SYRACUSE - It may have been Wawasee's Homecoming Night, but it was Warsaw that came home with the 'W' Trophy Friday night.
Defeating the Wawasee Warriors 28-0 at Warrior Field, the Tigers staked its second-straight claim to the trophy, which was donated by Robert and Patricia Reiff back in 1986. Since it's inception, Warsaw has won the trophy 15 times to Wawasee's eight."It's just such a great thing for high school sports," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said. "The Reiff family - Wawasee football means a lot to them. For them to start this tradition a long time ago is just an awesome thing. It is special."
While the only two undefeated teams in the Northern Lakes Conference were dueling it out at Concord, where Plymouth defeated Concord 27-25, Warsaw and Wawasee were competing just as hard in their rivalry game.
"This time of year, you have two teams that really are out of the conference championship race, but they still have something to play for," Jensen said.
Entering the game with a 2-2 NLC mark, the Tigers got over .500 by capitalizing on good field position.
On the night, Warsaw began four drives in Wawasee territory. Perhaps not so coincidentally, those were the four drives the Tigers scored touchdowns on.
"We're making strides," Wawasee coach Tom Wogomon said. "It's just not showing on the offensive side. We're still not where we need to be, obviously. When we make mistakes, it's just like it's under a microscope. Our mistakes blow up in big ways. We're not able to take a swing back."
Wawasee's first mistake came after its defense had made a stand.
Forcing a Warsaw punt midway through the first quarter, the descending ball unluckily bounced off the head of Wawasee senior Dylan Ringler. Warsaw's Tom Daniels alertly grabbed the live ball, handing the ball to the Tigers at the Warriors' 13-yard line.
Two plays later, junior quarterback Justin Clemens dropped back and found junior Lucas Denlinger on a fade route to the corner of the end zone, giving Warsaw a 7-0 lead.
"We're playing so much better football, but we've just got to make those final steps," Wogomon said. "Good football teams make their own breaks. Right now, we're trying to be an experienced team playing with young players."
The Tigers made their next break by using some tough defense.
After forcing a Wawasee punt from their own 8-yard line, Warsaw began a late second-quarter drive from the Warriors' 40-yard line. Highlighted by a 21-yard run by junior Andy Conrad, who had a game-high 105 yards, Warsaw pushed its lead to 14-0 following a Clemens-to-Conrad hookup on a 12-yard slant pattern.
On top of his two touchdown passes, Clemens also ran for a 5-yard score in the third quarter, finishing the game 5 of 7 passing for 46 yards, while rushing for 29 yards.
"Another solid night by Justin, but he's getting a lot of help," Jensen said of his quarterback, who didn't throw a second-half pass or even play in the fourth quarter. "The offensive line is doing a good job and special teams is doing a good job. We have Conrad running the ball hard; Cody (Kindle) runs the ball hard. Things are clicking pretty well for us offensively."
Kindle rounded out the Tigers' scoring with a 1-yard burst in the third quarter, that coming after he got the ball down to the 3-yard line on a 29-yard run.
"We had another solid, all-around game," Jensen said.
Rounding out the game was getting a shutout, the first time Warsaw had accomplished that feat since a 15-0 win at Columbia City in 2006. It was also the first time Warsaw had shutout Wawasee since a 17-0 win back in 1991.
The Tigers and their fans can thank a senior reserve for keeping the shutout in tact.
Playing mostly junior varsity players in the fourth quarter, Warsaw allowed Wawasee to drive the ball 52 yards to the Tigers' 10-yard line with five minutes to play. On second-and-goal, Wawasee freshman quarterback Bauer Schmeltz tried to hit a receiver on a slant route, but only found Warsaw senior Michael Troung on the goal line for the pick.
"To a defensive coach and a defensive team, a shutout is always a big deal," Jensen said. "For Michael Troung, a kid that doesn't get to play a whole lot as a senior, Warsaw football means a lot to him. To step up and make that big play in this game is something he'll remember the rest of his life. I don't get very happy for individuals, but I'm awful happy for him tonight."
On Wawasee's side, Wogomon would have been just as happy if his freshman quarterback, playing for injured junior Jake Sommers, had thrown a touchdown pass.
"It would have helped him, regardless if it was against a JV," Wogomon said. "It would have been nice for our freshman quarterback to be able to get a touchdown on Warsaw."
The Tigers haven't been mathematically eliminated from the conference crown, but it is a long shot, as Plymouth now sits at 5-0 in the NLC. But by winning the 'W' Trophy, the Tigers do have something to hang their hats on.
'It means an awful lot to our kids," Jensen said. "For the seniors to be able to keep the trophy, knowing they're going to graduate with the trophy at our place - that's a neat thing."
