Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MISHAWAKA - Afterward there were the expected tears from his players, and then football coach Phil Jensen took a few seconds to shake off his emotions.
Though its only loss of the regular season came in overtime to then No. 5-ranked Homestead, Warsaw went through the season unranked and was written off by many against Penn. The Tigers, led by 21 seniors who won three games combined at Warsaw's two middle schools, took the Kingsmen to the wire on their turf before senior Matt Nagy's 28-yard field goal with two seconds left gave Penn a 10-7 win Friday.
Warsaw finishes its season at 9-2, a win total the Tigers haven't had since 1982; Penn, winners of three of the last five state championships, improves to 10-1 and will play at Mishawaka (8-3) Friday for the sectional championship. Mishawaka topped Michigan City 34-15.
"They're a great group of kids," Jensen, a Penn graduate himself, said. "We did what we've done all year long, we played hard for four quarters and laid it on the line. What can you say, we got beat by the best program in the state. We tried awful hard to knock them off, we just came up a little short."
With eight seconds left on the fourth-quarter clock, Nagy attempted a 39-yard field goal that sailed wide right. The Tigers were slapped with a roughing the kicker penalty, and Nagy then made good on his second opportunity, giving the Kingsmen the win.
"I turned to watch the football, that's what was important, where the football was," Jensen said. "I looked back and there was a flag on the ground. It wasn't a penalty that beat us. Their kicker made a nice kick."
Warsaw had an opportunity to take a 10-7 lead with 3:40 remaining in the game, but an Adam Sisson 27-yard field goal was wide left. The Tigers attempted four field goals on the year but failed to convert any of them.
Earlier in the week Jensen said his gameplan would consist of what took the Tigers through a 9-1 season and a 6-0 mark in the rugged Northern Lakes Conference - a smash-mouth running game.
As he has been all year, six-foot, 190-pound junior tailback Brad Seiss was the featured attraction.
Running behind a gargantuan offensive line, Seiss racked up 72 yards by halftime and finished the game with 135 yards on 24 carries. Senior signal caller Jared Scrafton rushed for 19 yards on nine carries, while junior fullback David Muta pounded out five yards on three carries.
"Our line came out and blocked," Jensen said. "We're not a fancy team, we run the football. We moved the ball on them and and had some long drives, we just couldn't get it in the endzone there at the end."
Entering last night's contest, Penn's defense was giving up 80.3 rushing yards per game.
Warsaw's defense contained a Kingsmen crew that averaged 43.5 points per contest to six yards on its first two possessions of the game, while the Tigers showed signs of being able to move the ball down the field.
After a scoreless opening-quarter, Penn fielded a Scrafton punt with 10:28 left in the half and marched from its own 24 to Warsaw's 30-yard line on key catches and a run from 5-10, 190-pound senior running back Ryan Kisrow. On fourth-and-six, the 15th play of the drive, Warsaw's stingy defense stopped Kingsmen senior quarterback Eric Moore three yards shy of the first-down marker.
The Tigers then took the ball on their 27 with 3:55 remaining in the second stanza, and Seiss moved the ball 20 yards on Warsaw's first three plays of the drive. On first-and-10 from the 13, Scrafton found senior Josh Buck for a touchdown with 14 seconds left in the half. Sisson's kick made it 7-0.
Scrafton finished the game with 44 yards on 3-of-9 passing. Moore finished the game with 172 yards and a touchdown on 11-of-19 passing with one interception.
Penn tied the game when Moore found junior Sam Penrod for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
Kisrow led the Penn receiving corps with four catches for 58 yards, while Blair Donat reeled in three catches for 47 yards, most of those coming in key situations late in the game.
"I feel for our seniors," Jensen said. "They brought us a long way. They won three games in middle school and then go 10-7 with the Kingsmen. I couldn't ask for anymore."
No. 2 PENN 10, WARSAW 7
Warsaw (9-2) 0 7 0 0 - 7
Penn (10-1) 0 0 7 3 - 10
W P
First downs 10 15
Rushing yards 159 140
Passing yards 44 172
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-9-0 11-19-1
Total offense 203 312
Fumbles/lost 0-0 2-0
Punts/avg. 4-31.3 2-47.0
Penalties/yards 3-40 5-43
Second Quarter
W - Josh Pass 13 catch from Jared Scrafton (Adam Sisson kick) :14, 7-0 W
Third Quarter
P - Sam Penrod 28 catch from Eric Moore (Matt Nagy kick) 5:59, 7-7
Fourth Quarter
P - Nagy 28-yard field goal :2, 10-7 P
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - W: Brad Seiss 24-135, Scrafton 9-19, David Muta 3-5. P: Brian Post 12-50, Ryan Kisrow 11-35, Moore 9-48, Kyle Boehnlein 3-7.
Passing - W: Scrafton 3-9-44-0, 1 touchdown. P: Moore 11-19-172, 1 touchdown.
Receiving - W: Buck 2-32, Chris Clay 1-12. P: Kisrow 4-58, Blair Donat 3-47.
