HUNTERTOWN – The Warsaw Tigers made things interesting in the second half Friday night, but ultimately, a slow start in their Class 6A Sectional 3 game at Carroll ended their season. In a 49-21 win, the host Chargers scored in all three phases of the game in the first quarter alone, as they raced out to a 28-0 lead, which they pushed to 35-7 by halftime. Warsaw rallied and had two opportunities to cut Carroll’s lead to 35-28 in the fourth quarter but didn’t capitalize, and the Chargers tacked on two late scores. “They make a nice drive, go down and score ... we’re driving the ball back, their corner jumps a route,” Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of Carroll’s start to the game, which included a 2-yard touchdown run by Dylan Conner, an 82-yard interception return of a Michael Jensen pass by Blake Schumacher and a fumble recovery and run after a blocked punt. “The were playing man under with two deep over the top, so they were being pretty aggressive in their man coverage, and the kid just read it and jumped it and took it to the house. “And then the next series we get a punt blocked, they score a touchdown and it’s 21-0 against a great football team and a good program. You can’t afford to do that. The good thing is our kids didn’t quit. We made some drives in the second quarter, got a big play for a score, and we came out in the second half ready to fight and ready to go.” The Tigers, whose first score was an 80-yard touchdown pass from Jensen to junior Jeremy David with 2:41 left in the second quarter, trimmed Carroll’s advantage to 35-14 with a 6-yard pass from Jensen to David midway through the third quarter. With 2:35 remaining in the third quarter, Warsaw sophomore Will McGarvey carried the ball in from four yards out, and the Tigers were within 14 points at 35-21. Warsaw then had two drives stall in the redzone, as they were trying to make it a one-score game. “We had a couple opportunities to score and really make it interesting and just couldn’t beat that man coverage, and couldn’t run the ball consistently enough all night long,” said the elder Jensen. “We drove it all the way down the field, we just couldn’t get it in on 4th-and 10, and then we get a turnover and again we just didn’t put it in. A field goal wasn’t an option at that point. We’ve got a chance to put it in the endzone, we’re gonna try and put it in the endzone. We just didn’t get it done.” Carroll pushed its lead to 42-21 when senior quarterback Aidan Smith, a Northwestern University recruit, scored from a yard out with 5:09 remaining in the game. Junior Nicholas Novotny made it 49-21 with a 43-yard scoring scamper with 3:36 left. Smith finished the game 12 of 23 through the air for 201 yards and two scores. He also carried the ball 19 times for 66 yards. Novotny added 60 yards on the ground, while Alexander Anzeveno tallied 50 rushing yards and Conner added 42 yards on nine carries. Cody Dinan caught four passes from Smith for 59 yards, while Novotny reeled in two passes for 52 yards and Hayden Nieuwlandt had two catches for 35 yards. For the Tigers, Jensen completed 11 of 33 passes for 199 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Jensen finished the season with single-season school records for completions (179), attempts (358) and passing yards (2,174). His favorite target wasn’t available Friday night, as senior wideout Riley Rhoades was on the sideline in street clothes after suffering a knee injury in the regular-season finale last week at Concord. Rhoades caught 74 passes this year for 783 yards and eight scores. “Riley does so many different things for you, especially his ability to move them around in different spots,” said Coach Jensen. “It also hurts just not having him there. His presence ... he’s a two-year starter, 74 catches, but his presence on the field is always uplifting for the kids.” David, who blocked three punts in the final two games of the season, caught three passes for 98 yards, while senior Thomas Hickerson added four catches for 50 yards. Sophomore Will McGarvey led Warsaw’s ground game with 20 carries for 67 yards, while junior Rob Sullivan added 57 yards on 16 attempts. The Tigers concluded their season with a 4-6 mark. Carroll improved to 7-3 and will play Homestead in the sectional final Friday. “It’s not the season any of us wanted, but it is what it is,” said Jensen. “They handled it well the whole year.”
CARROLL 49, WARSAW 21 War 0 7 14 0 — 21 Car 21 14 0 14 — 49
War Car 1st downs 17 23 Rushing yds 118 247 Passing yds 199 201 Comp-Att-Int 11-33-1 12-23-0 Total yds 317 448 Fumbles/lost 0/0 2/2 Penalties/yds 2/15 11/125 Punts/avg 4/31 5/31
First Quarter C – Dylan Conner 2 run (John Anzini kick) 9:25, 7-0 C – Blake Schumacher 82 INT return (Anzini kick) 6:48, 14-0 C – Jack Givens punt block return (Anzini kick) 2:52, 21-0 Second Quarter C – Aidan Smith 51 pass to Nicholas Novotny (Anzini kick) 5:16, 28-0 W – Michael Jensen 80 pass to Jeremy Davis (Andrew Mevis kick) 2:41, 28-7 C – Smith 17 pass to Gavin Pelkington (Anzini kick) :50, 35-7 Third Quarter W – Jensen 6 pass to David (Mevis kick) 6:42, 35-14 W – Will McGarvey 4 run (Mevis kick) 2:35, 35-21 Fourth Quarter C – Smith 1 run (Anzini kick) 5:09, 42-21 C – Novotny 43 run (Anzini kick) 3:36, 49-21
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Warsaw, McGarvey 20-67, Rob Sullivan 16-57, Joseph Harness 2-5, Luke Delp 1-(-1), Mevis 1-(-5), Jensen 5-(-5); Carroll, Smith 19-66, Novotny 4-60, Alexander Anzeveno 12-50, Conner 9-42, Schumacher 1-11, Nicholas Parker 1-10, Justin Becker 1-8. Passing — Warsaw, Jensen 11-33-199, 2 TD, 1 INT; Carroll, Smith 12-23-201, 2 TD, 0 INT. Receiving — Warsaw, David 3-98, Thomas Hickerson 4-50, Brock Riley 2-17, D’Andre Stree 1-17, Will McGarvey 1-17; Carroll, Cody Dinan 4-59, Novotny 2-52, Hayden Nieuwlandt 2-35, Jordan Schmeling 1-19, Pelkington 1-17, Becker 1-12
