PLYMOUTH – In just two words, Warsaw football coach Phil Jensen was able to sum up the story of his team’s Northern Lakes Conference opener at Plymouth. “Gotta execute.” Jensen’s Tigers struggled with that at times Friday night, and it led to a heartbreaking 17-10 loss at the Rockpile. The Rockies, whose victory gave head coach John Barron the 100th win of his career, scored their first 10 points off Warsaw turnovers. A fumble on Warsaw’s first possession gave Plymouth the ball near midfield, and the drive was capped off by sophomore quarterback Cole Filson’s 1-yard plunge into the end zone. In the second quarter, with the scored tied 7-7, the Tigers fumbled a punt return. Plymouth capitalized on the miscue with a 27-yard Jeremy Drudge field goal and led 10-7 at halftime. Warsaw senior Andrew Mevis evened the score with a 42-yard field goal with 3:04 remaining in the third quarter. Colten Schuler scored the game-winning touchdown with 9:00 remaining in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard run. The Tigers had chances to tie the game late, but miscues caught up with them again. On 4th-and-2 from Plymouth’s 7-yard line, Warsaw senior quarterback Michael Jensen appeared to score on a relatively easy trot into the end zone. Warsaw, however, was whistled for holding, moving the ball back to the 17-yard line. After offsetting penalties on the next play, Michael Jensen’s pass attempt was incomplete. The Tigers forced Plymouth into a punting situation on the Rockies’ next possession, and Warsaw took over with 31 seconds and 81 yards of real estate in front of them. A pass interference call on the Rockies helped the Tigers, but three straight incomplete passes left Warsaw at 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the NLC standings. Plymouth improved to 2-1 and 1-0. The Rockies have won all three of their games on the field, but forfeited a 30-3 season-opening win over Bremen because of an ineligible player. “We can’t turn the ball over,” said Phil Jensen. “We also can’t take plays off. We can’t worry about what the official said. We can’t worry about what didn’t go our way. Play the dang play, all the way to the finish. “We still had chances. Gotta execute. Bad snap, holding penalty ... self-inflicted wounds. We gotta get past that, and we gotta quit being content with ‘oh, we played hard’ and ‘oh, we didn’t give up.’ Those are good qualities, and we’re trying to build off those qualities, but at some point you gotta say ‘I’m gonna do the job, and we’re gonna make this happen.’ And we’re just missing that little bit yet. “I know they’ve got it in them. I know they do. They gotta get it out.” With Friday night’s win, Plymouth now leads the all-time series with a 51-44-2 record. The Rockies have won 11 of the last 14 meetings with the Tigers. “Every one of our goals is still in front of us,” said Phil Jensen. “We can still win a conference championship. We can still be the first sectional champion in Warsaw history. How bad do they want it? “We’ve got some things to fix, and that is a mentality thing.” Senior Tristen McMillen led Plymouth with 28 carries for 141 yards, while junior Benji Nixon added 44 yards on seven carries, Schuler had 41 yards on four carries and Filson finished with 38 yards on carries. Filson attempted just eight passes, completing four of them and throwing an interception. For Warsaw, Michael Jensen competed 14 of 27 attempts for 110 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior D’Andre Street in the second quarter. Street finished the game with six catches for 39 yards, while classmate Jeremy David had five receptions for 43 yards. Junior Will McGarvey led Warsaw’s ground game with 21 carries for 108 yards. The Tigers are in action again Friday when they host Elkhart Memorial.
W P 1st downs 14 13 Rushing yds 137 264 Passing yds 110 41 Comp-Att-Int 14-27-0 4-8-1 Total yds 247 305 Fumbles/lost 3/2 5/1 Penalties/yds 6/40 6/45
First Quarter P – Cole Filson 1 run (Jeremy Drudge kick) 4:30, 7-0 Second Quarter W – Michael Jensen 19 pass to D’Andre Street (Andrew Mevis kick) 7:38, 7-7 P – Drudge 27 yard field goal 2:04, 10-7 Third Quarter W – Mevis 42 yard field goal 3:04, 10-10 Fourth Quarter P – Colton Schuler 6 run (Drudge kick) 9:00, 17-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Warsaw, Will McGarvey 21-108, Jensen 8-22, Mason Faas 3-7; Plymouth, Tristen McMillen 28-141, Benji Nixon 7-44, Schuler 4-41, Filson 12-38 Passing — Warsaw, Jensen 14-27-110, 1 TD, 0 INT; Plymouth, Filson 4-8-41, 0 TD, 1 INT Receiving — Warsaw, Jeremy David 5-43, Street 6-39, Rane Kilburn 2-28, McGarvey 1-0; Plymouth, Dylan Pavey 2-22, Nixon 2-19
