After a one-year stay in Syracuse, the “W” trophy returned to Warsaw after the Tigers scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to put away Wawasee 21-0 at Fisher Field Friday night. Warsaw is a team that prefers to throw the ball, passing as many as 70 times in a game. But on a night featuring a brisk wind and a Wawasee defense prepared to blitz, a running game was necessary to secure the trophy for the Tigers. The Tigers carried a 7-0 lead to the midway point of the fourth quarter when, after taking over on downs, Warsaw drove 65 yards in 10 plays, capped when junior quarterback Michael Jensen hit senior wideout Riley Rhoades on a fade route on the left side of the end zone to double the lead. Kicking into the wind, the Tigers opted for a short, high shot that an up-man for Wawasee fumbled. Warsaw recovered at the Warrior 27, and three plays later Jensen found D’Andre Street on a fade route on the right side of the end zone to put the game on ice. “Our defense kept us in the game all night. In the fourth quarter, going into the wind, we got two big touchdown passes and were able to secure the win,” said Warsaw head coach Phil Jensen. The Tigers rushed for 122 yards in the game, led by sophomore Will McGarvey’s 89-yard effort on 17 attempts. “We want to throw the ball; we have a lot of very talented receivers,” Coach Jensen said. “Michael didn’t have a very good game tonight, but he’s been progressing as a quarterback. The wind plays havoc when you’re trying to throw the football, plus Wawasee had their ears back; they were blitzing us and getting to our quarterback, which causes problems. “But we know if we’re going to be successful, we still have to run the ball. We’re not a running team, but if teams are going to spread out like they were doing, with only five guys in the box, then you gotta run the football. So we took advantage of some of those things tonight.” Wawasee saw instances where they moved the ball on offense. Junior Noah Wadkins led all rushers with 148 yards on 28 carries. The Warrior defense held the Tigers at bay for three quarters, allowing just the one touchdown and getting an end-zone interception from Cole Vanlue in a critical third-quarter situation; a punt had pinned the Warriors at their 1-yard line, and quarterback Tyler Smith lost a fumble on the first play of scrimmage. The Vanlue interception kept the Tigers from extending their lead. But Wawasee lost four of six fumbles on the night, and committed eight penalties for 80 yards. Wawasee special teams also gave up an opportunity for a big play in the first quarter. In punt formation from its own 25, Warsaw punter/kicker Andrew Mevis had the snap go over his head and bounce into the end zone. Mevis picked up the ball, ran to his right, started to kick at the goal line, brought the ball back down and ran it to the 35 for a first down. Had Wawasee scored it would have taken the lead. “We can’t turn the ball over (four) times and expect to win,” Wawasee head coach Josh Ekovich. “We moved the ball; this isn’t like Northridge (also a 21-0 road loss on Sept. 4). The boys played hard, they competed, they put themselves in a position against a good team. They’re an athletic team, and we didn’t execute when we needed to. “The defense covered (well), the coverage got a lot better, we got good pressure on the quarterback, it’s not like it was plain, wide-open receivers. Our guys were in a position to make a play, and our defense played well enough, at times, to win. We just need to execute better.” Coach Jensen also compared this game to one earlier in the season. “We didn’t fold. There were a lot of times we could have given up, like we did at (Elkhart) Memorial. The defense played hard, they didn’t get (upset) when the offense didn’t score, the offense kept working trying to get something to go, and in the fourth quarter we did it; we ran the ball well and got those two fades. “Riley Rhoades is a go-to guy, and made a heck of a catch, and D’Andre Street took advantage of his opportunity.” With the win and the trophy, the Tigers move to 4-3 on the season and 3-2 in the Northern Lakes Conference. They’ll host NorthWood in the regular season home finale next week. After winning its first two non-conference games, Wawasee has now dropped all five NLC contests in 2015. The Warriors host Memorial in its last home game of the regular season Friday. WARSAW 21, WAWASEE 0 Waw 0 0 0 0 –– 0 War 0 7 0 14 — 21
Waw War 1st downs 13 18 Rushing yds 211 122 Passing yds 6 175 Comp-Att-Int 1-5-0 15-28-1 Total yds 217 297 Fumbles/lost 6/4 2/2 Penalties/yds 8/80 6/30 Punts/avg 5/40.6 2/44.0 Second Quarter War – Tommy Hickerson 20 pass from Michael Jensen (Andrew Mevis kick) 7:28 7-0 Fourth Quarter War – Riley Rhoades 13 pass from Jensen (Mavis kick) 8:05 14-0 War – D’Andre Street 9 pass from Jensen (Mavis kick) 6:49 21-0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Wawasee: Noah Wadkins 28-148, Tyler Smith 15-35, Alec Rosbrugh 8-33, Zac McKee 1-(-2), Michael Katzer 1-(-3); Warsaw – Will McGarvey 17-89, Rob Sullivan 7-19, Mevis 1-9, Jensen 4-5 Passing — Wawasee: Smith 1-4-6 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, McKee 0-1-0 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; Warsaw: Jensen 25-15-175 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT. Receiving — Wawasee: Rosbrugh 1-6; Warsaw: Rhoades 8-79, Jeremy David 4-57, Hickerson 2-30, Street 1-9
