Win over NorthWood sets up championship game at Concord
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
For Warsaw’s varsity football team, Friday night was all about taking advantage of the situation. In a Northern Lakes Conference clash with NorthWood, the Tigers did just that, turning four turnovers by the Panthers into 21 points and a 28-7 win. As a result of the victory, Warsaw has the chance to capitalize on an even bigger situation, as the Tigers will face Concord in the regular-season finale for the NLC championship. Warsaw, now 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the NLC, hasn’t won a conference title since 2001. Concord will also enter Friday’s game in Dunlap with marks of 6-2 and 5-1. The Minutemen, however, are looking for their seventh title in the past 10 years. “Everything,” said Phil Jensen when asked what it meant to have a chance to win a conference title. “Everything these kids have worked for (is paying off). We have three goals every year – win the ‘W’ trophy, win the NLC and win the sectional championship. We’ve put ourselves in position to win a conference championship. Now we get to play the perennial power in our conference.” Concord, which has a record of 55-10 in conference play over the past decade, beat Northridge 35-7 Friday. Like the Tigers and Minutemen, Northridge entered the weekend with a 5-1 mark in the NLC. Now, it’s a down two teams, one game. “I couldn’t dream it any better,” said Warsaw running back Tristan McClone. “We came up short last year. We’re not going to let that happen again.” McClone and his teammates certainly made sure they weren’t robbed of the opportunity to at least play for a conference title. Powered by the Tigers’ best offenive line performance of the season, Warsaw racked up 288 yards on the ground against NorthWood. McClone led the way with 29 carries for 199 yards and two scores. In the last three games, McClone has rushed for 628 yards and seven touchdowns, bumping his season totals to 1,234 yards and 14 touchdowns. “Tonight was our best offensive line surge of the season,” said Jensen. “We’re getting better every week.” Both Jensen and McClone had plenty of praise for center Garrett Titus, guards Stuart Wagner and Anthony Hendrickson, and tackles Colin Ogden and Alfred Walker. Senior fullback Jason Taylor, when not helping block, rushed for 34 yards, as did senior Tanner Balazs. Though the Tigers didn’t go to the air often, they were effective when they did, as senior Austin Head completed 5 of 7 passes for 70 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. “Coach (Matt) Thacker did a great job with the (offensive) game plan,” said Jensen. “He spends a lot of time watching film, and he came up with a great gameplan.” As did defensive coordinator Kris Hueber. The Warsaw defense bent at times, but never broke. And when all was said and done, the Tigers picked off three errant passes by NorthWood quarterback Will Kirkwood and recovered a fumble. “It was a big night for our defense,” said Jensen. Seth Fouts, Brett Fancil and Ethyn Bradley each had a pick for Warsaw. Fouts also caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Head that gave the Tigers a 21-0 lead with 1:33 remaining in the first half. Warsaw’s first two touchdowns were both four-yard runs by McClone. NorthWood cut the deficit to 21-7 when Kirkwood tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Travis Bear with 8:32 remaining in the third quarter. The Tigers, following Fancil’s interception, pushed their advantage back to 21 points when Head tossed a 25-yard touchdown strike to Balazs. Balazs led Warsaw’s receiving corps with two catches for 38 yards, while Connor McCammack had two catches for 26 yards. “Balazs is our all-around guy,” Jensen said of the versatile, speedy senior. “Every game, we feel like we didn’t get Tanner the ball enough. But I’m a pretty simple guy. We’re going to stick with what works. We’re going to run the football.” NorthWood, which fell to 4-4 overall and 2-4 in conference play, rushed for 111 yards and passed for 150. Bear led the Panthers in receiving with four catches for 65 yards. Kirkwood paced NorthWood on the ground with 10 carries for 56 yards, while Luke Edwards added 33 yards on nine attempts.
