As Yogi Berra would say, it's deja vu all over again.
Last week, I wrote a column about two Warsaw teams who had their season ended, but still deserved respect for strong showings.
This week, I can't help but do it again. This time, the target of my compliments is the Warsaw football team.
Forgive the redundancy, but this Tigers team is, at the very least, deserving of a column.
On paper, it may not seem like Warsaw made much of a leap from last season to this one. They went 7-3 this year, as opposed to 6-5 in 2017.
The Tigers also went to the sectional championship game last year, before losing to Penn.
This year, Warsaw lost to Penn in the sectional opener.
Look past the surface, though, and you'll see a team that has come leaps and bounds in a small amount of time.
This is not meant with any disrespect to any coaches who came before, but Bart Curtis' way of doing things clearly looks good in orange and black.
Warsaw went 7-2 in the regular season, losing to Plymouth on a field goal that video evidence later showed was no good, and then to undefeated, Class 4A No. 1 NorthWood.
Both games came down to the wire. Then, there was Friday's 16-7 loss to Penn. Warsaw drew a crummy sectional, having to face Penn on the road.
Still, the Tigers held a 7-3 lead at halftime, and had chances to build upon that lead in the second half.
They let those chances slip by, but anyone who saw the players emotionally embracing each other after the game knows it was not from lack of trying.
The Tigers' culture has been building all season. It's vibrant, contagious, and has the town pumped up. There's no doubt it will spill into next year.
One of the most exciting things about this team is the fact that Warsaw did so well while spending all summer instilling a new offense and most of the season continuing to learn it.
Now, with a whole year of the triple option offense under their belt, the Tigers should run it with a smooth sophistication in 2019.
But for now, I tip my winter 76ers hat — which you'll surely see me wearing when walking into basketball games — to the 2018 Warsaw Tigers.
