Warsaw Captures Third Sectional Title In School History

Way back in August, the Warsaw and Fort Wayne Snider football teams met in the season opener. The Panthers controlled the game for a majority of the contest, but it was a fourth-quarter comeback by the Tigers that gave the game its final result. Fast forward three months later, and the two teams met again at Fisher Field with a sectional championship on the line. With Snider 44-7 all-time in same-season rematches, Warsaw was able to buck the trend with yet another comeback in the final 12 minutes to capture a 14-3 win, as well as the third sectional title in school history. 

“I’m so glad for these kids. Three weeks ago tonight it was a different feel,” Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis said. “Three weeks ago we failed to win a championship and tonight we did not. These kids deserve to hold some hardware.” 

After a misplay on the opening kickoff of the game, Snider began the contest backed up at its own five yard line. What followed was an incredibly impressive drive for the visitors. The Tiger defense did a great job at containing the run game, but quarterback Max Johnson was able to come up with big throw after big throw to keep the chains moving. 

Ten minutes came off of the clock before the Warsaw defense finally came up with a stop on third and long to force a field goal attempt. After remaining on field for basically the entire first quarter, the Tiger defense came away with the first victory of the night as Maddox Shovlin’s 43-yard attempt landed short of the goal post, meaning what could have been a statement drive ended up putting no points on the board. 

“That was big. It shortened the game. We did not expect the game that we got tonight after the track meet we had the first time we played,” Curtis said. “We adapted well and our defense really led the way.”

It didn’t take long for the Panthers to regain the lost momentum, as on the first play following the first Warsaw first down of the night, quarterback Mark Haynes coughed the ball up on a keeper to give the ball right back to the visitors. With a much shorter field to work with this time, Snider found itself in the red zone early in the second quarter. This led to a wildcat run on second down by Brayloin Burton, who found the edge and ran the ball into the end zone. However, a hold negated the touchdown and stalled the drive. Shovlin came back out to attempt a 29 yarder this time around, and he was able to barely sneak it through for the first score of the game. 

By this point, 13 minutes of game time had gone by, the Tigers trailed 3-0 and the offense had been on the field for less than a minute. Things looked promising on the team’s second drive of the night, as fullback Michael Schenck continued his hot streak as he needed multiple defenders to take him down each time he carried the rock. Eventually, Warsaw was left facing a fourth and medium near midfield. The home side elected to go for it, putting it in Haynes’ hands. The quarterback had Grady Nelson open down the field, but couldn’t put the throw on him. After the Tigers’ second turnover of the night, this time on downs, the Panthers got the ball right back. 

Warsaw senior Matthew Flores-Ortega stretches out to get a hand on the Snider's field goal attempt in the first quarter. The ball still barely made it through the uprights for Snider's lone score of the game....Nieter

The orange and black were able to get the stop they needed on defense, forcing a punt after a three-and-out. However, that punt was a great one, pinning the home side back at their own two with four minutes until halftime. 

Tucker Reed and Wyatt Harman were both featured heavily on the drive that followed, as Warsaw was finding success running the ball to the outside. Battling the clock, the Tigers got onto the Snider side of the field with less than a minute left. That’s where the drive ended though, as Haynes underthrew a pass trying to pick up a chunk to get into field goal range, and it was intercepted to end the first half. Headed into the break, the Panthers still held a slim 3-0 lead. 

Warsaw got the ball to begin the second half, but the drive that followed shared the same result as the previous three. Right after crossing midfield, things stalled out once again for the Tiger offense, resulting in another fourth down attempt. After Curtis was forced to burn his second timeout of the five and a half minute drive, another underthrown ball was intercepted, keeping the goose egg on the scoreboard for the home side. 

As poor as the offense had performed to this point, the defense had shined just as brightly. Less than two minutes ticked off the clock by the time Warsaw had forced another punt. Despite their best efforts to keep their team in the game, the offense continued to get in its own way. Just three plays after getting the ball back, the Tigers put the ball on the turf once again, giving the ball right back to the Panthers. 

“It’s a team game. Our offense really struggled tonight but our defense came up with plays time and time again to give us a shot,” Curtis said. “They held a really good team to three points. I couldn’t be prouder of those kids.” 

With Snider just outside of field goal range, the Tiger D again held strong, forcing an incompletion on fourth down with the visitors in no man’s land. With time running out in the third quarter, the Warsaw offense looked to have finally got the spark it was looking for. After the chain gang had to come out to measure a first down, the Tigers elected to snap the ball in the final 10 seconds of the period. It proved to be the right choice, as Haynes parted the defense like the Red Sea and rumbled downfield for a 33-yard gain to end the quarter. 

“It really broke things open for us. We had a sneak called, and it sparked us,” Curtis said. “It was a struggle offensively for three quarters but eventually we got it going.” 

The play completely flipped the field to begin the fourth, putting the home side inside of the opposing 30. Facing a fourth and short a few plays later, Haynes executed a perfect fake handoff, instead pitching the ball to Tucker Reed. With the defense caught off guard, the senior had more than enough space to race into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown of the night from 20 yards out. One John Conley extra point later, and Warsaw had its first lead of the night, 7-3, with 9:45 left. 

Senior Tucker Reed breaks into the open to score Warsaw's frist touchdown of the fourth quarter...Nieter

Momentum remained on the side of the home team on the ensuing drive. A squib kick gave Snider some good starting field position, and a couple of nice runs put the Panthers in Warsaw territory. Facing third down, Johnson completed a pass to his tight end Ketron Paschall. Paschall picked up the first down, but Matthew Flores-Ortega delivered a big hit to knock the ball free to force the first Snider turnover of the night. 

It took awhile to get there, but on this drive, the Tiger offense looked like what fans have gotten accustomed to this season. Warsaw methodically marched down the field, picking up first down after first down with Schenck and Haynes doing a brunt of the work. Reed did get one carry on this drive, and it was another long one, but he appeared to be injured on the tackle and did not return to the game. 

The home side was able to shake off the injury to one of their leaders, continuing to move the ball down field and into the red zone. Eventually the Tigers were able to pick up a first down inside the 10 for a first and goal. From there, it was Schenck punching it in from four yards out for the team’s second TD of the quarter. Somehow, someway, Warsaw now led 14-3 with 1:53 left. 

“All we wanted to do was take care of the football, burn the clock, put ourselves in the best possible position, and that’s exactly what we did,” Curtis said. 

Now, for the Panthers to find a way to win, they needed to score twice without the Tigers touching the ball. Instead, they were met with yet another stand by the home defense. The secondary shined on this final series, breaking up a series of passes to force a turnover on downs to clinch the second sectional title for the orange and black in three years. 

Warsaw (10-1) travels to take on Lafayette Jefferson in the regional next Friday.