Warsaw VB Sweeps Huntington North ; Whitko VB Drops Close Contest; Valley VB Grabs 2nd Win Against W. Noble; Viking Boys Soccer Drops Thriller; Viking Boys Tennis Falls to N. Judson; Wawasee Boys Tennis Remains Undefeated; Warsaw Girls Golf Wins Three-Way Match Against Valley, Wabash

  Tippecanoe Valley Volleyball Falls to Plymouth 3-0 Manchester Volleyball Opens Season With Loss to Peru Manchester Girls Soccer Comes Up Short Against Mississinewa Wawasee Girls Soccer Drops Nail Biter to West Noble Wawasee Boys Tennis Dominates Lakeland For Second Victory

Tippecanoe Valley hopes to turn seven into heaven this high school football season. The Vikings return seven starters on each side of the ball. They’re coming off back-to-back seven-win seasons, too, marking the first time the storied program’s been at least three games over .500 in consecutive years since 2007.

Bart Curtis knows what he would like his Warsaw Community High School football team to be in 2021. “We want this group to come together and forge their own identity,” says Curtis, the fourth-year Tigers head coach. “We’re hoping to build a group that is resilient, has a lot of resolve and can play the game when they’re uncomfortable. “Anybody can play when they’re chipper.”

After dropping its opening game of the season to Carroll, the Warsaw boys varsity soccer team secured its first win of the season, 4-0 over visiting Argos Tuesday in a non-conference match.

Grace College’s volleyball team will feature a young, hungry squad on the court in 2021. Of the 17 players on Grace’s roster, eight are starting their first collegiate seasons. Three more players are beginning their second year, resulting in a youth-infused squad.

The 2021 season for Grace’s men’s soccer team started in impressive fashion with a 3-0 win over Trinity International on Tuesday. The Lancers’ three goals were scored by newcomers, netting all three after halftime. Grace finished the match with a 16-7 advantage in shot attempts and a 9-3 edge in shots on goal. Martim Cardoso took the spotlight, scoring twice in his Lancer debut.

Whitko Girl’s Golf Drops Close Match to Northfield; Cougar  Soccer Comes Up Short in Season Opener; Tippecanoe Valley boys Soccer Starts Off Strong, Limps to Finish Line in Opener; Wawasee boys Soccer Shows Fight in Second-Half, Comes up Short Against Westview; Tippecanoe Valley Plays First Girl’s Varsity Soccer Game in School History, Loses to Culver; Wawasee Volleyball takes down Tippecanoe Valley, Improves to 2-0 on Season; Triton Sporting Events Going Cashless for 2021-22 Athletic Seasons

Jon Reutebuch is endeavoring to build an identity for his Wawasee High School football team as he gets the Warriors ready for 2021 — his third season in charge of the program. “We want to have a toughness mentality where we can overcome any obstacles in our path,” says Reutebuch, who is 5-15 in his first two seasons. “It’s a commitment to excellence.

Driving home from the Warsaw football scrimmage at Leo Friday night, I spent some time reflecting on the beginning of a new sports season (number 31 for me at WRSW) and all of the places I will go, things I will see and people I will meet over the next 10 months.

Year one as a head football coach presents stiff enough challenges in a normal year, but Alyx Brandewie’s year one at Manchester was also accompanied by the challenges of a pandemic. “It was a little chaotic,” Brandewie reflected last week of 2020. “You had to spray things down and keep kids in their position groups. COVID added some layers as we tried to prepare for the season, and during the season.” As for year two now?

Lancer soccer lands in preseason poll, Lady Lancers among NAIA elite

Rodney Younis has witnessed improvement as he gets his Triton High School football team ready for the 2021 season. “We’re not where we want to be, but progress has been great,” says Younis, who goes into his 14th year of leading the IHSAA Class 1A Trojans, including the third year in his second tenure. “We’re definitely going to be a young team. Of 42 players, there are only six seniors.”

For the first time in program history, Grace’s men’s soccer team enters the fall season with a new title: defending national champions. The Lancers enjoyed a storybook season last year, claiming the 2020 NCCAA national championship by routing rival Bethel 4-0. Grace progressed to earn an at-large spot in the NAIA National Championships during the spring, marking the squad’s third trip to NAIA Nationals. This fall, head coach Arron Patrick has Grace’s sights set on a longer stay at NAIAs.

Manchester University Director of Athletics Rick Espeset has announced that Roger Karns has been hired as the next head men's and women's swimming & diving coach.

Warsaw’s boys soccer team had eight breakaway chances against the Carroll Chargers’ goalkeeper Ben Tuckey, but they did not finish on any of them, consequently dropping their season opener at the Warsaw Soccer Complex to Carroll 2-1.

New Whitko football coach Chip Coldiron is almost 10 months removed from running for Congress — but he’s not done campaigning. “Running for Congress taught me a lot of things I can use as a football coach, like forming a staff, learning to fund-raise and cold-calling,” said Coldiron, who lost his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives last November, after winning a four-candidate Democratic primary five months earlier. “I’ve been cold-calling a lot of students,” the fittingly named Coldiron said last week.

Cripe 3rd overall, Wawasee 2nd at Westview Invitational, Warriors Sweep Bremen, Valley Volleyball Opens With Road Sweep

Sly and the Family Stone’s 1971 song, “Family Affair”, reached number one on the singles chart, and 50 years later its relevance resurfaces as it relates to a good-sized chunk of the 2021 Warsaw Tigers’ football program. The 2021 Tiger gridders have the largest collection of sibling teammates, and father-son coaching combinations in at least two decades. They’ll head into the regular season with ten football families including two sets of twins.

August is a great month for football even when it is still delivering preseason product at all levels. Coaches’, players’, and fans’ collective level of excitement curves upward, toward a new season, an open canvas.

The national reputation for Grace College’s women’s soccer program has been established. Now, the Lady Lancers are hungry for more. Under the watchful guidance of head coach Michael Voss, the Lady Lancers have taken monumental steps as a program. Voss, now in his 15th year as the winningest coach in program history, has led Grace to a perennial ranking in the NAIA Top 25.

Phil Jensen has called for a handoff, this time to wife Debbie. Jensen, most recently the head football coach at Whitko and formerly the longtime head coach at Warsaw, retired in late June from the sidelines again. He’s also stepped down as workplace development coordinator at Whitko Career Academy.

Warsaw’s head volleyball coach Chandra Hepler clearly identified five of her six starters who will launch the 2021 season. The Tigers, returning eight athletes who started or had meaningful rotations from last year’s 22-9 Northern Lakes Conference championship season (7-0), will find out early in the season who among the remaining six athletes will rise to play key roles in 2021.

It might seem like a strange time to bring this up, but with the start of the high school sports season looming I didn’t want any more time to pass before I addressed it. The ice rink in Winona Lake is not a good idea…it’s a great idea!

Lady Tigers Fall To Carroll, Whitko Downs North Miami, Ticketing Information For Warsaw VB Match At Concordia