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"Don't tell me how rocky the sea is. Just bring the ship in." - Lou Holtz, college football coach
When Troy Akers was named Warsaw's defensive coordinator in 1996, he joined a football program that was trying to keep its head above water. A program that appeared to be nothing more than a ship lost at sea.
And for the first three games with Akers at the helm of the Tiger defense, Warsaw was still barely treading water. The Tigers were outscored 105-0 in those first three games and went on to finish the season with a 2-7 record. Warsaw's defense gave up an average of 27.2 points per game in 1996, while its offense averaged a mere 8.1 points per game.
For Warsaw, and Phil Jensen, the third Tiger head coach in three years, it was sink or swim.
"It was a new system, new coaches, new players," Akers said Tuesday morning from his desk in the WCHS attendance office. "It took time for the coaches to get to know the kids. It took time for the kids to get to know the coaches and their expectations.
"It's difficult at all levels of football when new people take over a program that isn't theirs. You have to play with what you have. That's not to criticize the kids that were here, but there's an old adage that says games are won in the offseason. We didn't know what they had done in the offseason.
"It may have been a time when Warsaw football was at its lowest point. When you're lower than low you have to take little steps. Look at the strides we've made and there's truth to the old adage that football wins character."
But just as the offense has come along in the past four seasons, currently averaging 33.6 points per game, so has the defense. The strides are as evident as a footprint in the sand.
Warsaw's defense has gone from giving up nearly 30 points per game four seasons ago, to 20.5 in Akers' second year, to 23.7 a year ago, to where it is now.
Currently, after nine games, the Tiger defense is giving up an average of 10.6 points per game, meeting the goal the defense set for itself. Warsaw has given up 95 points on the year; 42 of those points were scored by Class 3A No. 5 8-1 NorthWood, last year's state runner-up, with whom the Tigers share this year's Northern Lakes Conference championship.
"We set a goal for ourselves," Akers said, "and it's up everywhere. We don't want to give up more than 12.6 points per game. Our team is complemented by offense and defense."
And according to Akers, the coaches complement each other.
"We have excellent assistant coaches," Akers said. "It starts up front (on the line) with Coach (Steve) Jones, who was a small college All-American. (Will) Shepherd coaches the secondary, and he's so meticulous. Everything he does is right, and that's the way the secondary plays. Their skills are polished by the way he coaches. Mike Bott has volunteered his time. He's a former defensive coordinator, as was Shepherd. The key to this group is that the players compliment each other and the coaches complement each other. That and goal setting have led to an improving defense."
Akers will find out just how good his defense is Friday when the Tigers host Class 5A No. 4 Penn (8-1) in the first round of the sectional.
"People say this isn't Penn's best team," Akers said. "I'd hate to see their best team."
On the walls of Akers' office are four posters, each containing a different inspirational sort of word. Each of these words, vision, persistance, courage and perseverance, seems to describe a year in the Jensen/Akers era.
"If you look at it year by year," Akers agrees. "In our first year every kid had to have courage. Once you have courage you can develop a vision. Coach Jensen is doing an admirable job directing. Then, there's the persistence part. We've had some good games and we've had some not-so-good games, but we're persistent. Then, there's perseverance. Do the right things and you'll see your dreams become reality."
Reality will be at Fisher Field Friday night wearing gold and black.
