Tigers hang on for thrilling 14-13 win over Wawasee
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
At 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, Warsaw senior Tristan McClone is a bruiser of a high school running back. Following Friday night’s thrilling 14-13 win over Northern Lakes Conference and Kosciusko County rival Wawasee at Fisher Field, however, McClone wasn’t too macho to admit he shed some tears. Given the fact McClone and his classmates got to hoist the traveling “W” trophy for the first time in their prep careers, he had every right to let his guard down and show some emotion. “I’ve cried after our last two games with Wawasee,” said McClone, who rushed 36 times Friday for 175 yards and both of the Tigers’ touchdowns. “Last year’s game really hurt, but tonight I cried tears of joy.” A year ago in Syracuse, it was the Warriors who won 14-13, beating Warsaw for the third-straight year. McClone, along with a Tiger defense that made play after play when it had to in the second half, made sure Wawasee’s win streak in the rivaly came to a halt. “This means so much,” said McClone. “It means we’re still alive in the NLC chase.” The Tigers, now 5-2 overall, are more than alive in the NLC, they’re tied for first place. With Plymouth’s win over Concord Friday night, Warsaw, Concord and Northridge all have 4-1 records in conference play. “Going into every season, we want to win the “W” trophy, the conference championship and the sectional championship,” said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. “This game is a championship game of its own. I’m just so happy for our players.” It had the feel of a championship game indeed. And the Tigers won because of championship game-caliber plays. McClone put the Tigers up 7-0 with a 5-yard run in the first quarter and 14-0 with a 40-yard scamper in the second quarter. After the Warriors, who fell to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the NLC, trimmed the deficit to 14-13, however, it was the Tiger defense’s turn to shine. With Wawasee facing a third-and-1 late in the game, Warsaw senior linebacker Kyle Heckaman dropped Warrior running back Brandin McCulloch in the backfield for a 1-yard loss. On the next play, Warsaw’s secondary broke up a pass play, forcing the Warriors to turn the ball over on downs. On Wawasee’s next possession, its final possession of the game, Warsaw senior Gabe Furnivall broke up a critical pass play on second-and-10. The Warriors’ next two plays also ended with incomplete passes by junior Gage Reinhard, and the Tigers and their fans wasted no time before celebrating. “It all comes down to the fact that we didn’t execute when we needed to,” said first-year Wawasee coach Josh Ekovich. Warsaw held the Warriors to 86 yards on 28 carries. The majority of Wawasee’s offense came through the air, as Reinhard completed 13 of 31 passes for 190 yards. Reinhard, who was picked off once by junior Ethyn Bradley, connected with classmate Clayton Cook for a 19-yard touchdown pass that cut Warsaw’s lead to 14-7 with four seconds left in the first half after Nate Prescott kicked the extra-point. With 6:41 remaining in the third quarter, Reinhard powered his way in from a yard out. This time, Prescott’s extra-point kick failed. As it turned out, the failed opportunity proved to be a key play in the game. For the Tigers, the play of their offensive line was key. With new starters in the trenches, Warsaw rushed the ball 52 times and averaged more than four yards per carry. “They knew what we wanted to do,” Jensen said of his team running the ball so much, and of Wawasee knowing it was going to happen. “We’re not going to trick anybody. We’re going to run the ball. And defensively, we don’t want to give up the big play.” The Tigers certainly ran the ball, and they made key plays on defense. Jensen’s formula worked yet again. And on a night the Tigers wore pink socks and the Warsaw cheering section wore pink shirts in recognition of cancer awareness, the Warriors were left feeling blue. Warsaw is in action again Friday when it hosts NorthWood, while Wawasee hosts Elkhart Memorial.
