Warriors Win Turnover Battle, Retain 'W' Trophy Running the ball and winning the turnover battle have been the keys to the Wawasee football team’s success this season and that continued Friday at Warsaw’s Fisher Field. Recovering four fumbles, the Wawasee Warriors (5-2, 4-1 Northern Lakes Conference) were able to win the ‘W’ trophy against Warsaw Tigers (3-4, 3-2 NLC) by a 26-14 count, and also nabbed sole possession of second place in the NLC. “You stay in the conference hunt, you’re playing against your county rival, it’s for the ‘W’ trophy and you’re playing in an environment like this,” Wawasee coach Tom Wogomon said after his team’s second-straight win over Warsaw. “A high school kid dreams of playing in a game like this.” This week’s rain did cause for a muddy field, resulting in a total of four passes from Wawasee senior quarterback Bauer Schmeltz, the last being a 22-yard touchdown strike to senior tight end John Essex seven seconds into the fourth quarter, creating a two-possession game at 26-14. “That was a big one,” Wogomon said about Wawasee’s lone completed pass of the night. Down by 12, Warsaw senior Zach Rooney returned the ensuing kickoff into Wawasee territory, where Wawasee junior kicker Jordan Acton was able to trip him up at the 47-yard line. Driving the ball down the field, Warsaw was awarded a roughing the passer penalty on a failed fourth-down conversion, which gave the Tigers new life with a 1st-and-10 at the Wawasee 15-yard line. However, on first down, a quarterback exchange was fumbled, and Wawasee pounced on it for the fourth time of the night. “Four fumbles in a game like this is going to get you every time,” Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said. “That’s something we can fix. We have to get back to work at it tomorrow morning.” Following the fumble, Wawasee ate over five minutes of clock, before punting the ball with just over three minutes left to play and Warsaw out of time outs. “Warsaw was sitting in a 3-5 (defense) and they weren’t just sitting in it, they were bringing it,” Wogomon said. “That 3-5 is tricky to stop. They played good defense, there’s no doubt about it. We were just able to, eventually, wear them down a little bit.” The long drive doomed a Warsaw squad that went into the game looking to win its fourth-straight game, and held a 14-7 lead after Rooney found a crease in the Wawasee defense and took the ball 65 yards for a score late in the second quarter. However, Wawasee senior Zac Patrick struck back 13 seconds later with an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Even though the extra point was missed, the Warriors had swung the momentum back in their favor. “For us, being able to answer (Rooney’s score), was huge,” Wogomon said. “It could have been that we just hung our heads and allowed Warsaw to continue to get that momentum. To be honest, that’s what we were worried about. We knew Warsaw was a confident football team. You can’t win three football games in a row and not be confident.” Wawasee scored again before the half when junior Derrick Sorensen scored from three yards out with 31.6 seconds remaining, pushing the lead to 19-14. The touchdown was Sorensen’s second of the half, as he posted a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The score was the last of the game before Essex’s catch, which was one of two completed passes between the two squads, as each team was content to run the ball. Showcasing the similarities between the teams, Warsaw ran for 208 yards to Wawasee’s 202. Warsaw’s top rusher was Rooney, who ran for 85 yards, while senior quarterback Brock Anson went for 76. For Wawasee, it was Sorensen who led the way, going for 135 on 24 carries and Schmeltz ran for 62. The running numbers were similar, as were the passing, Wawasee’s 23 to Warsaw’s nine, but it was the turnovers that were different, as Wawasee won that 4-1. “Both teams played hard, but mistakes beat us,” Jensen said about Wawasee, which has committed two turnovers this season, while forcing 11. “Wawasee — take your hat off to them. They won this game like they’ve been winning all year. Great defense, run the ball at you and they don’t turn the ball over.” The win moved Wawasee into second place in the NLC, as Warsaw fell to 3-2. Following their 45-14 win at Plymouth Friday, the Concord Minutemen sit atop the NLC standings at 5-0. This week, Concord hosts the winless Northridge Raiders before Warsaw takes them on in two weeks. “I love Warsaw from here-on-out,” Wogomon said. “I love Warsaw outside of us. We can only control ourselves. We put ourselves in this position by not taking care of Concord. All we can do is take control of ourselves.” The Tigers return to Fisher Field this Friday, hosting NorthWood, which brings a similar style as Wawasee. “Every Friday night, in this conference, you have to be ready to play,” Jensen said. “NorthWood’s a good football team. They’re coming here and it’s going to be our seniors last home game. We need to make sure we’re ready to put forth our best effort.” Wawasee also celebrates its Senior Night Friday, hosting Elkhart Memorial, who is the NLC’s lone passing team. “Now, we have to prepare for the passing,” Wogomon said. “We’ve gone with NorthWood’s run game, Plymouth’s run game, Concord’s run game and Warsaw’s all-run game. Now, we have Memorial, which is going to be a whole heck of a lot of passing. We have to flip our minds real quick.” WAWASEE 26, WARSAW 14
Waw 7 12 0 7 – 26 War 0 14 0 0 – 14
Waw War First downs 11 9 Rushing yards 202 208 Passing yards 23 9 Comp.-Att.-Int. 1-4-1 1-10-0 Total offense 225 217 Fumbles/lost 0/1 4/4 Punts/avg. 6/19.5 4/31 Penalties/yards 6/44 2/20
First Quarter Waw — Jeremy Sorensen 2 run (Kyle Clevenger kick) 1:19 7-0 Second Quarter War — Brock Anson 20 run (Jeff Ballinger kick) 11:50, 7-7 War — Zach Rooney 65 run (Ballinger kick) 4:22, 14-7 Waw — Zac Patrick 82 kickoff return (kick failed) 4:20 Waw — Sorensen 3 run (conversion failed) 0:31.6, 19-14 Fourth Quarter Waw — Bauer Schmeltz 22 pass to John Essex (Clevenger kick) 11:53, 26-14
