Warsaw Community High School football coach Phil Jensen isn't big on homecoming games, but even he was celebrating Friday night.
Defeating the Goshen Redskins 21-7 at Fisher Field, Jensen's Tigers picked up their first win of the season, avoiding an 0-6 start."I'm just so happy for them," Jensen said. "It's homecoming, so obviously it's a big win."
In the big Northern Lakes Conference win, the Tigers (1-5, 1-3 NLC) had a big second quarter, scoring all 21 of its points in the frame, led by sophomore running back Zach Rooney.
Rooney ran all over the Goshen Redskins (2-4, 1-3 NLC) defense in the second quarter, racking up 94 of his game-high 150 yards, scoring two touchdowns in the process.
Rooney's first score came on a 1-yard plunge with 9:35 remaining in the quarter. After the Warsaw defense forced a three-and-out on Goshen's next possession, Rooney put his team up 14-0 with a 45-yard scamper with 6:07 left in the first half.
After playing a majority of the season on the junior varsity, Rooney made his presence felt last week with a 57-yard touchdown run, making it hard for Jensen to cut any of his playing time.
Despite the great game by the speedy back, Jensen took Rooney aside and had a simple message for him after the win.
"I'm saying to him, the same thing I'm saying to the rest of them, 'We have to keep working. We have to keep getting better.'" Jensen said. "It's great that we got this win, and I want them to enjoy it tonight, but there's no being satisfied."
Making Rooney's night a little easier was a different formation for the Tigers, which put starting senior tailback Tyler Adams at fullback in the I-formation.
With Adams blasting the Goshen defense up the middle for 42 yards on 12 carries, it opened the running lanes for Rooney and junior Brock Anson on the outside.
"We've got six running backs that I feel like we can use," Jensen said about his team, which ran the ball 62 times for 287 yards. "We put Tyler at fullback tonight and he responded. He didn't have a lot of carries or a lot of yards, but it's so crucial with him leading the way and getting those quick hitters to keep them honest. That opens up the whole offense."
Along with Rooney's and Adams' production, Warsaw also got 69 yards on 12 carries from Anson, making the Redskins defense really work.
"Defensively, we didn't play very good assignment football," Goshen coach David Wilson said. "It wasn't anything we hadn't repped.
"I told them all week that this was a very good offensive football team," Wilson added. "They have a lot of speed and they're well-coached."
Coupled with the three running backs, senior quarterback Jeremy Coppes also ran for 26 yards.
Coppes' longest run of the night was 22 yards, but when he was tackled at the 1-yard line, he fumbled the ball into the end zone. However, sophomore teammate Taylor Cone was there to pounce on it, giving Warsaw it's 21-0 halftime lead.
In the first half, the Tigers' defense completely shut down the Redskins, giving up just 29 yards and one first down, that coming with under a minute left.
"They worked hard all week," Jensen said. "They've kept the faith and they came out ready to play."
Goshen looked prime to make a big second-half run with an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on its first possession, but the 21-7 deficit was as close as the Redskins got.
With it's first win behind them, the Tigers will now look for theire second, but it won't be easy.
Playing for the 'W Trophy' against Wawasee, the Tigers will need to go into Syracuse and face a revamped Warriors squad that is 4-2 and coming off a 27-17 win at two-time defending conference champion Plymouth.
"It's a championship for us," Jensen said. "It's the 'W Trophy' and it's a big thing for us. Wawasee's obviously got things going the right way, so we'll have our work cut out for us."
