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SYRACUSE – The rivalry between the Warsaw and Wawasee football teams has gotten a bit lopsided in recent years, with the Tigers having one each of the last eleven games against the Warriors. That streak was extended to 12 on Friday night, as Warsaw brought the W trophy onto the bus to Syracuse, and took it back home with them after a 38-7 win moved the team to 5-0.
Both teams had first drives they’d like to forget. The Warriors were forced to punt after a 3-and-out deep in their own territory, giving the Tigers the ball at the opposing 30. The visitors were not able to take advantage of the great field position however, as on the second play from scrimmage, the offense fumbled to give the ball right back.
Wawasee followed up the turnover with one of their own, but this one ended up hurting a lot more. An interception by Jack Bradford produced points immediately for Warsaw, as after the junior picked off the pass, there was nobody left in front of him to make a tackle. He rumbled all 55 yards to the end zone for a pick six that put the Tigers up 7-0 four minutes into the game.
Things went from bad to worse for the home team from there, as on the first play of the ensuing drive, a bobbled handoff led to another fumble and turnover, this time giving the Tigers the ball at the Wawasee 19. On the second play afterwards, a counter to Tucker Reed got all the yardage necessary to get into the end zone, making it 14-0 less than a minute after the first score.
“That pick by Bradford was one heck of a way to get things started, which we needed because I don’t think we executed as well on offense as I would have liked to see tonight,” Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis said. “Then to get another turnover after the fact and to capitalize on that, that was huge for this ball game.”
Warrior quarterback Johnny Zachary completed a pair of passes on the team’s next drive, but it stalled out around midfield, resulting in another punt. His counterpart, Tiger signalcaller Mark Haynes, began his next possession with a pair of runs up the middle for a pair of first downs. After a long run by Wyatt Harman put the visitors in the red zone, Haynes elected to do the rest himself, running it in from the one to make it a three-score game against his former team.
Before forcing yet another punt on the next Wawasee drive, a pair of offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties were called after a bit of a scuffle near the Warrior sideline. After a long run on his first touch of the game, Harman got a pitch play on fourth down after Warsaw got the ball back. He had all kinds of room and took advantage of, going 57 yards untouched to the house on the first plat of the second quarter.
A nearly 50-yard return on the kickoff by J’Ceon Evans gave Wawasee a bit of life, as well as the ball at midfield. That wouldn’t be the only highlight of the drive, as Zachary was able to connect with Jaylen Lowery on the sideline for a big gain, putting the home team in the red zone for the first time. They’d get as close as the two, but the Tiger defense did a great job of denying them from there. Despite the Warriors’ best offensive possession of the game thus far, the end result was a goal line stand by the Tigers to keep their opponent off the scoreboard.
Wawasee senior Jaylen Lowery leaps for a long reception during the second quarter as Andrew Robertson of Warsaw defends...NIeter
Warsaw got the ball back with about six minutes left and nearly the entire field to cover. Reed nearly did the job himself a minute into the drive with a 59-yard touchdown, but it was called back for a hold. The visitors eventually marched into Wawasee territory, but were still 30 yards from the end zone with 40 seconds before the half. They wouldn’t make it there, but John Conley would convert on a 32-yard field goal to make it 31-0 at the break.
After both teams began the second half with a turnover on downs, the Warsaw offense retook the field and put on an absolute clinic. With most of the offense comprising of junior varsity players at this point, the Tigers methodically moved down the field by gaining a few chunks at a time, and after getting the gift of a pass interference call on fourth down, Mason Silveus punched it in from the red zone to make it 38-0 with 33 seconds left in quarter. The rest of the third as well as the fourth would be played with a running clock.
“It’s awesome to see. When you can get your JV to score on their varsity, then have our JV defense come up with a stop, great to see,” Curtis said.
Cannon Swinehart picked up the second interception by the Warsaw defense on the first Wawasee drive of the fourth quarter, his offense wasn’t able to convert on the pick, giving the ball right back on downs. On the following Warrior drive, the home side was finally able to break through. A long run by Kaden Andrew put the team into the red zone, and Zachary did the rest, scoring from about 12 yards out for Wawasee’s lone touchdown of the night, and the final score of the game.
Warsaw (5-0, 3-0 Northern Lakes Conference) returns home next Friday to take on Goshen, while Wawasee (0-5, 0-3 NLC) heads to Nappanee to take on NorthWood.
“We won’t be overlooking them. We need to have a great week of practice,” Curtis said.
