To conclude Warsaw Community High School's homecoming week festivities, public address anouncer Ron Henry encouraged fans to stay for a fireworks display after the Tigers' game with Northern Lakes Conference foe Northridge Friday.
Prior to that, however, Warsaw's fans were treated to fireworks in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers scored the final 10 points of the game to beat the visiting Raiders 24-14 at Fisher Field."I feel really good about this team," said fourth-year Warsaw head coach Troy Akers. "We had a lot of distractions this week, there always is during homecoming week. We had to overcome some injuries, and I'm really proud of the kids. We won ugly, but that's going to happen in the NLC. In practice this week we put a lot of people in a lot of positions and made some changes. I'm just really proud of the kids."
Warsaw, playing without senior quarterback Ben Higgins and senior wide receiver Daniel Conrad - both of whom were injured in last week's win at Elkhart Memorial - took a 14-0 lead in Friday's game but needed some key plays in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.
After Brandon Yoder's second rushing touchdown of the game, this one from a yard out, tied the game at 14-all with 11:54 remaining in the game, the Tigers started a drive at their own 33-yard line.
The 12-play drive ended with a 42-yard field goal from sophomore Matt Franco, who gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead, and ultimately the win.
Northridge started its next possession on its 18-yard line.
On the fourth play of the drive, Warsaw senior defensive lineman/running back Ben Davis recovered a fumble, giving the Tigers the ball on the Raider 29-yard line.
Four plays later and sophomore running back Andy Conrad raced in from 17 yard out, and with Franco's extra-point kick the Tigers led 24-14.
"We were rotating people in and out, and in the fourth quarter you want your best players in there," Akers said when asked about Davis' fumble recovery. "With his speed and athleticism, there's always a chance for a big play. He shot the gap, and the result was a big play."
After Franco put the ball in the endzone on the ensuing kickoff, Northridge started a drive at its 20-yard line and turned the ball over after four straight incomplete passes by senior quarterback Chris Whitten.
The Tigers got the ball back with 2:38 remaining in the game and ran the ball four times to finish off the final 2:38 of the game.
The win improved Warsaw to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the NLC, while Northridge fell to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
The only other team with an unblemished record in NLC action is Concord, which improved its conference mark to 4-0 Friday with a 27-0 win at Goshen.
"As the rest of the schedule play out, we're kind of in control of our own destiny," said Akers.
Warsaw's quest for a conference championship continues Friday when they travel to Foreman Field to play the Goshen Redskins (3-2, 1-2 NLC).
"Goshen is a really good football team," said Akers. "Each game we play now is the most important game. I've always coached that way."
After the contest with Goshen, the Tigers close the season with conference games against Wawasee, NorthWood and Concord.
In the win over Northridge, Conrad led the Tigers with 22 carries for 157 yards, while classmate Justin Clemens finished the game 6 of 11 through the air for 58 yards.
Aaron West had three catches for 38 yards for the Tigers.
For Northridge, Brandon Yoder rushed the ball 29 times for 124 yards, while Whitten was 2 of 8 for 37 yards.
Warsaw took a 7-0 lead 7:07 left in the the second quarter when Clemens barrelled in from a yard out and then pushed the advantage to 14-0 when Clemens threw a three-yard pass to Leonard Wells with 17 seconds remaining in the first half.
