ELKHART – There was plenty of scoring in Friday’s Northern Lakes Conference football clash between Warsaw and Elkhart Memorial. In the end, the host Crimson Chargers lit up the scoreboard more, as they rallied from a 31-14 deficit to beat the Tigers 42-33 in a game that saw the teams combine for 50 first downs and 1,060 yards of total offense. “They made the big plays when they needed to, and we didn’t,” said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen, whose team fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the NLC with its third-straight loss. A 7-yard touchdown pass from junior Michael Jensen to senior Riley Rhoades gave the Tigers a 31-14 lead with 2:11 remaining in the first half. Despite a record-setting performance by the younger Jensen, an effort that included completing 35 of 70 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns, Warsaw’s only points in the second half came on a safety with 2:29 left in the fourth quarter. The Tigers, as they’ve done in all four of their games this season, moved the ball up and down the field, but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers (two interceptions) and penalties (12-110). “Again, that goes back to consistency,” said the elder Jensen, whose team ran 107 plays and racked up 542 yards of total offense – 430 through the air and 112 on the ground. “We made some good plays, scored a lot of points, but not enough points. We didn’t score in the second half, other than a safety. We’ve got to get more consistent, and we’re not doing that. “Again, key penalties kill you ... you’re 3rd-and-2, and then offsides and you’re 3rd-and-7, or holding and you’re 3rd-and-12. Those kind of things kill you.” Prior to Friday night, Elkhart Memorial hadn’t scored against Warsaw since falling 28-13 to the Tigers in 2011. The Tigers had won the last three meetings against the Crimson Chargers by scores of 28-0, 28-0 and 24-0. Despite losing 18 of their past 20 games, including losses this season to rivals Elkhart Central and Goshen after leading in the fourth quarter, Memorial found a way to beat Warsaw. And when the final buzzer sounded, the Crimson Chargers celebrated, as they improved to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the NLC. “They’re getting better,” Jensen said of the Crimson Chargers. “Coach (Scot) Shaw is a great coach. He won a lot of games up in Michigan, and he had a great year last year at (Fort Wayne) Wayne. You can see that they’re improving every week and they’ve got some really good athletes. “That quarterback is a heck of a kid, and we didn’t have an answer for him tonight.” Senior Zach Hawkins, Memorial’s quarterback, completed 20 of 35 pass attempts for 270 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also carried the ball 25 times for 109 yards and two scores. The majority of his passing yards went to classmate Davon Long, who caught nine passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. Junior David Tillman made eight catches for 60 yards and a score, while senior Brice Rickey caught a 5-yard scoring strike. Junior Austin Scott carried the ball nine times for Memorial for 72 yards. In all, the Crimson Chargers ran 73 offensive plays and racked up 518 total yards. After trailing 31-14, they scored 28 unanswered points. It was the second week in a row the Tigers struggled in the second half, as they gave up 29 unanswered points to Class 4A No. 2 Plymouth last week. In that game, Warsaw led 14-6 at halftime before falling 35-21. “We gotta go back to work,” said Jensen. “Hopefully we can get some guys healthy. We also gotta have some gut-check time and make sure our hearts and minds are right.” Completing 35 of 70 passes, Michael Jensen broke his own school records for attempts and completions in a game. He also broke Paul Wiley’s single-game school record of 324 yards, which was set in 1987. Rhoades finished the game with 17 catches for 155 yards. His number of catches broke his own previous school record of 10 catches in a game, which he set against Northridge last season. Warsaw senior Thomas Hickerson caught five passes Friday for 106 yards, while classmate Sterling Hay added six catches for 88 yards. Junior Rob Sullivan led the Tigers’ ground game with 24 carries for 100 yards and a score. Sophomore Will McGarvey added 23 yards on three carries, including a 14-yard scoring scamper. The Tigers are in action again Friday when they host Class 4A No. 5 Northridge for Homecoming.
ELKHART MEMORIAL 42, WARSAW 33 War 17 14 0 2 — 33 EM 7 14 14 7 — 42
War EM 1st downs 29 21 Rushing yds 112 248 Passing yds 430 270 Comp-Att-Int 35-70-2 20-35-1 Total yds 542 518 Fumbles/lost 0/0 1/1 Penalties/yds 12/110 6/70 Punts/avg 5/39 5/32
First Quarter W – Michael Jensen 15 pass to D’Andre Street (Andrew Mevis kick) 9:22, 7-0 W – Will McGarvey 14 run (Mevis kick) 7:43, 14-0 EM – Micah Johnson 54 run (Austin Arbaugh kick) 5:51, 14-7 W – Mevis 23 FG :04, 17-7 Second Quarter EM – Zach Hawkins 3 pass to David Tillman (Arbaugh kick) 10:11, 17-14 W – Rob Sullivan 3 run (Mevis kick) 7:05, 24-14 W – Jensen 7 pass to Riley Rhoades (Mevis kick) 2:11, 31-14 EM – Hawkins 5 pass to Brice Rickey (Arbaugh kick) :00, 31-21 Third Quarter EM – Hawkins 5 run (Arbaugh kick) 6:39, 31-28 EM – Hawkins 3 run (Arbaugh kick) 1:26, 35-31 Fourth Quarter EM – Hawkins 4 pass to Davon Long (Arbaugh kick) 6:59, 42-31 W – safety 2:29, 42-33 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Warsaw, Sullivan 24-100, McGarvey 3-23, Jensen 10-(-11); Memorial, Hawkins 25-109, Austin Scott 9-72, Johnson 4-67. Passing — Warsaw, Jensen 35-70-430, 2 TDs, 2 INT; Memorial, Hawkins 20-35-270, 3 TDs, 1 INT. Receiving — Warsaw, Rhoades 17-155, Thomas Hickerson 5-106, Sterling Hay 6-88, Street 4-43, Sullivan 3-38; Memorial, Long 9-200, Tillman 8-60, Rickey 1-5, A.J. Gary 2-5
