Warsaw Wins NLC Title In Convincing Way

The 2000 Warsaw football team continued to etch its place in school history Friday night with a 41-13 win over Concord at Fisher Field. Not only did Kris Hueber shatter the single-season tackle record with 7:24 left in the second quarter, the Tigers also won the Northern Lakes Conference for the second year in a row.It is the first time in history that Warsaw has won back-to-back NLC titles. Last year the Tigers shared the NLC title with NorthWood, but a 29-28 overtime win over the Panthers last week put Warsaw's destiny in its own hands. And the Tigers fulfilled that destiny.The win over Concord left the Tigers the lone undefeated team in the NLC and gave them the outright title for the first time in 10 years. Although Concord was 2-6 overall heading into Friday night's game, the Minutemen came out like champions by starting the game with a bold on-side kickoff in an attempt to take the first possession away from Warsaw.

Tippecanoe Valley Blanks Oak Hill

INDIANAPOLIS - The Tippecanoe Valley defense must like the conditions of the RCA Dome. Three years ago, the Vikings toppled (then No.1) North Miami by two and won the Three Rivers Conference championship outright, snubbing three first-and-goals in the fourth quarter. This year, the defense scored almost as much as the offense, knocked the Oak Hill quarterback out of the game in the third quarter, and shut down the high-flying Eagle passing attack in a 35-0 win. The win was the second in a row for Tippecanoe Valley and third in four outings, and the first shutout victory since a 12-0 decision over Warsaw in the 1996 season opener.Tippecanoe Valley has allowed fewer points each game this season, from a high of 29 in the season opener to the goose egg this week.The Vikings have outscored their opponents 87-7 the past two games.

Finch Makes Second Straight Trip To State

Placing in the top 15 in last week's Manchester Semistate was not the hard part for Warsaw cross country runner Jennifer Finch. No, the hard part came after Finch placed 12th with a time of 14:38 to seal her state invitation. As she was celebrating, she jumped to hug a friend.As she jumped, she got a charley horse and strained her left calf muscle. "I had someone try to massage it out," she says, "but they said it was as hard as the ground." She lived with the strained calf for another three days until Wednesday, when she "bladed it." Hillary Barlow knows all about blading, and Finch immediately has her sympathy. "You bladed it?" Barlow asks incredulously. Turns out blading is nothing new to runners.Barlow, a Warsaw senior cross country member whose season is finished but is one of the few girls practicing with Finch, knows about blading. "It's this metal blade with blunt edges they use to break up scar tissue," Barlow says.

Warsaw Wins Volleyball Sectional Title

DUNLAP - For Elkhart Memorial's varsity volleyball team, it was the same result, only against a different opponent in a different year. After falling to Concord the past two years in the sectional championship, Memorial fell 8-15, 15-7, 15-8 to Warsaw Saturday in the championship match of the Concord Sectional. The loss ends Memorial's season at 27-8 and stops a 13-game win streak.Memorial last lost Sept.23, also to Warsaw.Warsaw, which won the sectional for the first time since 1997, advances to the Huntington North Regional with a 25-8 record. Warsaw moved on to Saturday's Concord Sectional championship by defeating Concord 15-11, 15-9 in the semifinal round; Memorial advanced by topping East Noble.

Wawasee Boys Soccer Team Ends History-Making Season

COLUMBIA CITY -ÊAfter winning their first postseason soccer game in the history of the program, the Wawasee Warriors knew they would have their work cut out for them no matter who they played.It so happened that they played a tough Fort Wayne Carroll team and fell 4-0 Saturday in Columbia City. "We played about as well as we could against a good Carroll team," said Wawasee coach Paul Boyd."A few mistakes on defense led to their (Carroll's) first three goals, but that's what a championship team does.They take advantage of mistakes." Carroll scored its first goal of the evening when Jon Corwin assisted Rick Smith with 23:30 left in the first half.Then with 11:48, Corwin sent in another goal unassisted to put the Chargers up 2-0. That would be the last score of the first half, and Carroll held a two-goal lead going into the final half of play.

High School Volleyball Previews

TV Wins, Whitko Falls In Sectional Action

PLYMOUTH - Big things come in small packages.They did for Tippecanoe Valley's varsity volleyball team in its 15-8, 15-1 Thursday win over the Culver Girls Academy in the first round of the Plymouth Sectional. With the Vikings leading 14-8 in the first match, 5-5 junior Jamie Doud, one of three players of that height on the team, served up the winning point.She had just one service point in the opening game, but as setter, she had her hands on the ball in very key situations. In the second game, one that Valley won 15-1, Doud served up six consecutive points, jumping the Viking's lead from 5-1 to 11-1.Kristi Rudd, a 5-3 junior, the shortest on the team, served up the final two points for the Vikings.

Wildcats Win Norse

WABASH - The Whitko Wildcats bounced back from last week's 47-26 loss to Oak Hill to beat Northfield 14-0 Friday evening. Whitko rushed the ball 48 times for 263 yards.Halfback Bryan Rose scored the first Wildcat touchdown on a 57-yard run with 37 seconds left in the first quarter. Northfield finished with 109 yards on 36 carries. Fullback Keith Starkweather scored Whitko's second touchdown on a four-yard carry in the third quarter with 23 seconds left. Rose ended the game with 106 yards on 13 carries, while quarterback Jimmy Linn had 74 yards on 14 carries. Northfield is 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the TRC. Whitko, 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the TRC, hosts North Miami on Friday.

Whitko Claims Share Of TRC Title

MENTONE - The Three Rivers Conference has been very tight this year, so tight in fact that both Valley and Whitko volleyball teams had a shot of gaining at least a share of the title on Wednesday despite having two losses each in the conference. For Valley, it is quite a step up from previous seasons when the Vikings never even thought about having a shot at winning the conference.But this has been a record-breaking season for Valley in terms of wins. However, Whitko stepped it up on the road for a 15-7, 15-5 victory that secured a tie for the conference championship.It was the Wildcats' final conference game of the season, while Valley has one left to play with a tough Southwood squad.

Spikers Set For Sectionals

Triton went 24-6. Tippecanoe Valley won its first Three Rivers Conference match since 1989. Warsaw went 19-14 under first-year coach Jamie Byron. These were a few of the 1996 volleyball highlights turned in by area teams.To see who has a chance to make noise in the sectionals this week, read on. TRITON TROJANS 24-6 The 24 wins by Triton's volleyball team were the most in school history.The previous best was 19. "The kids made a big commitment this summer," Triton coach Gayle Perry said.Perry was also Triton's coach when the Trojans won 19."They came to open gym.Our season basically started after our sectional loss to Plymouth.Our kids are very knowledgeable, and they seem to get better every match." Triton meets Argos (14-9) in the first round, a team that the Trojans recorded one of their 24 wins against.Argos also handed them one of their six losses.

Warsaw Takes Care Of East Noble

GOSHEN -ÊEven if Warsaw's volleyball team loses its next match, the Tigers won one more postseason match in 1999 than they did in 1998. In 1998, Warsaw's season ended with a first-round sectional loss to Elkhart Central. In 1999, Warsaw brushed off East Noble 15-8, 15-2 in Thursday's Goshen 4A Sectional first-round match.Never mind that East Noble ended the season 4-23; the Tigers (17-16) weren't about to apologize for the draw. "We played well tonight," Warsaw coach Itanya Coon said."We won the game.This was a good morale booster for the girls." Said East Noble coach John Arnold: "Some of our kids, you could tell they thought they couldn't beat that team." The Tigers started out with several tips in the first game; by the time the second game had ended, they blitzed East Noble with power kills from their outside hitters, namely Kristen DeGeeter and Kyla Stanley on the left side.

Warriors Win First X Country Sectional Title

DUNLAP - The team that arguably stood out the most in Saturday's Elkhart Central Boys Cross Country Sectional was Wawasee, because of the bright, gaudy yellow T-shirts they wore. Think back to the Pittsburgh Pirate banana uniforms of the late 1970s and you'll get the picture. But style of dress was only one of two reasons Wawasee stood out. Wawasee also stood out in the race.The Warriors, who went 15-1 in the regular season, finished as the 1998 sectional champions by edging Goshen 82-83 in the 11-team race at Ox Bow Park. The cross country sectional title is the first in Wawasee school history. "Maybe I'm always a pessimist, but you always think, Did we peak out last week?" Wawasee coach Dave Stookey said."You think that, but you hope that isn't the case.

Valley Beats Rival Rochester

AKRON - Tippecanoe Valley hosted Rochester Friday night at Death Valley, beating the Zebras 14-7 in the 20th annual game for the coveted Bell Trophy. Valley has won five games in a row and is in first place in the Three Rivers Conference standings at 5-0.The seven-point win improved the Vikings to 5-2 overall under first-year head coach Jeff Shriver. Despite the slippery conditions of the field and great defensive play, both teams played a turnover free game.The field conditions worsened in the third quarter as a slight rain began to fall. Chad Hoffer led the Vikings to their only touchdown of the first half on a 37-yard run that included two broken tackles.The Vikings led 7-0 at halftime. Valley knocked on the door again late in the second quarter.With just five seconds left, Hoffer kept the ball and ran up the middle but was stopped about a foot short of the goal line.

Familiar Foes Concord, Wawasee Clash

SYRACUSE -ÊWawasee coach Joe Rietveld may know Concord well as any opponent, and Concord coach Tim Dawson may know Wawasee as well as any opponent. Friday's sectional football game will mark the fourth time in 18 games the two teams have met since Sept.1999. Concord is 3-0 during that stretch, beating Wawasee 49-21, 43-13 and 27-14.The 49-21 win came at Wawasee during the 1999 regular season, while the 43-13 win came at Concord during the first round of the 1999 sectional.Concord hosted and beat Wawasee 27-14 this year during the regular season. "We know what they will do, and they know what we will do," Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld said."It's a matter of going out there and executing better.We probably prefer to face someone we have not faced because our offense can present teams problems." Wawasee's last win over Concord came in 1997, when the Warriors won 26-10 under former coach Gene Mitz. The two teams are similar in 2000.

Johnson Runs For 292 Yards

SYRACUSE - It was the run-and-shoot against the run-and-run.It was the East Noble Knights, behind the arm of senior quarterback Ryan Ogle, against the Wawasee Warriors, carried on the back of senior running back Shawn Johnson. Friday night, the Warrior running attack ripped through the heart of the East Noble defense on their way to a 35-13 victory in the first round of the Class 4A, Sectional 11 playoffs. Wawasee nailed down its fourth win of the season by relying on the one thing East Noble likes to rely on - the big play.Johnson had three carries of over 60 yards, all resulting in touchdowns, that sent the Warriors headed to Goshen for a rematch of their 49-14 loss in the last game of the regular season.

Mustangs Seeking Berth In Title Game

In their inaugural season of play in the Interstate Football League, homefield advantage has been just that for the Kosciusko County Mustangs. And if it is again Saturday afternoon, the Mustangs will have reached their season-long goal - a trip to Indianapolis to play for the IFL championship. The Mustangs, who sliced through the regular season with a league-best 6-2 record, host the Darke County Warriors Saturday at 3 p.m.at Lakeview Middle School's Fisher Field. The Mustangs were off last week after earning a playoff bye and homefield advantage for this week's game with their regular season record.The Warriors (7-2) advanced to Saturday's semifinal playoff game with an 18-0 win over the LaGrange County Longhorns (1-8). Saturday's winner advances to the IFL championship game Oct.24 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis and will play either the Mercer County Cougars (6-3) or the Hendricks County Generals.

Manchester Avenges Loss To Madison-Grant

NORTH MANCHESTER - Early on it looked as if the 1-8 Madison-Grant Argylls would give the Manchester Squires, 8-1 and No.7 in 2A, a challenge. The two teams do have a bit of history between them.Last year, the Argylls came into Carl Burt Memorial field at N.Manchester and beat the Squires 20-7 in the first-round sectional game. That was last year.This year, led by the feet of state rushing leader David Barrett, the Squires thumped Madison-Grant 34-0. After Madison-Grant went three and out on their first series, Manchester took over looking to strike quickly. Instead Barrett coughed up the ball after a tough six yard run giving the Argylls the ball on Manchester's 30-yard line. As they would do all night, the Squires defense stood firm and blocked Stefan Ross' 36- yard field goal attempt.

Tigers Win Sectional In Shootout

ARGOS - Culver Military, the perpetual bridesmaid in the boys soccer sectional at Argos, almost became the bride Saturday night against Warsaw.CMA has appeared in seven of the last eight sectional finals at Argos and one just once. The Eagles were trashed earlier in the season by the Tigers, 5-0, and looked to spoil the sectional three-peat bid for Warsaw before falling in penalty kicks 3-2. Cold weather and swirling winds helped to play equalizer.The south end of Eugene Snyder Field at Argos High School saw three of the four goals in regulation scored. The first of the evening came off the foot of CMA's Eduardo Sanchez on an assist by Luis Phillip Tosi on the south end to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute of the match. The goal put Warsaw in an unfamiliar position.While the Tigers have trailed, a 17-0-1 record doesn't indicate continually playing from behind. Instead of panicking, the Tigers regained their composure.

Hawks Drop Class, Drop Manchester

NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊHarding went into the Class 2A football sectional in North Manchester with a 3-6 record, but many of those losses came to bigger schools in Fort Wayne. That experience against bigger schools and Manchester's inability to capitalize on the kicking game led to Harding's 7-6 win Friday night. Harding's 1998 season ended with a Class 3A regional loss at NorthWood.The Hawks dropped a class in 1999. Harding monopolized the clock in the first quarter as the Hawks' first drive ate nearly eight minutes off the clock.The Hawks moved down to Manchester's 15-yard line, but they were unable to gain a first down, and Manchester took over. However, the Squires were unable to capitalize on the opportunity and gave the ball over on downs at the Harding 30-yard line.

Tigers Seek First Win Against Penn

This is the challenge that Warsaw's football team faces this evening: Penn, an 8-1 team. Penn, a team ranked No.4 in Class 5A, whose lone loss came to No.1 (5A) Ben Davis 14-7. Penn, a team that has won Class 5A state championships three of the last four years (last year the Kingsmen lost at semistate). Penn, a team that is 268-43 (.862) during head coach Chris Geesman's 27-year tenure. Penn, a school Warsaw is 0-7 against, dating back to 1967. Penn, which has played Warsaw three times in the sectional and won 47-0 (1985), 36-0 (1991) and 42-0 (1994). Asked what Penn's biggest strength is as a football team, Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said, "That it's Penn." But this is the challenge Penn faces: 8-1 Warsaw. Warsaw, a team that claimed a share of the 1999 Northern Lakes Conference title, the first time the Tigers had at least a share of the title since 1992.