Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
It has far outshined opposing defenses, and Friday night not even Mother Nature could dim Warsaw's high-flying passing game.
Behind the right arm of 6-foot-5, 210 pound senior quarterback Ryan DeGeeter, the Tigers amassed 236 yards through air to deflate visiting Northern Lakes Conference foe Northridge 22-0.
All this on a muddy Fisher Field under steady rain at times.
"The past couple years we've run the ball to set up the pass," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said. "This year we're a passing team, we throw the ball. That's what we do best. You have to go with what you do best whether you have good weather or not. You stay in northern Indiana long enough you'll run into bad weather."
The win, Warsaw's 17th straight conference triumph, improves the Tigers to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the NLC, setting up a showdown with Goshen Friday. The Redskins improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the NLC with a 30-6 win over Concord.
Northridge, on the other hand, hasn't beaten Warsaw since 1991 and has been outscored 210-42 in the seven meetings with Jensen coaching the Tigers. Trying to escape the basement of the NLC, the Raiders are now 0-5 and 0-3.
"We talked about it with the kids," Jensen said of the highly-touted upcoming meeting with Goshen. "All the work we've done is for next Friday night. We'll be at home, there'll be a huge crowd, and we'll be playing for first place in the conference. There's only two undefeated teams left, and only one of them will still be standing next Friday."
After forcing Northridge into a punting situation on its first possession, the Tigers set up shop at their own 24 and drove 76 yards in 2:27, a drive capped off by a 13-yard DeGeeter touchdown run. Extra-point holder and reserve quarterback Daniel Erickson ran in for the two-point conversion to give Warsaw an 8-0 lead.
The Tigers lit the scoreboard up again on the first play of the second stanza, as DeGeeter found senior Michael Thallemer for a 36-yard scoring pass.
Thallemer, who starts in the defensive secondary, has quickly joined junior Nate Miller as DeGeeter's go-to targets. Thallemer finished the evening with four cathes for 86 yards, while Miller caught for passes for 60 yards.
"Mike (Thallemer) is doing a great job," said Jensen. "He just adds balance to our offense."
Still a force on the defensive side, Thallemer picked off his third pass of the year, taking it from the Tiger 15 inside the Raider 10 before it was called back on a penalty.
Miller also scored a touchdown that was negated by a penalty, returning a punt 70 yards.
To go with its air attack, Warsaw also pounded out 177 yards on the ground, led by senior Ryan Hamilton's nine carries for 81 yards. Included in that total is a 30-yard scamper on his first attempt and 25-yard touchdown trot at the 5:10 mark of the third quarter.
In all, Warsaw compiled 413 total yards of offense to Northridge's 202.
The biggest share of the Raider offense, all but 19 yards to be exact, came on the ground.
Hard-nosed senior running back Josiah Boomershine was the bright spot for the Raider offense, rushing the ball 23 times for 134 yards. Quarterback Nick Crawford tallied 27 yards on eight carries, while he was 4 of 7 through the air for 19 yards with two interceptions.
"Northridge plays hard," said Jensen. "They don't have a lot of numbers but they showed they cared about what they're doing. The Boomershine kid is as good as anyone we'll face. I'll take that kid anyday."
WARSAW 22
NORTHRIDGE 0
Northridge 0 0 0 0 - 0
Warsaw 8 7 7 0 - 22
N W
First downs 9 16
Rushing yards 163 177
Passing yards 39 236
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-7-2 16-28-1
Total offense 202 413
Fumbles/lost 0-0 1-0
Punts/avg. 3-38 1-29
Penalties/yards 1-5 5-40
First Quarter
W - Ryan DeGeeter 13 run (Daniel Erickson conversion run) 5:14, 8-0
Second Quarter
W - Mike Thallemer 36 catch from DeGeeter (Jeremy Sharp kick) 11:52, 15-0
Third Quarter
W - Ryan Hamilton 25 run (Sharp kick) 5:10, 22-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Warsaw, Hamilton 9-81, David Burnley 9-29, DeGeeter 9-29, Erickson 3-19, Tyler Colt 2-8, Thomas Balestri 1-4, Aristeo Gonzalez 1-3, Sharp 1-2; Northridge, Josiah Boomershine 23-134, Nick Crawford 8-27, Jeremy Weaver 6-1, Chris Kidder 1-(-1)
Passing - Warsaw, DeGeeter 16-26-236, 1 TD, 0 INT, Sharp 0-1-0, Erickson 0-1-0, 1 INT; Northridge, Crawford 4-7-39, 1 INT
Receiving - Warsaw, Thallemer 4-86, Nate Miller 4-60, Adam Griggs 3-43, Balestri 3-20, Adam Suchecki 2-27; Northridge, John Wickersham 1-19, Jason Young 1-8, Boomershine 1-8, Cory Tope 1-4
Robbins Leads Whitko To 28-6 Win, Wildcats Sit Atop TRC
By Jen Gibson, Times-Union Sports Editor
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊThe Oak Hill football team arrived late to Whitko High School for Friday night's football game after being held at its school due to a tornado warning in Grant County.
Once the Golden Eagles reached South Whitley, they probably wished they had stayed home, suffering a 28-6 Three Rivers Conference loss.
Wildcat senior Alan Robbins ran through the Oak Hill defense like a tornado tearing through a trailer park. When all was said and done, Robbins tallied 187 yards on 13 carries with one touchdown. He also returned six punts for 56 yards to lead the Whitko special teams as well.
"Alan was finally healthy for the first time since the Columbia City game," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger. "He played very well tonight and had some good runs."
The Wildcats jumped on the board early, scoring their first touchdown with 1:21 left in the first quarter. After moving the ball 59 yards to the 4-yard line, senior quarterback Brad Walpole took the ball in on his own. After kicker Damon Shepherd split the goalposts, the Wildcats were up 7-0.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, Whitko's Brandon Waterson beat Oak Hill to the ball, giving the Wildcats the ball on the Oak Hill 28-yard line.
On the next play, Walpole connected with Brett Lukens for a 28-yard touchdown pass. Again, Shepherd hit the PAT and Whitko took a 14-0 advantage with 1:15 left in the first period.
That's where the score remained until the 6:07 mark in the third quarter. Robbins broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run, putting Whitko up 21-0.
But the Wildcat scoring was not finished. With 7:09 left in the fourth frame, junior Brandon Waterson ran in from 21 yards out to extend the Whitko lead to 28-0.
The Whitko defense stifled the Oak Hill offense until the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
"Our defense played very well," said Sprunger. "They have played well all year. I have to give our defense a lot of credit. Joe Auer, Dane Bause, Zach Weeks and Dustin Boardman played very well tonight."
In the final Oak Hill drive of the game, Golden Eagle Trey Boswell carried his team on his shoulders. The Golden Eagles took possession of the ball on their own 5-yard line and moved the ball 95 yards for their only touchdown of the game. With the exception of one 16-yard play, Boswell carried the ball the entire drive for Oak Hill. Boswell capped off the drive with a 7-yard run into the endzone as the final second ran off the clock. With no time on the clock, Oak Hill did not attempt the extra point, giving Whitko a 28-6 homecoming win.
"Hanging on to the ball was key for us this week," said Sprunger. "We are coming along. In the first half, our offensive line missed some assignments, but they came back and played hard in the second half. Overall, for a homecoming game, I am pleased with the way we played."
Robbins led all rushers with 187 yards on 13 carries, while Waterson added 68 yards on 17 carries. Walpole completed 3 of 7 passes for 68 yards.
Whitko's win, coupled with Rochester's 21-13 loss to Southwood, puts the Wildcats on top of the TRC standings. The Wildcats are 3-2 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in TRC play. Oak Hill falls to 2-3 and 2-1 in the TRC standings.
The Wildcats hit the road to face 1-4 Northfield Friday. The Norsemen are 0-3 in the TRC.
WHITKO 28
OAK HILL 6
Oak Hill 0 0 0 6 - 6
Whitko 14 0 7 7 - 28
W OH
First downs 10 13
Rushing yards 40-267 42-193
Passing yards 68 23
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-7-0 2-15-1
Total offense 335 216
Fumbles/lost 2-2 2-1
Punts/avg. 2-34 6-36.7
Penalties/yards 3-30 2-10
First Quarter
W - Brad Walpole 4 run (Damon Shepherd kick), 1:21, 7-0 W
W - Brett Lukens 28 pass from Walpole (Shepherd kick), 1:15, 14-0 W
Third Quarter
W - Alan Robbins 73 run (Shepherd kick), 6:07, 21-0 W
Fourth Quarter
W -ÊBrandon Waterson 21 run (Shepherd kick), 7:09, 28-0 W
OH -ÊTrey Boswell 7 run (no PAT), 0:00, 28-6 W
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Whitko: Alan Robbins 13-187, Brandon Waterson 17-68, Corey Spangle 1-6, Brad Walpole 2-5, Jarad Eberly 1-3; Oak Hill: Kirk Winger 9-28, Trey Boswell 23-160, Nick Millspaugh 9-12, Nathan Hunt 1-4
Passing - Whitko: Walpole 3-7-68 yards, 0 INT, 1 TD; Oak Hill: Millspaugh 2-15-23 yards, 1 INT, 0 TD
Receiving - Whitko: Alex Frantz 2-30, Brett Lukens 1-28; Oak Hill: Winger 1-14, Jeff Sheedy 1-11
Vikings Beat Up Northfield 47-7
By Dan Riordan, Times Union Sports Correspondent
AKRON - There was a tornado watch in Kosciousko County Friday afternoon until 6 p.m. The weathermen were only an hour off as a green and yellow twister rolled through Death Valley beginning at 7 p.m. The Vikings made their homecoming a coronation as they beat up on Northfield 47-7.
Last year Valley beat up on the Norsemen 71-7. At halftime, with the Vikings up 40-7, both coaches decided to play the second half with a running clock. If not for that this year's score may have mimmicked the prior matchup.
The Vikings wasted no time putting points on the board.
In fact, Valley scored on all of their possessions until late in the second half when it sat on the ball after recovering a fumble.
The first possession took a grand total of three plays. Junior signal caller David Beyers hit senior receiver Kyle Bruner from 33 yards out, 2:50 into the game.
Northfield went three-and-out on its next possession.
Then Valley started on its own 44 and drove to paydirt in six plays. The efficient drive was capped off by junior running back Jon Rice who scampered from 39 yards out with 3:52 left in the first quarter. During the drive the good news was spread by Luke Scripture who made a divine fingertip catch as it ricocheted off a Northfield defender.
The efficiency continued on the Vikings' next possession.
Three plays, 70 yards, touchdown.
Beyers scored when he kept the ball on an option from 25 yards out, pushing the lead to 20-0. Valley also dominated on defense led by junior defensive end Oscar Ramirez. The Norsemen were unable to do much of anything on offense the entire evening.
Northfield's lone score came early in the second quarter. The drive was set up by leading rusher Todd McKillip's 65 yard dash straight through the heart of the Viking defense. Three plays later Northfield got on the scoreboard for the first time since week one when they defeated an even more inept Wabash squad.
Unfortunately, the effort was too little too late. When the smoke cleared the Vikings had a 40-7 lead going into the long break.
Homecoming festivites lead to a 20 minute halftime show and a decision by both coaches and officials to run the clock with no interuptions except for officials timeouts.
The result: one touchdown in the half by sophmore running back Bryon Wong from 17 yards out to make the final 47-7.
After the game an excited Valley coaching staff was given more to smile about as they learned Rochester was upset by Southwood.
Despite the goings on elsewhere Valley coach Scott Bibler's main focus was his team.
"We went out there tonight and really executed," said Bibler. "I was pleased with our efforts on both sides of the ball tonight. I was disappointed by the big play we gave up on (McKillip's) run. That was a breakdown to me."
It wasn't all perfect execution on Valley's behalf. The Vikings committed seven penalties for 70 yards.
"To me all penalties are, are a breakdown in focus. That is something we will work on for next week. There is no excuse for that," said Bibler
The Vikings (3-2, 2-1) looks to continue their winning ways when they travel to Oak Hill and hope to remain in the hunt for the TRC title Friday.
VALLEY 47
NORTHFIELD 7
Valley 20 20 7 0 - 47
Northfield 0 7 0 0 - 7
TV N
First downs 7 4
Rushing yards 25-247 28-134
Passing yards 95 8
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-6-0 5-6-0
Total offense 342 142
Fumbles/lost 2-1 5-2
Punts/avg. 2-16.0 5-23.5
Penalties/yards 7-70 0-0
First Quarter
TV-Beyers to Bruner 33 pass 9:10 (Eby kick) 7-0
TV-Rice 39 run 3:52 (kick failed) 13-0
TV-Beyers 25 run :43 (Eby kick) 20-0
Second Quarter
N-Ogle to England 7 pass 9:30 (McClatchey kick) 20-7
TV-Rice 63 run 8:47 (kick failed) 26-7
TV-Beyers to Bruner 25 pass 6:19 (Eby Kick) 33-7
TV- Eby 6 run 1:09 (Eby Kick) 40-7
Third Quarter
TV-Wong 17 run 4:25 (Eby kick) 47-7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Valley: Jon Rice 6-126,Bryon Wong 5-40,David Beyers 2-38,Kyle Bruner 3-14,Matt Eby 2-11,Nick Young 3-11. Northfield: Todd McKillip 14-96, Jason Ogle 4-17, Cody Mills 7-11, Cody White 2-7, Josh WIlcox 1-3.
Passing -Valley: Beyers 4-5-0 91, Josh VanCleave 1-1-0 4. Northfield: Ogle 2-2-0 27, Wilcox 1-4-0 6.
Receiving - Valley: Luke Scripture 2-33, Bruner 2-58, Britton Burkhart 1-4. Northfield: Blake Ridenour 1-6, Eric England 1-7, Dan Dyson 1-(-5)
Wawasee Stuns NorthWood 17-14
By Mike Madison, Times-Union Sports Correspondent
SYRACUSE -Ê"I don't think there is any question that since I have been here this is our biggest win. We beat a real quality program tonight." Those were the words from fifth-year Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld just moments after his Warriors upset the ninth-ranked NorthWood Panthers 17-14 Friday.
With a good start on the season the Wawasee football fans and staff knew that a win Friday night over Northwood would bring some instant respectability.
After all, Northwood is undoubtedly one of the top programs in the state and according to a respected rating service, they play the 11th toughest schedule in the state for 3A schools.
The Warriors went into Friday's game with a 3-1 record, but the wins had come over smaller programs of Whitko, Fairfield, and Northridge.
The only Warrior loss came last week to Concord.
NorthWood also went into the game with a 3-1 record, but perhaps the most important fact was the fact the Panthers owned a 16 game winning streak over Wawasee. And the Panthers traveled to Syracuse still smarting after an embarrassing 22-2 loss to Goshen last Friday.
This was a game that if played with stats would most certainly favor the Panthers.
Fortunately for Wawasee, games are played on the field as the Warriors extended their record to 4-1 with the win.
The Warriors won on the strength of sophomore running back Jordan Swain and the sure hands of defensive back Grant Gibson.
Gibson pulled down two fourth-quarter interceptions and Swain finished the game with 20 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
It was a tight game throughout but it was back-to-back interceptions by Gibson and Swain's running between tackles that keyed the victory.
The first half belonged to the defenses. The first score didn't come until late in the second quarter when Panther quarterback Kyle Lehman found Andrew Huber in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown pass. That drive was sparked by a 15-yard run from Lehman on third-and-long.
In fact, the majority of NorthWood's first half yards came on third down, including three third-down runs totaling 42 yards from senior signal caller Lehman. The Panthers took a 7-0 lead into halftime.
The Warrior offense didn't wait long to tie the game as it marched 72 yards on 11 plays in its first possession of the second half. Wawasee pulled to within one point as the PAT hit the bar and bounced wide, allowing Northwood to maintain a 7-6 lead.
Northwood seemed unfazed, coming right back and going 70 yards to take a 14-6 lead after a 6-yard touchdown run from E.J. Yehl.
Wawasee moved the ball well on its next possession, but on fourth down Wawasee was intercepted at the Northwood four-yard line.
The Panthers ran but three plays before Wawasee's Grant Gibson returned the momentum to the Warriors when he ran an interception back to the Wawasee 6-yard line.
Two plays later Swain renewed the Warrior hope as he got his second touchdown on a three-yard run and also made good on the two-point conversion to tie the score at 14-all.
Then Wawasee kicker Ben Champaux put the kickoff into the endzone for a touchback. Northwood had a first-and-10 at the 20 when Gibson again intercepted a Lehman pass.
Gibson ran his second interception of the night to the 17-yard line.
After an 11-yard run from Swain the Northwood defense held, forcing a 14-yard field goal attempt. Sophomore kicker Champaux made the field goal, making a 17-14 Warrior lead.
Any hope that Northwood had, evaporated when Wawasee's Drew Evans picked off another Lehman pass with a 1:23 remaining, securing the Warrior win.
"Our kids made the plays tonight," said Rietveld. "Both our defense and our offense came through tonight as did our special teams. Our offensive line didn't play well in the first half but they did in the second. Our defensive backs got beat bad early but then came back and got three interceptions. We missed an extra point but then came back and got the winning field goal. Perseverance was definitely on our side tonight."
The Warrior record now stands at 4-1 but the Warriors have a tough road ahead as they travel to Plymouth next Friday and then have consecutive dates with Warsaw, Elkhart Memorial, and Goshen before entering sectional play.
WAWASEE 17, NORTHWOOD 14
SCORING
Second Quarter
N -ÊAndrew Huber 15 pass from Kyle Lehman (PAT good), 7-0 NW
Third Quarter
W -ÊJordan Swain 5 run (PAT failed), 7-6 NW
N -ÊE.J. Yehl 6 run (PAT good), 14-6 NW
Fourth Quarter
W - Swain 3 run (Swain run) 14-14
W - Champaux 14 field goal, 17-14 W
STATS
Wawasee - Kory Lantz 4-12 passing for 26 yards Recetions to Evans 2-18 Swain 1-5 Stucky 1-3 Rushing: Swain 20-117 and two TDS, Lantz 16-37, Mikel 1-13
Total rushing 167 yards for 193 yards total offense
Northwood passing - Lehman 10-20 for 118yds, 3 Interceptions, and 1 TD
Northwood rushing - 157 yards rushing, Yehl 15 carries for 54 yards, Ramierez 9-40 Lehman 11-63
Squires Win First Three Rivers Conference Game In Westafer's Return
Times-Union Staff Report
DENVER - Led by the rushing attack of Neil Westafer, playing for the first time since the second quarter of the second game, Manchester downed host Three Rivers Conference rival North Miami 28-6 Friday night.
Westafer rushed the ball 28 times for 142 yards, including touchdown runs of 13, 10 and 3 yards. On defense Westafer tallied eight tackles, three of which were for loss. Also on the defensive side, Farron Gaerte picked off two errant North Miami passes, and knocked down two others.
Manchester's fourth and final touchdown came with 56 seconds remaining in the fourth when Dustin Burke returned an interception 80 yards for a score.
The Squires are now 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the TRC, and will host conference foe Rochester Friday.
MANCHESTER 28, NORTH MIAMI 6
Manchester (3-2, 1-2) 8 0 8 12 - 28
North Miami (3-2, 1-2 0 6 0 0 - 6
MAN NM
First downs 10 10
Rushing yards 189 91
Passing yards 19 62
Comp.-Att.-Int. 1-4-0 5-21-3
Total offense 208 153
Fumbles/lost 4/2 3/2
Punts/avg. 2-33 2-32
Penalties/yards 5-45 4-23
First Quarter
M - Neil Westafer 13 run (Ryan Roth conversion run) 9:15, 8-0
Second Quarter
NM - Devin McWhorter 26 pass to Jeremy Harshman (kick failed) 9:13, 8-6
Third Quarter
M - Westafer 3 run (Joe Egner conversion run) 1:18, 16-6
Fourth Quarter
M - Westafer 10 run (conversion failed) 6:07, 22-6
M - Dustin Burke 80 interception return (conversion failed) :56, 28-6
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Manchester, Westafer 28-142, Austin Greer 17-62; North Miami, Kevin Hostetler 23-82, Cody Robins 9-19
Big Plays Push Glenn Past Triton
Times-Union Staff Report
WALKERTON - The very thing Triton coach Rodney Younis said earlier in the week his team couldn't give up did the Trojans in Friday night - the big play.
The host Falcons got a 65-yard touchdown run from Randy Hernandez, an 84-yard kickoff return from Hernandez, and a 72-yard scoring scamper from Chris Ennis as they ran away from Triton 32-7.
In all, Glenn racked up 308 yards on the ground to Triton's 114. The Trojans, however, did amass 106 yards through the air to Glenn's 15. The Falcons attempted just three pass, completing one of them, while another was intercepted.
Ennis rushed the ball just nine times but finished with a game-high 127 yards. Brandon Adkins rushed 15 times for 82 yards.
Triton, now 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the Northern State Conference, scored its lone touchdown in the third quarter Daniel Kuhn threw a 13-yard pass to Kyle Bell.
The Trojans host New Prairie Friday.
GLENN 32, TRITON 7
Triton (1-4, 0-3) 0 0 7 0 - 7
Glenn (3-2, 3-1) 7 6 13 6 - 32
T G
First downs 8 8
Rushing yards 114 308
Passing yards 106 15
Comp.-Att.-Int. 5-19-1 1-3-1
Total offense 220 323
Fumbles/lost 4/1 3/1
Punts/avg. 7-35 4-34
Penalties/yards 3-20 2-1
First Quarter
G - Brandon Adkins 20 run (Randy Racine kick) 7-0
Second Quarter
G - Randy Hernandez 65 run (kick failed) 13-0
Third Quarter
G - Chris Ennis 72 run (kick failed) 19-0
T - Daniel Kuhn 13 pass to Kyle Bell (Bryan Moriarty kick) 19-7
G - Hernandez 84 kick return (Adkins kick) 26-7
Fourth Quarter
G - Adkins 7 run (kick failed) 32-7
