MIDDLEBURY – Warsaw Community High School junior Tristan McClone picked a nice time to have a historic game. Tied 21-21 with the Northridge Raiders (1-4, 0-3 Northern Lakes Conference), McClone ran for a 77-yard touchdown on the Warsaw Tigers’ (4-1, 3-0 NLC) first offensive play of the second half. The score was his fourth of the game, and his fifth later in the third quarter gave Warsaw a 35-21 lead, which was one it would hold until time expired Friday in Middlebury. McClone’s five touchdowns tied a mark 2002 graduate Brad Seiss set twice, but his 322 rushing yards broke Seiss’s previous mark of 310 set on Sept. 29, 2000. “It’s nice to break (the record), but it’s much better that we came out and won this game,” McClone said about snapping the single-game rushing record. “If we hadn’t won this game, it would have been meaningless. I can’t thank my line enough, and my tight end, my fullback, my quarterback and my receivers for blocking for me. They did incredible tonight. I was so proud of them and proud of how we responded after halftime.” Sitting with 180 yards and three touchdowns on 24 first-half carries, McClone’s effort had only resulted in a tie, as Northridge junior quarterback Tanner Love completed 10 of 13 passes for 156 yards with two touchdown passes to junior Jailyn Rolle in the first half, with the last coming with just 12 seconds remaining. Coming into the game at 3-1, while Northridge was 1-3, with that one win being a forfeit by South Bend Adams in Week 1, the Tigers played a little below expectations in the opening 24 minutes of the game. “This was a scrappy group at Northridge,” Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said. “They are very well-coached. They came in with a great football plan and executed it – darn near to perfection in the first half and caused us fits.” Following an adjustment to the Tigers’ defense, Love completed 4 of 10 passes in the second half for 37 yards and was sacked four times. “We went from our three-front to a four-front and matched up with their guards and tackles,” Jensen said. “They had trouble blocking us one-on-one.” With the defense limiting Northridge to 55 second-half yards, McClone did the rest, rushing for 142 yards in the third quarter, the final eight being the final touchdown of the game with seven seconds remaining in the quarter. Following that score, McClone was able to get comfortable, as his night was over. However, Jensen insists his move to the sideline wasn’t done after knowing the single-game rushing record had been broken. “I am not interested in records,” Jensen said. “I’m interested in records, it’s us getting another win and improving to 4-1.” The 4-1 start is Warsaw’s best since 2005, but Jensen is quick to warn his guys, and fans, about looking too far ahead. Following Friday’s games, Warsaw sits at 3-0 in the NLC, while Concord is the only other unbeaten, improving to 4-0 following its 48-7 win over Goshen. However, prior to their meeting in the regular season finale on Oct. 12 in Warsaw, Jensen wants his guys to focus on Goshen next Friday, then Wawasee (Sept. 28) and NorthWood (Oct. 5). “I told the parents, I told everybody, ‘I don’t want to hear anymore talk about the last game of the year. There’s only one game, and that’s next week. It’s Goshen.’” Even before worrying about Goshen, Warsaw fans were celebrating a historic night by McClone, which was highlighted by the 77-yard touchdown run that propelled his team to the win. “That was probably the biggest play I’ve ever had on the football field,” McClone, who has 1,018 yards in five games, said. “Considering it was tied at halftime. I just wanted to keep going. Honestly, I thought I was going to get tackled at about the 30 because the guy had the back of my foot, but luckily I kept going.”
WARSAW 35, NORTHRIDGE 21 W 7 14 14 0 – 35 N 7 14 0 0 – 21 W N First downs 18 13 Rushing yds 364 101 Passing yds 50 179 Comp-Att-Int 3-5-1 12-22-0 Total offense 414 280 Fumbles/lost 0/0 0/0 Penalties/yds 3/25 4/40 Punts/avg 4/35.8 5/34.2 First Quarter N – Tanner Love 28 pass to Jailyn Rolle (Trevor Ouimet kick) 6:29, 7-0 W – Tristan McClone 9 run (Caleb Klusman) 5:28, 7-7 Second Quarter W – McClone 7 run (Klusman kick) 9:31, 14-7 N – Travis Schlabach 1 run (Ouimet kick) 8:22, 14-14 W – McClone 2 run (Klusman kick) 3:08, 21-14 N – Love 25 pass to Rolle (Ouimet kick) 0:12, 21-21 Third Quarter W – McClone 77 run (Klusman kick) 8:41, 28-21 W – McClone 8 run (Klusman kick) 0:07, 35-21 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing – Warsaw, McClone 35-322, Tim Perkey 6-15, Austin Head 1-14, Dylan Campbell 5-13, Jason Taylor 1-2, Chris Wooldridge 1-(-2); Northridge, Cameron Ridenour 8-67, Love 11-25, Travis Schlabach 7-15, Logan Bontrager 1-0, Craig Kasten 1-0, Hunter Johnson 1-(-6). Passing – Warsaw, Head 3-5, 50 yds, INT; Northridge, Love 12-22, 179 yds, 2 TDs. Receiving – Warsaw, Taylor Cone 3-50; Northridge, Rolle 7-121, Kasten 2-26, Bontrager 1-18, Ridenour 1-10, Slabach 1-4.
