tied.
Sullivan was named the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner for Class 5A for the 2024 season.

    Warsaw quarterback Drew Sullivan stands with his parents after winning the 2024 Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award.

A nice kickoff return by the Hawks set their offense up at their own 40 to start the next drive. It nearly ended prematurely as a pass by Polston went right into the hands of Cohen Heady. The ball was an absolute rocket, and after being bobbled by the linebacker, hit the turf. Warsaw ended up coming away with a turnover later in the drive though, as a pass into the end zone was intercepted by Brock for the first giveaway of the night.
It didn’t take long for the second one to occur though, as on just the second play of the following Warsaw drive, the ball ended up on the turf after a handoff, where it was recovered by Decatur Central to give them the ball right back. The visitors did well after shifting momentum back in their favor, moving the ball into Tiger territory as the first quarter came to an end in a tied ball game.
As the second period got going, the Hawks continued to impose their will offensively. Hicks was proving to be a problem to bring down, breaking a series of tackles during the drive to get 10-15 extra yards that kept the chains moving. Decatur Central was able to get it to the red zone and finish things off, as running back Fa’Rel Carter punched it in from four yards out. The point after was missed though, keeping the Hawk lead at six at 13-7 a minute and a half into the second.

    Sophomore Tucker Reed shows his quickness during a first quarter run...Nieter

“Their coaches and their players are worthy champions and I congratulate them,” Curtis said. “They got up a couple scores and we were able to pull within one at the beginning of the half. But they made the plays and we didn’t.”
The offensive woes continued for Warsaw when they got the ball back, as on the first play from scrimmage, the ball was put on the ground once again, and once again, it was recovered by the Hawks. This put the visitors just two yards outside of the red zone as they threatened to score again.
It looked as if this time, the Tiger defense was able to come up with a big stop that held the Hawks to a field goal. But, a roughing the kicker personal foul was called on the attempt, leading to an automatic first down. One play later, Decatur Central took advantage of the penalty, as Hicks found the edge for his second touchdown of the night. After a converted two-point conversion, the Hawks had turned two Tiger turnovers into two touchdowns and now led 21-7.

    No words are needed as assistant coach Mike Curtis and his dad, head coach Bart Curtis, meet at the end of the game...Nieter

Things continued to be a struggle for the Warsaw offense, as they were forced to punt after a 3-and-out to give the ball right back to a Decatur Central offense that was now rolling. While the Tiger defense was unable to hold the Hawks scoreless here, they were able to hold them to just a field goal, which made it a 24-7 game with three minutes to go in the first half.
Needing something and needing it badly, the Tigers were finally able to move the ball once again on their final drive of the half. Tucker Reed was a catalyst on the possession, running for a first down and also picking one up on a nifty hook-and-ladder play. However, with time running out in the half, Warsaw was forced to settle for three points. Attempting it from 47 yards away, Smythe was perfect, and the kick would have been good from 50+. The final points of the first half belonged to the Tigers, who would get the ball back to begin the second half with a chance to make it a one-possession game.
Just moments into the second half, Warsaw got that crucial score. Brody Duncan, who had been fairly quiet up to this point, took a carry up the middle and parted the Hawk defenders like the Red Sea. After getting past the defensive line, he was gone, taking it all the way to the house for a massive 61-yard touchdown. Just 55 seconds into the third quarter, the Tigers were in business, now trailing by just seven at 24-17.

    Junior Brody Duncan the Decatur Central defense and an official en route to scoring a third quarter touchdown...Nieter

Now Warsaw needed a stop to really make things interesting, but they wouldn’t get one on the first Hawk drive of the second half. A nice return by Hicks had the possession beginning on the Tiger side of the field at the 40, and it didn’t take long for the visitors to go the rest of the way. Using the physical play that had become a staple of this game, Decatur Central made it all the way down to the four before Carter finished things off with his second TD of the night. With a little less than eight minutes to go in the third, Warsaw once again trailed by 14.
Now needing a score to keep things close once more, the Tigers got back to work on offense. Picking up a crucial fourth down near midfield, and shaking off an unfathomable miss on a late hit out of bounds against Brock by the referees, Warsaw made its way down to the red zone before a big tackle for loss put the team in a 3rd and 12. Forced to pass, Sullivan dropped back, but was hit as he let go of the ball, resulting in a big interception for the Hawks to keep things a two-score game and possess the ball with just 12 minutes left.

    Senior Evan Davis manages to pull in the reception while staying inbounds during the third quarter...Nieter

The Hawks were able to get the ball deep into Warsaw territory as the fourth quarter got rolling, but two big tackles for losses stopped the drive in its tracks. Still, a field goal for Decatur Central would essentially put things away and make it a three-score game. That didn’t happen though, as Tristan Wilson, the Tigers’ all-time leader in interceptions, came up with a crucial field goal block to give his team life.
That joy was short lived though, as just a few plays later, Warsaw fumbled the ball for the third time in the game, and it was recovered by the Hawks for the third Tiger turnover. Now with just eight minutes to go, the home side still needed two scores and to get the ball back yet again.
The defense did its job, forcing the Hawks to punt for the first time in the game to give their offense another chance with about seven minutes left. The offense started off strong, and a pass from Sullivan to Ethan Egolf put the ball in Decatur territory and brought the sea of orange to its feet. But once again, the visiting defense stood tall, forcing a turnover on downs with four and a half minutes to go to have the Tigers come away with nothing yet again.

    Senior Ethan Egolf shows no concern for a hard landing after making a catch during the fourth quarter...Nieter

The Hawks put the icing on the cake on their following drive, with Carter breaking a few tackles and finding the edge on his way to a game-sealing 74-yard touchdown. With just three and a half minutes to go, Warsaw now trailed 38-17.
With a minute and a half to go in the game, the Tigers found the end zone once more. A 54-yard carry by Reed put Warsaw into the end zone, and two plays later, Sullivan connected with Egolf in the back left corner of the end zone for the third Tiger touchdown of the night to make it 38-24.
Warsaw attempted an onside kick and got it after the score, but it was too little too late, as time was low and eventually ran out as the Tigers worked towards making it a one-score game.

    Assistant coach Kris Hueber consoles senior Tristan Wilson after the game...Nieter

The Tigers will return next season with almost an entirely new group of players, as the team graduates 24 seniors.
“Those kids are champions, they’re winners and they’re battlers. We’re very proud of them,” Curtis said. “Those kids have made the maximum commitment with how they take care of the community and how they work on and off the field. A great example for years to come.”