Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
"You've got to believe deep inside yourself you're destined to do great things." - Joe Paterno, Penn State football coach
With the second-ranked team in Class 5A due up Friday, fifth-year Warsaw football coach Phil Jensen may have said it best.
"If you don't reach for the stars, you'll never get one," Jensen said, sitting at his desk after practice Wednesday.
As a white-haired professional wrestler from North Carolina known as the "Nature Boy" used to say, "if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man."
In Jensen's eyes, Penn is "the man." Friday, Jensen's Tigers, winners of the Northern Lakes Conference for the second consecutive year and owners of a 9-1 record, will make the hour drive north to face the 9-1 Kingsmen - the winner playing either Mishawaka (7-3) or Michigan City (7-3) in next week's sectional championship.
"Because of our sectional, we have the opportunity to line up against the best program in the state of Indiana," Jensen said. "Ben Davis has tradition, and that's great, but the fact of the matter is Penn has won three of the last five state championships. We'll see how we measure up."
Not only will it be a measuring stick for the Tigers, but as Jensen said, it will be one for him, too.
Last year's off-field story surrounding Warsaw's sectional first-round matchup with Penn was of Jensen facing his high school coach Chris Geesman.
The two will stand on opposite sidelines again this year, only the game will be at Penn. Jensen, who started at tight end for Geesman's Kingsmen during the 1981, '82 and '83 seasons, will make his first trip to his old stomping ground since his father's death earlier this season.
"It's more personal for me this year," Jensen said, "from the standpoint that I'm going back to where I learned how to play football, and to where my dad took me to games and practices. I told the kids I'll probably be a crying idiot for a little while. In a way maybe it'll help me cope with some of the things I'm trying to cope with. I can't imagine a situation any more difficult."
A year ago Penn came to Warsaw and ended the Tigers' season at 8-2 with a 51-16 loss. Warsaw then graduated offensive superstars Greg Seiss, Ross Kesler and Zach Nelson, along with nearly its entire defense.
Some said last year was Warsaw's one chance to come close to Penn.
"The story with this game is that Warsaw graduated a lot of players and people thought they would be down, but they're not," Geesman, 282-45 in 28 years at Penn and 311-63-3 in 33 years of coaching overall, said. "They're equal to or maybe even better than last year. Phil has done it with more than one class, which is tragic for me but great for him."
The Tigers enter tommorrow's game on an eight-game winning streak since a 27-21 overtime loss to current No. 7 Homestead in the second game.
Of Warsaw's nine regular season opponents, six of them are still alive in the state tournament. During the course of this season, the Tigers have faced four teams that were ranked in the top 10 of their respective class at one point.
Warsaw went 6-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference, a conference Jensen says is the toughest in the state. Consider the fact that three NLC schools (NorthWood, Concord, Goshen) have made it to the state championship in the past two seasons. Only one NLC team has put the pads away already this season - Northridge - and that was because it fell in overtime to another conference team.
What do those factoids mean to other coaches?
"It tells me they're pretty good," Geesman, whose Kingsmen have won 100-plus consecutive Northern Indiana Conference clashes, said. "They've passed a lot of tests."
So how concerned with the Tigers is the legendary Penn coach?
"There's only two things that scare me about Warsaw," Geesman said. "Number one, they have a lot of really good football players. And number two, they're coached by a Penn boy. We coach football from the cradle to the grave up here, and Phil knows what he's doing."
Geesman's interview was conducted Tuesday. At that point, the Penn skipper said he was still digging into film on the Tigers, something Geesman said the Kingsmen haven't had to do over the years.
Geesman said the only weakness he sees in Warsaw is its facility.
"Their offensive line is big, but overall they have nice team speed and are very athletic," Geesman said. "I am very impressed with them. We don't see anything on either side of the ball we can exploit. They don't have a huge weakness at all."
Knowing the Kingsmen coaches, Jensen made it known that if his team had a weak spot Penn would know about it. Along with its 100-plus players, Penn has 17 assistant coaches listed on its roster.
Also listed on the roster are 21 varsity cheerleaders, one of whom, junior Audra Davie, is Notre Dame head coach Bob Davie's daughter. Officials in the Penn athletic department said Davie has been known to show up to the Penn games, and Notre Dame is home this weekend.
In some people's eyes, the Kingsmen could easily be a small-college team. Over the years Penn has been in an intimidator role. Jensen knows what it's like to be in the Penn lockerroom. He says his troops won't buy into the lore or the circus-hype of all of it.
"We're gonna have 11 guys on offense and they'll have 11 guys on defense," Jensen said. "And then they'll have 11 guys on offense and we'll have 11 guys on defense. Both teams can only have 11 players on the field. We don't want the kids to focus on the program; we want them to play their assignment. There's no "S" on their (Kingsmen) shirts, they're not Supermen."
If Warsaw has a dose of kryptonite to offer the Kingsmen, it would be its smash-mouth running game.
Behind the monstrous offensive line of seniors Caleb Churchill (6-4, 300), Nick Perkins (6-2, 315), Jarod Leasure (6-2, 220), Greg Scalet (6-2, 245), Matt Townsend (5-9, 235) and junior Daniel Meza (6-7, 360), the Tigers have rushed for 2,755 yards as a team, an average of 7.0 yards per carry.
There's no secrets as to what Warsaw's game plan will be Friday.
"You have to dance with what brought you here," Jensen said. "Brad (Seiss) is going to run the ball, (David) Muta is going to run the ball, Grady Randall is going to run the ball, and then we'll probably throw the ball 10 to 12 times."
Seiss, a junior tailback, spearheads the Tiger rushing attack with his 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns. Seiss, who averages 7.2 yards per carry, eclipsed Rod Wildman's school record for yards in a game with a 310-yard outburst at Wawasee.
Senior signal caller Jared Scrafton has tucked the pigskin 29 times for 482 yards and eight touchdowns. Muta and Randall have rushed for 364 and 314 yards, respectively.
If Warsaw's rushing attack is to prevail against Penn, the Tiger front five will have to dominate a defense that pitched six consecutive shutouts this season. Penn's "Wild Bunch" defense has allowed 58 points all year, 28 of them coming in a loss to Ben Davis, a team that was ranked as high as third in the nation.
Penn's defensive front is anchored by 6-6, 260-pound senior tackle Jeff Thompsonm, who has verbally committed to play for the Fighting Irish next season.
"He anchors our line," Geesman said of Thompson. "He's always been able to, then again he's never faced a 300-pounder. We're a big school and he lettered as a freshman, which is unusual up here. He was 6-3, 230 as a freshman and has been a three-year full time starter for us."
Penn's offense is led by quarterback Eric Moore, a 5-10, 175-pound senior transfer from South Bend Adams. For the year, Moore has completed 59 of 110 passes for 1,076 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior Ryan Kisrow leads Penn's "Gold Rush" running attack with his 74 carries for 465 yards, an average of 6.3 yards per carry.
Penn's offense will have to operate against a Tiger defense that allows 13 points per contest. Kris Hueber, now the owner of the school record for tackles in a season, leads the Tigers with 130 tackles. The 6-2, 205-pound senior inside linebacker also has three forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, two blocked kicks and an interception. Against Wawasee he completed a 39-yard touchdown pass on a fake punt.
"We're gonna play solid football," Jensen said of his defense. "We're going to play our assignments, fly to the ball and not give anything up. We don't want to fall asleep. If you fall asleep, they (Penn) make you pay."
Warsaw has played Penn eight times in school history and is still looking for its first win over the Kingsmen.
"It would be the biggest upset in the state," Jensen said. "A lot of people will be looking on or will have an ear out. Everybody downstate will be looking for the Penn score. Very few people expect us to win, and that's just fine by me."
2000 5A FOOTBALL SECTIONAL
Warsaw (9-1) at Penn (9-1)
7 p.m. Friday
No. 2 PENN KINGSMEN
Coach:ÊChris Geesman
Record:Ê10-0
Penn scores (home team in caps)
Penn 35, Valparaiso 14
Indpls. Ben Davis 28, Penn 21
Penn 52, Elkhart Memorial 0
Penn 56, South Bend LaSalle 0
Penn 58, South Bend Adams 0
Penn 38, Mishawaka 0
Penn 52, South Bend Clay 0
Penn 20, Lake Central 0
Penn 45, South Bend Riley 6
Sectional 2
Penn 58, LaPorte 10
Penn leaders
Rushing (carries-yards, per carry average) - Ryan Kisrow 74-465 (6.3), R.J. Jones 53-354 (6.7), Kyle Boehnline 26-291 (11.2), Brian Post 49-277 (5.7), Ian Smith 33-265 (8.0), Ryan Takacs 34-261 (7.7)
Passing - Eric Moore 59-110, 1,076 yards, 14 touchdowns, 2 interceptions; Justin Smith 4-5, 69 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
Receiving (catches-yards) - Josh Young 12-305, Sam Penrod 9-318, Mitch Dreisbach 9-100, Blair Donat 8-127, Kisrow 8-78, J. Smith 5-75, I. Smith 4-38
Touchdowns - Penrod 9, Boehnlein 8, Matt Nagy 7, Kisrow 7, Moore 7, Post 5, Takacs 4, Jones 3, I. Smith 3, Young 3
Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Nagy 11-387 (35.2), Nick Parker 3-103 (34.3)
Kickoffs (attempts-yards-average, touchbacks) - Nagy 55-3,136-57.0 (25), Parker 15-787-52.5 (1)
Tackles - Gabe Kovatch 89, Chris Shelley 57, Jeff Thompson 54, Marc Bauernfeind 52, Jeremy Kline 51, Josh DeLoddere 43, Kevin Violette 42, Dan Geans 40
Sacks - Violette 9, Bauernfiend 6, Ben Wilkey 5, Shelley 4, Kline 3, Kovatch 3
Interceptions - Chris Gurchiek 4, Penrod 3, DeLoddere 2, Shelley 1, Thompson 1, Drew Weisheimer 1
Fumble recoveries - Anthony Camparone 2, Thompson 2, Adam Minegar 1, Shelley 1, Wilkey 1
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WARSAW TIGERS
Coach:ÊPhil Jensen
Record:Ê9-1
Warsaw scores (home team in caps)
Warsaw 19, COLUMBIA CITY 13
Homestead 27, WARSAW 21 (OT)
Warsaw 30, PLYMOUTH 23 (OT)
WARSAW 48, Gary Wallace 0
WARSAW 42, Northridge 0
WARSAW 26, Goshen 21
Warsaw 63, WAWASEE 13
Warsaw 29, NORTHWOOD 28 (OT)
WARSAW 41, Concord 13
Sectional 2
WARSAW 55, Elkhart Central 0
Warsaw leaders
Rushing (carries-yards, per carry average) - Brad Seiss 161-1,155 (7.2); Jared Scrafton 63-482 (7.7); Grady Randall 37-364 (9.8); David Muta 53-314 (5.9)
Passing - Scrafton 43-103, 692 yards, 10 touchdowns, 3 interceptions; Ryan DeGeeter 5-8, 55 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions
Receiving (catches-yards, per catch average) - Josh Buck 13-310 (23.8); Adam Sisson 7-123 (17.6); Chris Clay 7-98 (14.0); Seiss 6-107 (17.8)
Touchdowns - Seiss 19, Scrafton 8, Buck 5, Randall 5, Muta 4, Clay 4
Punts (attempts-yards, average) - Scrafton 31-1,192 (38.5)
Punt returns (attempts-yards, average) - Buck 12-86 (7.2), Adam Sisson 6-60 (10.0), Siess 2-6 (3.0), Randall 2-6 (3.0)
Kick returns (attempts-yards, average) - Seiss 12-252 (21.0), Randall 7-113 (16.1), Sisson 4-90 (22.5)
Tackles - Kris Hueber 130, Billy Sale 65, Chris Clay 60, DeGeeter 59, Greg Scalet 49, Buck 45
Sacks - Matt Small 3.5, Scalet 3, Ryan Brennan 2, William Knepper 2
Interceptions - Sale 4, Buck 3, Clay 2, Seiss 2, DeGeeter 2, Matt Lowman 1, Arnold Frantz 1, Brennan 1, Hueber 1
Fumble recoveries - Clay 5, Hueber 4, Brennan 3, Buck 1, Scalet 1, Justin Plank 1, Nate Milton 1
