Personally, my year had its share of accidents, incidents, health scares, injuries, and surgeries to the point that if I even started to sound like I was saying, “at least we have our…” I was met with a boisterous “shut up” rejoinder cutting me off for fear of bringing more hard luck; schlimazel as it’s called in Yiddish.
I’m looking forward to a constructively boring (two words I pair often if you talk to me from time to time) 2025 calendar year.
The year 2024 in sports, on the other hand, had far more ups than it had downs for me personally, as well as for the Warsaw area readership.
The Warsaw Tiger football team’s run to the IHSAA Class 5A State Finals was the story of the year.
Two straight losses and facing a 3-3 record before the regular season’s final trimester, Warsaw ran off seven straight wins, the last three knocking off #1 Concord for a sectional title, hen returning to Fisher Field for two consecutive Friday nights to end #2 Lafayette Jefferson’s season (regional title), and #3 Merrillville’s fifth semi-state appearance.
Looking back, the Tigers’ opposition got tougher, and while I was a little skeptical, this was all about getting the job done on the field with one of the most monstrous set of dudes we’ve assembled in recent recollection.
In other words, these guys were physically prepared for the ensuing 7-1 run after a surprising but not shocking loss to Plymouth, but execution and situational play were holding them back from early season success.
There was a team two years ago I thought was built to make a run to state, but at least a dozen choices some folks made created a rocky season, and a brief postseason run.
When I look back, though, compared to these… dudes… who put on the uniform this year, my expectations of the 2022 squad were a bit aggressive.
Take a closer look:
This team was physically equipped for the playoff run.
Defensive backs like Ethan Egolf, and Daylor Vilamaa would be linebackers in other IHSAA Class 5A and 6A football programs. Tristan Wilson’s vertical leap offset any height disadvantage he had on the gridiron.
Wilson’s eye for defending the pass led to a record-setting 10 career interceptions.
The 2023 squad had the best pass defending collective I’ve seen since I’ve regularly watched Tiger football. Cohen Heady, however, wasn’t done yet, and a two-pick semi-state performance – one being a pick six – punctuated a strong showing in a different look from the Tiger linebacking corps that included Gavin Schultz, and Jayden Habegger.
The linebacking corps had a unicorn, too.
Cole Koontz, developed over the years as an offensive lineman and in this recent season, a linebacker, ran the 800 meters in track and field, but beefed up with the Wild Hogs and the Black Plague linebacking corps this season.
Koontz capped off the sectional opener with a punishing hit on a Goshen quarterback who thought he had a hole opening for him.
The D-line mixed youth and experience and got help from offensive linemen Ivan Ponce and Kam Kauffman to add fresh legs and some of the program’s strongest bodies to maintain a disruptive pass rush.
Mason Gabrich’s time as a three-year starter moved by so quickly, while Warsaw’s baby beast, Grady Nelson, looked ready to anchor the next front line of the Black Plague defense.
Hunter Dippon, thanks for comin’ back to football… ‘nuff said.
The Wild Hogs, the moniker for the unit within a unit comprising Warsaw’s offensive line showed the value of depth, and functional size.
When these seniors were freshmen, they already looked huge. I recall Coach Curtis, always cautious in his optimism saying, “Let’s hope that size is functional.”
Check!
When guys were hurt, seniors like Tyler Antunez Brito, who was comparable in size to the 2019 Sectional Champ Wild Hogs’ center, Brock Hueber, made sure “the beat (went) on.”
The aforementioned defensive situational weapons, Ponce and Kauffman had help from Nelson on heavy formations, while Ben Booren and Wyatt Dawson were also an integral part of that monstrous freshman class that made it to Indy in their final football campaign.
Carson Chizum and Jake Rhodes were “perimeter” Wild Hogs, whom you would see racing down the field on some of Swiss Army Knife junior Quinton Brock’s lightning quick outside runs. Evan Davis, and sophomore Tucker Reed, who could be the fastest fire plug in some cartoon form also benefitted from great blocking from the ends.
I’ve left a lot of folks off, and focused on the seniors because this group has probably had more linemen playing on both sides of the ball since Bart Curtis came aboard to steer the orange and black, along with the usual handful of backs who play both ways.
What was the turning point?
Turning in a near perfect game against Mishawaka? Scoring 35 unanswered points after very quickly falling behind NorthWood 21-0 in the Panthers’ house?
I can’t put a finger on the tipping point, but my eyes could see these guys were, as Isaiah Courtois (Warsaw class of ’22) said, “built different.”
This team’s work in the weight room was enough to make us fondly remember the physicality of the 2022 squad, but actually spend more time in awe of their sheer strength, athletic skill, and a continued improvement in resiliency that landed them where the deserved to be:
on Lucas Oil Stadium’s football field during Thanksgiving weekend.
I wish each of you a happy, heathly (definitely healthy), prosperous, and… schlimazel-free New Year in 2025.