Warriors Win Sectional Championship

SYRACUSE - As time goes by and fact becomes folklore, one thing will remain true; Wawasee's 28-7 win over Plymouth gave the school its first sectional football title since 1985. The two-headed monster of quarterback Kory Lantz and tailback Jordan Swain were effective if not superb. Lantz scored three touchdowns, including the Warriors' first with 1:37 left in the first quarter on a run from five yards out to put his team up 7-0 after a Ben Champoux kick. The scoring run was set up by a nine-yard pass from Lantz to tight end Ryan Kauchak on a rollout.Kauchak tiptoed the sidelines and stayed in bounds NFL style to extend the eventual scoring drive. Wawasee is usually known for it's quick strike offense but was unable to get into a groove, partially due to Plymouth's deliberate ground attack.

When Dreams Become Reality

FORT WAYNE - For many high school athletes, sports are a thing of the past once they graduate.To play college ball, the athlete must be in tune with their game, be a step above the rest and succeed at the sport they play. For two local women, the dream of playing volleyball at the next level has come true.The dream to take their skills and apply them in a match, the dream to have fun, the dream to play and the dream to win. As members of IPFW's women's volleyball team, Rachel Brown and Sarah Calhoun have earned the honor to play on one of Fort Wayne's elite college sports programs.With intensity, heart and a love of the game, these two athletes have proven that they belong on the Vollydon's volleyball team. As a 1996 Whitko High School graduate, Brown was a multi-sport player talented in basketball and volleyball.Although the Whitko Wildcats struggled throughout her years, Brown was a consistent Three Rivers Conference All-Conference player.

Warsaw Exacts Revenge On NLC Foe Plymouth

If last week's 27-0 win over Tippecanoe Valley was a small step for the Warsaw football program, then Friday's 31-14 victory over Plymouth was a giant leap. The Tigers held off the Rockies and pulled away at the end to exact revenge on Plymouth for a 50-0 shellacking last year. "We didn't play it up a lot, but it was mentioned," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of last year's game."It was on the board in the coaches' office - 'remember 50-0'.That has got to be a factor.But I don't believe in revenge.I believe in strapping it up and getting after it.That is one of the negatives from the past that has been holding us back, and it is time to break free from that." With the victory, the Tigers raised their record to 2-1 on the season, matching their win total of last year.It marks the first time that a Warsaw football team has been above .500 since the first game of the 1995 season and the first time they have been 2-1 since 1994.

Tigers Ease Past Elkhart Central

GOSHEN - You can take the single out of the single-class tournament, but when it comes to volleyball sectionals, you can't separate Warsaw from being champions. The Tigers marched into the first Goshen 4A Volleyball Sectional Saturday and came out with their seventh straight sectional championship, the first in the new multi-class format implemented this year by the IHSAA, with a 15-10, 15-13 win over Elkhart Central. Warsaw had won its previous six sectional titles at Columbia City. Not only is this the first for Warsaw under the new format, but it might be the unlikeliest title the Tigers have had among the previous six.The Tigers (19-14) struggled this year with their youth and came into the championship as the underdogs against the Blue Blazers (23-12). But the Tigers, who lost five starters off last year's semistate team, were pumped for this upset from the start and rode a stingy defensive effort against a high-powered Blazer offense to the win.

Linn, Rakoczy Steer Whitko Through Playoffs

SOUTH WHITLEY - The thought almost seems comical to Bryan Sprunger, this notion of a could-be freshman running his offense on the field. But that is what has happened this year, and the Whitko football coach wouldn't change anything. "Jimmy's young," Sprunger says of his starting quarterback, Jimmy Linn."He's a junior who just turned 16.He just got his driver's license in September.If I remember it right, we figured it up that he could actually be a freshman and still play four years.He could be in college at 17." Sprunger shakes his head in awe. "He's a talented football player," Sprunger says."He's been a pleasant surprise.He's very strong, very quick.You can tell that when he runs.It takes a lot of guys to get him down." Not only is he young, he didn't play quarterback when he started high school.He was a tailback his freshman year.He made the switch to quarterback his sophomore year.

Defense Is What Makes Tiger Kickers Go

Defense is often believed to be the key for any team to be successful. For the Warsaw Tigers, there's no difference.David Gehrke, Aaron Sawyer, Brad Waggoner, Matt Burgher, Jason Johnston, Jacob Silveus and Brett Dickerson are the defensive catalysts for the South Bend Adams Semistate-bound boys soccer team.When an opponent rarely gets a shot, as Angola did in the regional, these are the players most often responsible.They act as a buffer zone to keep an opposing forward from getting to goalie Matt Brown. Warsaw head coach Corey Rose described his defensive style of play that has allowed just a single goal in three tournament games.

Big-Play Panthers Slash Wildcats

NAPPANEE - When the Whitko Wildcats and the NorthWood Panthers stepped on Andrews Field for the sectional final game Friday night, both teams had something to prove. Whitko had never beaten NorthWood.But the Panthers had no intentions of letting the Wildcats win the sectional championship on their turf. In the end, NorthWood (9-3) came out on top, beating Whitko (6-5) 49-14. The Panthers started the game with Corey Brown returning the initial kickoff 23 yards to give NorthWood good field position to begin the first drive of the night. With 8:24 left in the first quarter, Charlie Roeder conected with Ian Reed for 10 yards for the first Panther touchdown. Whitko was unable to capitalize on its first drive, and NorthWood regained control of the ball with just under five minutes left in the quarter. On the first play of the drive, Roeder broke off a 53-yard run to score the next Panther touchdown and put NorthWood up 14-0.

Manchester Upends Valley, Creates Tie For First In Three Rivers Conference

NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊEither way a Patrick would leave a winner. On one side of the court sat Bill and Chad Patrick, both coaches at Tippecanoe Valley. On the other side of the court sat Keaton Patrick, a junior guard at Manchester. In the end, Keaton got the glory, hitting a huge three-pointer followed by two free throws to help the Squires top his grandfather's team, 51-48. "It hurts to lose, but I'm happy for Keaton," said Bill Patrick."He played well and hit a couple big threes from downtown." But Keaton Patrick was not the only player to step up for Manchester.The Squires saw three players score in double figures as Barry Hicks netted 14, and Jon Cable added 12 to go along with Patrick's 10 points. However, the outcome of the game was up in the air until the final seconds of play. Valley took an early lead as Trey Eaton hit the first basket of the night at the 7:29 mark in the first frame.

On The Court

Sluggish Tigers Fall To NorthWood

In its second to last game of the regular season, Warsaw may have taken a few steps back heading into sectional play The Tigers looked out of sorts on both offense and defense as they fell to NorthWood in Northern Lakes Conference play Saturday night 43-35 in the Tiger Den Saturday night Warsaw came into the game banged up as guard and leading scorer Julie Seiss is still nursing a sore shoulder. Forward Tasia Smith returned to the Warsaw lineup after sustaining a broken nose and wore a protective mask. Sophomore Kate Denlinger started in place of Smith. Reserve Kacie Conley also played despite a collision during Thursday's game at South Bend Adams. But perhaps the most servere blow Warsaw sustained was a performance against NorthWood that saw the Tigers commit 21 turnovers. Warsaw gave up 17 points off turnovers compared to just eight given up by the Panthers, a fact not lost on Tiger head coach John Snyder.

Tigers Have Mishap In Marion

MARION -ÊThe matchup was supposed to be one of the best in the state: No.9 (4A) Warsaw at No.8 (4A) Marion in a battle of perennial powerhouses. Warsaw started strong, but faded in the second, however, falling by what is believed to be its biggest loss of the decade 73-41. Marion's Matt Backs started the game with a dunk as the Giants took a quick 4-1 lead, but Warsaw stepped up to the challenge as Ross Kesler nailed two baskets in 30 seconds to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead early in the first frame. The Tigers then went on to build a 13-6 lead with two mintues left in the quarter, but Marion scored eight points in a row to take a 14-13 lead with eight seconds on the clock. A Steve Siebenmorgen rebound basket at the buzzer gave Warsaw a 15-14 lead as the second quarter started. "We came out strong in the first quarter, but we got into some early foul trouble," said Warsaw coach Al Rhodes.

Squires Capture Sectional In Overtime Thriller

NORTH MANCHESTER - Last year Manchester coach Mark Underwood and his Squire team went 4-17, which ended with a first round sectional loss to North Miami 35-20.What a difference a year makes.Manchester has gone from cellar dwellers to sectional champs and did so in exciting fashion with a 57-49 overtime win over Wabash on Saturday night.Valentines Day left the Apaches broken hearted as they fell to Manchester for the third time this season.

Tigers Fall Out After First Sectional Game

GOSHEN - Who would have known that a small, furry animal would determine how far Warsaw's girls basketball team would last into the postseason? "Before you ask your questions, I'll say the bottom line was all our missed bunnies," Warsaw coach Will Wienhorst said. In football, a 22-yard field goal is a chip shot.In baseball, a routine fly ball out is a can of corn. The bunnies Wienhorst refers to in basketball are shots close to the basket.They would not fall often enough early enough, leading Elkhart Memorial (12-9) to send Warsaw (14-7) home with a 73-62 loss on the first night of the sectional. Guard Chakiea Jackson led Memorial with 22 points, while forward Latasha Wolfe added 18 and 10 rebounds.Center Liz Lewis scored 16. Center Katie Elliott paced Warsaw with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while forward Jenna Rooney added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

DeGeeter Leads Warsaw To Win Over Carroll

Obviously, Warsaw girls basketball coach Will Wienhorst was pleased that his team improved to 13-1 with a 61-58 win over Carroll Wednesday night in the Tiger Den. Strangely enough, he would have been okay with a loss, too. "This was a great game for us, win or lose," said Wienhorst."This is the first time we have seen a box-and-one, and that is very good for us.We wanted to see that type of defense, and we got some really good experience with it tonight." After fallig behind early, the Tigers clawed their way back from a 12-point deficit early in he third quarter to earn the three-point victory in the highly anticipated game against the Chargers.

Vikings Fall Flat In Sectional Loss To Whitko

PLYMOUTH -ÊAccording to the whispers in the crowd and through the pressbox Tuesday night in Plymouth, Whitko (9-14) and Tippecanoe Valley (10-16) were the two most evenly matched teams in the sectional. Earlier in the season, the teams split a doubleheader.The Vikings' only Three Rivers Conference win came to the Wildcats.However, as evenly matched as the teams were on paper, that did not carry over to the field. Whitko wanted to avenge that conference loss.And avenge it they did.Whitko defeated Valley 9-0 to advance to the second round of the Plymouth Sectional Saturday at 11 a.m. Whitko took control of the game after a strong first inning.

Warriors Send Tigers To 0-3 In NLC

Wawasee boys tennis coach Phil Mishler refers to what he is doing with the Warriors as "building a program." Wawasee took another step in establishing itself Tuesday night with a 4-1 win at Northern Lakes Conference rival Warsaw - a team Wawasee hasn't beaten since the 1993 sectionals. "We are a very young team, we're building," Mishler said."When you win a rivalry, it's a break through, it builds confidence." The win improves Wawasee to 7-3 overall and 2-2 in NLC action.A year ago the young Warriors were 4-12.Wawasee's two NLC losses this year have come to Concord and Northridge, both by a 3-2 count. "We have the same guys we had last year," Mishler said."For the most part we played freshmen and sophomores.When you go 4-12 you don't have the advantage of knowing how to close out big matches." Last night the Warriors proved they could close out big matches.

Tigers Win Tennis Regional

DUNLAP - When his Warsaw Community High School boys tennis team is playing with confidence, coach Rick Orban said the Tigers are a tough team to beat.

State Puts County Under West Nile Virus Advisory

State health officials have issued a West Nile virus advisory for Kosciusko County because they are awaiting test results of several horses in St.Joseph County that are considered to be probable cases of West Nile virus. Although no horses in Indiana have been confirmed positive for West Nile virus so far this year, health officials believe it is likely that one of these horses will be confirmed as having the disease, according to a press release from the Indiana State Department of Health. Margaret Joseph, public relations director for the Department of Health, said this morning, "We're advising people they need to be extra cautious and take the steps we've listed."She said they are also advising physicians to be aware of the symptoms related to the virus. Hoosiers are urged to protect themselves from mosquito bites by: • Using an insect repellent that contains DEET.

Gangs A Form Of Acceptance For Many

Authorities want to keep tabs on them, education officials take steps to control them, and the citizenry would like them better if they were out of sight and out of mind. But if you talk to the troubled teens themselves, they'll tell you all they want is something to do - and to be left alone to do it. "I think the reason why most kids get in trouble is all you hear out of the kids' mouth is 'Warsaw sucks,' " said Brant, 17, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. "They keep kicking the kids out of the park.You can't rollerblade here, you can't skateboard there.In Warsaw, there are a lot of teen-agers and there's nothing to do.A lot of kids just like to get together and talk.And the grown-ups drive by and say 'Look at all those hoodlums.' We need something to do, a hangout place, instead of going out and getting in trouble and doing drugs and stuff." Brant has been in trouble with the law since he was 14, according to his father, John, of Warsaw.

Wawasee Girls In Control Of NLC

SYRACUSE - If the Wawasee Lady Warriors wanted a shot at a conference title, they needed to beat the Elkhart Memorial Lady Crimson Chargers Saturday.