FORT WAYNE – With each round of the playoffs comes the chance Tristan McClone and his classmates will play their last high school football game. Following an impressive 40-20 win at Spuller Stadium over the host Fort Wayne Northrop Bruins Friday night, Warsaw’s seniors are guaranteed to don their orange and black uniforms at least one more time. In the sectional opener of the inaugural Class 6A state tournament, McClone rushed 24 times for 117 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half. Seth Fouts caught two passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half. Austin Head completed 4 of 5 passes for 134 yards and a score, all before the intermission. Tanner Balazs rushed three times for 57 yards and caught two passes for 26 yards. And Gabe Furnivall intercepted an errant Northrop pass and returned it nearly 50 yards, helping set up a Tiger touchdown. Their efforts pushed Warsaw to a 33-0 lead by halftime and a 40-0 advantage midway through the third quarter, as the Tigers won their first playoff game since 2009. It was also the first time since 2009 the Tigers have won seven games in a season. “We came out ready to play,” said veteran Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. “We played well in every phase of the game, which is what we need. We’re not a super 6A team where we’re great at one phase. We’ve got to be good in all three. And when you play well in all three, this is what happens.” With the win, the Tigers advanced to Friday’s sectional final. Warsaw will travel to Huntertown to play the high-octane Carroll Chargers, who improved to 8-2 with a 49-7 win at Homestead. “I’ll be blunt, there aren’t many things I want more than a sectional championship,” said McClone, who upped his senior season totals to 1,418 yards and 18 touchdowns. “It all starts with (brothers) Justin and Drue (Tranquill). I know them. They’re both great players. It’ll be a challenge, but this is what we’ve worked for.” While the Tigers move on in tournament play, Northrop saw its season end with a 2-8 record. The Bruins were 0-6 at Spuller Stadium this season. Friday night, it was the Tigers who looked like they were at home on the north side of the Summit City. “This means everything,” Fouts said of the win. “This is what we wanted, to keep playing. We have to give it our all next week. We’ve all got to come out and do our job.” With Warsaw’s starters on the sideline the majority of the second half, some younger players got some varsity minutes for the Tigers. Sophomore Tyler Packard rushed eight times for 20 yards and a touchdown. Junior Jakub Wood added 12 yards on three carries. Junior Jake Mangas, sophomore Ben Linky and freshman Michael Jensen all took snaps at quarterback. “It’s been a long time since we’ve won a sectional game,” said the elder Jensen. “These seniors hadn’t participated in a sectional win. This is a big night for them, and we had six or seven freshmen and sophomores who got to be a part of the win.” Senior Trevon Wilson led Northrop with 10 carries for 118 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown run that trimmed the Tigers’ advantage to 40-13. Senior Terrance Collier added five carries for 35 yards, while sophomore quarterback Mike Snyder rushed 11 times for 34 yards. Snyder completed 10 of 21 passes for 162 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His scoring strike was caught by senior Jacoby Claypool, a 16-yard reception that robbed Warsaw of a shutout with 2:20 left in the third quarter. The Bruins’ third touchdown was scored by senior John McKinney, who ran in from eight yards out with 36 seconds remaining in the game.
WARSAW 40, NORTHROP 20 W 12 21 7 0 — 40 N 0 0 6 14 — 20
W N 1st downs 20 14 Rushing yds 242 199 Passing yds 134 162 Comp-Att-Int 4-5-0 10-22-1 Total yds 377 361 Fumbles/lost 4/1 3/2 Penalties/yds 3/25 7/60 Punts/avg 4/30 4/29
First Quarter W – Tristan McClone 17 run (kick blocked) 5:01, 6-0 W – Austin Head 64 pass to Seth Fouts (conversion failed) :19, 12-0 Second Quarter W – McClone 3 run (Caleb Klusman kick) 10:17, 19-0 W – McClone 5 run (Klusman kick) 4:52, 26-0 W – McClone 1 run (Klusman kick) :25, 33-0 Third Quarter W – Tyler Packard 6 run (Andrew Mevis kick) 5:28, 40-0 N – Mike Snyder 16 pass to Jacoby Claypool (kick failed) 2:20, 40-6 Fourth Quarter N – Trevon Wilson 37 run (Cameron Fox kick) 5:28, 40-13 N – John McKinney 8 run (Fox kick) :36, 40-20 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Warsaw, McClone 24-117, Tanner Balazs 3-57, Jason Taylor 8-27, Packard 8-20, Jakub Wood 3-12, Head 3-11; Northrop, Wilson 10-118, Terrance Collier 5-35, Snyder 11-34, McKinney 1-12. Passing — Warsaw, Head 4-5-134, 1 TD, 0 INT; Northrop, Snyder 10-21-162, 1 TD, 1 INT, McKinney 0-1-0. Receiving — Warsaw, Fouts 2-108, Balazs 2-26; Northrop, Claypool 4-75, Collier 1-40, Aaron Thomas 1-31, McKinney 1-7, Andre Hamilton 2-4
