Snider Ends Tiger Season

FORT WAYNE - In the long run, Russ Isaacs' role as assistant track coach only helped his Fort Wayne Snider football team in Friday's Class 5A Sectional 3 championship game with Warsaw.

Using team speed head and shoulders above what Warsaw has faced this year, the third-ranked Panthers ran away from the Tigers 52-21, winning their eighth sectional title in 12 years under Isaacs.

"Snider has great team speed, that's how you build a program," seventh-year Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said. "Coach Isaacs is an assistant track coach, and he has all his kids running track. That's something we're trying to model at Warsaw. The better team won tonight, and that's not a discredit to my kids at all."

The Tigers, playing in the sectional championship for the first time in school history, finish their season at 8-3. Snider, which boasts a 123-20 record under Isaacs, improves to 11-0 and will host Lafayette Jeff in next Friday's regional. Lafayette Jeff (8-3) edged Carmel (7-5) 33-29 in Friday's Sectional 4 title tilt.

After Warsaw senior quarterback Ryan DeGeeter ran 9 yards up the gut to knot the game at 7, Snider opened up its big-play offense, scoring on its next play from scrimmage as senior Marcus Heminger found a speedy Justin Wynn open for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 8:43 left in the first half.

After senior Kevin King picked off his second DeGeeter pass, classmate Aaron Lane put the Panthers up 21-7 when he trotted in from 21 yards out.

Scoring on offensive plays as flashy as its tradition, Snider simply showed its tournament experience and ran away from the Tigers, taking a 31-7 lead when Jon Rocholl hit a 22-yard field goal with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

"We got the touchdown to make it 7-7, and I was really pleased at that point," Jensen said. "Then Snider showed their athleticism. We talked about not turning the ball over, and we turned it over. We talked about not giving up the big play, and we gave up the big play. Snider is an awful good team. They've got a great coaching staff and some really good football players."

Heminger finished the game with four touchdown passes and 275 yards on 10-of-17 passing. Wynn caught six passes, three of which were resulted in touchdowns, for 143 yards. Senior fullback Andrew Russ caught four passes for 132 yards, including a 75-yard screen pass that resulted in a touchdown.

Warsaw cut the lead to 31-14 when DeGeeter hooked up with senior Michael Thallemer on a 23-yard touchdown pass, but the 75-yard pass to Russ and a 48-yard pass to Wynn put Snider up 45-14.

DeGeeter threw the final touchdown pass of his storied prep career when he hooked up with Thallemer for a 13-yard pass at the 3:29 mark of the fourth, cutting Snider's advantage to 45-21.

DeGeeter, who entered the game with 1,730 yards passing, finished the event 10 of 22 for 173 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Thallemer accounted for the majority of the yardage, catching five passes for 98 yards. Junior Adam Griggs added two catches for 40 yards.

A team that many thought would struggle this year after graduating a highly talented group that went undefeated before falling in overtime to Snider a year ago, Warsaw quieted some naysayers by advancing farther than any other Tiger team in school history.

"I'm awful proud of these kids," Jensen said. "They played hard, played as a team and played together. I'm very proud of them."

Snider, which went undefeated at the freshmen, junior varsity and varsity levels, put its final points on the board with 1:56 remaining when sophomore backup runner Terrence Hayden ran 38 yards yards to paydirt, breaking tackle after tackle in front of Warsaw's bench.

Once a 5A doormat, Warsaw has now won at least eight games in each of the past four seasons, as Phil Jensen has turned around the Tiger program and posted a 35-9 record in that span.

NO. 3 SNIDER 52, WARSAW 21

Warsaw (8-4) 0 7 7 7 - 21

Snider (11-0) 7 21 3 21 - 52

W S

First downs 10 14

Rushing yards 86 235

Passing yards 173 275

Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-22-2 10-17-0

Total offense 259 510

Fumbles/lost 1/1 3/1

Punts/avg. 5-36 2-32

Penalties/yards 5-25 9-53

First Quarter

S - Aaron Lane 2 run (Jon Rocholl kick) 6:08, 7-0

Second Quarter

W - Ryan DeGeeter 9 run (Nate Fitzsimmons kick) 8:59, 7-7

S - Marcus Heminger 64 pass to Justin Wynn (Rocholl kick) 8:43, 14-7

S - Lane 21 run (Rocholl kick) 4:32, 21-7

S - Wynn 2 catch (Rocholl kick) :18, 28-7

Third Quarter

S - Rocholl 22 field goal 3:35, 31-7

W - DeGeeter 23 pass to Michael Thallemer (Fitzsimmons kick) 1:21, 31-14

Fourth Quarter

S - Heminger 75 pass to Andrew Russ (Rocholl kick) 11:02, 38-14

S - Heminger 48 pass to Wynn (Rocholl kick) 8:41, 45-14

W - DeGeeter 13 pass to Thallemer (Fitzsimmons kick) 3:29, 45-21

S - Terrence Hayden 38 run (Justin Garvish kick) 1:56, 52-21

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Warsaw, DeGeeter 14-32, Ryan Hamilton 6-27, Ben Kreinbrink 5-9, David Burnley 2-11, Nate Miller 1-6, Jeremy Sharp 1-3, Tyler Kessler 1-(-2); Snider, Lane 23-137, Heminger 6-36, Russ 5-28, Hayden 2-43, Wynn 1-(-9)

Passing - Warsaw, DeGeeter 10-22-173, 2 interceptions, 2 TDs; Snider, Heminger 10-17-275, 0 interceptions, 4 TDs

Receiving - Warsaw, Thallemer 5-98, Adam Griggs 2-40, Kreinbrink 1-22, Miller 1-9, Adam Suchecki 1-4; Snider, Wynn 6-143, Russ 4-132