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In an interview Tuesday morning, Warsaw football coach Phil Jensen said the true challenge for his Tigers in Friday night's meeting with fifth-ranked (5A) Homestead was to play fundamental football for four quarters.
And the Tigers did, falling to the Spartans 27-21 in overtime.
The day Jensen made that comment his father succumbed to cancer. For Warsaw's football team and coaching staff, it's been a roller-coaster week of emotions.
Jensen spent Friday evening with his family.
"He came in the locker room and gave the kids a speech," defensive coordinator Troy Akers said. "He said there were some words he's lived by. And those words were that you're a son, a student, and then an athlete. He said tonight he had to be a son. He told the guys he couldn't be there, but he knew they could go out and beat Homestead. That's all it took."
And in Jensen's absence, his Tigers were a foot away from knocking off the fifth-ranked Spartans.
After the score was tied at 21 at the end of regulation, Warsaw won the toss and chose to defer, giving Homestead four plays to score from the 10-yard line. And the Spartans delivered, with an R.J. Sanfrey 6-yard touchdown trot on second and goal. Homestead's extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving the Tigers with only a six-point deficit.
Junior tailback Brad Seiss, who suffered a concussion in last week's game with Columbia City and wasn't supposed to play, rattled off five yards on Warsaw's first overtime play. Seiss was stacked up at the line of scrimmage on the next play, followed by an incomplete pass by senior triggerman Jared Scrafton on third-and-five. On fourth-and-five, Scrafton found junior receiver Chris Clay in the left corner of the end zone for the winning touchdown, but Clay came down out of bounds.
"It was a foot away from being a completed pass," Akers said.
Homestead, the 1998 state runner-up, improved to 2-0 with the win. Warsaw falls to 1-1.
"The whole thing about Week 2 is did you get better," Akers said. "We got better against a great football team."
Warsaw scored on the game's opening possession on a three-yard scamper by junior tailback David Muta at the 9:17 mark.
Muta tallied 26 yards on five carries on Warsaw's first drive, as the Tigers' beefy offensive line proved it could dominate the line of scrimmage.
"Our offensive line played awesome tonight," Akers said. "(Coach Tony) Boley called a great offensive game. We had a chance to win, that's what football is all about."
Muta finished the game with 53 yards on 11 carries. Seiss, who started at linebacker rather than his usual tailback slot, led the Tiger ground attack with 102 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
"He wasn't going to play tonight," Akers said of Seiss. "We think he's an All-State tailback. He was cleared to play Thursday. We started him on defense, and David Muta filled in beautifully. They showed they're a great combination."
Homestead scored its first touchdown on a 7-yard scamper by Sanfrey with 46 ticks on the first-quarter clock. The extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving the Tigers with a 7-6 lead.
Seiss put the Tigers up 13-6 on the first play of the second quarter, galloping 65 yards to paydirt. Justin Plank's extra-point kick failed.
Spartan signal caller Mike Rhinehart, the 6-foot-7, 240-pounder ranked in the top five among the nation's top prep quarterbacks, brought Homestead within one at 13-12 with his 6-yard scoring trot at the 7:58 mark. Rhinehart found Sanfrey in the end zone for a two-point conversion toss the put Homestead up 14-13.
Rhinehart finished the game with two rushing touchdowns and 85 rushing yards on 11 attempts. Through the air, he was 18 of 37 for 241 yards with two interceptions.
For the most part, Warsaw's defense kept Rhinehart in check.
"We tried to give Rhinehart a bunch of different looks," Akers said. "We did a good job of keeping him off balance."
Rhinehart's second score came at the 8:41 mark of the third stanza on an 18-yard scamper. Mike Hines' extra-point kick then made the score 21-13.
With 3:32 remaining in the third quarter, Seiss found paydirt from three yards out, cutting the deficit to 21-19. Scrafton then found senior Josh Buck in the end zone for a two-point conversion toss that tied the game.
Scrafton finished the game with 114 yards through the air on 6-of-16 passing. On the ground he tallied 22 yards on seven carries.
Buck led the Tiger receiving corps with two catches for 59 yards.
Homestead threatened to score again late in the third quarter. On second and goal from the five, Rhinehart found his way to the 3-yard line. Sanfrey was stacked at the line of scrimmage on the next play, forcing the Spartans attempt a 20-yard field goal that failed.
"It was gut-check time," Akers said of Warsaw's defensive stand. "We decided we weren't going to let them in."
With under four minutes left in regulation, Homestead was second and four from the Warsaw 31-yard line when Buck batted down a Rhinehart pass that was intercepted by senior defensive end Ryan Brennan.
On the Tigers' next drive they were four and out.
Homestead took the ball with 44 seconds left in regulation and moved it 40 yards with two receptions by senior split end Matt Singleton, who finished the game with 12 catches for 176 yards.
Rhinehart then tossed three consecutive interceptions, ending regulation play.
"I was most pleased with their mental capacity," Akers said of his players and what they've gone through this week. "Sometimes you start feeling sorry and bad when you face adversity, and you don't play with intensity. The kids played with intensity tonight."
Warsaw (1-1) will be at Northern Lakes Conference rival Plymouth Friday at 7 p.m.
HOMESTEAD 27, WARSAW 21 OT
Homestead (2-0) 6 8 7 0 6 - 27
Warsaw (1-1) 7 6 8 0 0 - 21
H W
First Downs 20 12
Rushes-yards 29-213 35-185
Yards Passing 241 114
Comp.-Att.-Int. 18-37-2 6-16-0
Total offense 454 299
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Punts-Ave. 3-36 6-33
Pentalties-yards 9-69 3-15
First Quarter
W - David Muta 3 run (Justin Plank kick), 7-0 W; 9:17
H - R.J. Sanfrey 7 run (kick blocked), 7-6 W; :46
Second Quarter
W - Brad Seiss 65 run (kick failed), 13-6 W; 11:47
H - Mike Rhinehart 6 run (2 pt. pass to Sanfrey), 14-13 H; 7:58
Third Quarter
H - Rhinehart 18 run (Mike Hines kick), 21-13 H; 8:41
W - Seiss 3 run (2 pt. pass to Josh Buck) 21-21; 3:32
Overtime
H -Sanfrey 6 run (kick blocked) 27-21
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing (att.-yards) - Homestead, Sanfrey 12-94; Rhinehart 11-85; Joey Didier 5-35. Warsaw, Seiss 12-102; Muta 11-53; Jared Scrafton 7-22.
Receiving (catches-yards) - Homestead, Matt Singleton 12-176; Justin Furniss 2-24; Hines 3-19; Sanfrey 1-22. Warsaw, Buck 2-59; Craig Westover 2-23; Seiss 1-29.
Passing (att.-comp.-yards-int.) - Homestead, Rhinehart 18-37-241-2. Warsaw, Scrafton 6-16-114-0.
