Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WARSAW — The postseason is here for Warsaw football.
The Tigers are one of 32 teams in the IHSAA Class 5A tournament.
Fort Wayne Wayne (1-8) visits Warsaw (8-1) Friday, Oct. 30 in the semifinals of Sectional 11 at Fisher Field.
Tigers head coach Bart Curtis is not looking past the Generals.
“They're big,” Curtis said. “They're physical.
“The record is not indicative of what type of players they have.
They have a lot of speed offensively and an absolutely massive offensive line.”
Under the direction of second-year head coach Darrion White, Wayne carries an 8.4 offensive average and 32.4 defensive average. The Generals gain 87.6 passing yards per contest.
On the season, sophomore quarterback Ryan Smith is 66-of-154 passing for 710 yards and five TD’s with nine interceptions.
Receiving yardage leaders are senior Tyree Eldridge (254 on 18 catches with four TD’s), senior Jaston White (232 on 19 catches with one TD) and senior Brian Williams (133).
Rushing yardage leaders are junior Kevon Morris (118 with one TD) and senior Kamari Morris (68).
Total tackle leaders are senior Mykalan Westmoreland (88), White (67), senior Kameren Derrick (50), senior MaKhi Muff (43), sophomore Ta’hari Nelson (43), senior Ashton Martin (41), senior Carrington Morris (40) and senior LaQuauhn Cummings (40).
Tyree Eldridge has intercepted three passes. Junior JaVontae Eldridge — a 6-foot-5, 245-pounder lineman who has gotten an offer from the University of Michigan — has recovered three fumbles.
Wayne is 50-40 in the postseason. The last of six sectional crowns came in 1996. The Generals were 4A state champions in 1995.
Wayne lost 19-12 against visiting Fort Wayne Northrop in Week 9. The Generals’ win came in Week 5 at Fort Wayne South Side.
“We beat Northrop by one point, and they lost to Northrop by a score,” Curtis said. “Their scores are a little deceiving. They’ve played some people tough.”
Warsaw and Wayne have not met in varsity football the last 40 years.
John Harrell’s prediction: Warsaw, 49-3.
The Tigers are 22-41 all-time in playoff games including 9-8 with Curtis as head coach with the program’s only two sectional (2019 and 2024), regional (2024) and semistate (2024) titles.
In 2026, the Class 5A USA Today/Network Indiana No. 4/Indiana Football Coaches Association No. 6 Warsaw lost 37-30 at Northridge with the Northern Lakes Conference title on the line in Week 9.
“We had opportunities,” Curtis said of that Oct. 16 contest in Middlebury. “Northridge had opportunities as well, and they found ways to make that happen.
“Congratulations to them. They earned the championship.
“I just felt bad we couldn't do it for our kids.”
The Tigers received a bye in the first week of the postseason and did not practice the Saturday after the Northridge game through Tuesday then came back Wednesday through Saturday and then all this week.
Upon returning to practice and the junior varsity and freshman seasons over, two scout teams were able to work on Wayne plays while the other players studied tape.
“I hope that the kids come back excited for football after taking a little breather and it feels a little bit like a new season to it, but they haven't forgotten everything and the base of what we do,” Curtis said. “There are many things that we need to improve upon like sustaining drives and not trying to fit a square peg in a round hole offensively.
“We’ve got to tackle, cover better and get off blocks (on defense).”
Curtis gives positive marks to his offensive line.
“We’ve got some big bodies up there that have improved a really good deal over the course of the season,” Curtis said. “Schematically, we’ve tried to keep it as simple as possible.
“They need to improve in some areas.”
On the season, junior quarterback Mark Haynes is 9-of-18 passing for 200 yards and four TD’s with three interceptions.
The team averages 361.1 ground yards per game.
Rushing yardage leaders are senior halfback Tucker Reed (880 with 11 TD’s), senior fullback Michael Schenck (799 with eight TD’s), Haynes (341 with four TD’s), sophomore fullback Mason Silveus (316 with six TD’s), senior halfback Wyatt Harman (308 with four TD’s) and junior QB Brady Sauer (291 with two TD’s).
The receiving yardage leader is Reed (126 and six catches with two TD’s).
Tackle point leaders are senior Matthew Flores-Ortega (98), senior Nathan Villa (84), junior Ty Martin (79), junior Jack Bradford (70), senior Grady Nelson (58), senior Brody Heady (47), senior Andrew Robertson (45), junior Ethan Sinclair (35), senior Cam Bause (30).
Bradford has intercepted four passes. Villa and sophomore Josiah Bontrager have recovered two fumbles apiece.
Sophomore kicker John Conley is 28-of-29 on extra points and 3-of-3 on field goals.
Reed (30.5) and Harman (25.0) are kickoff return yardage leaders.
The Tigers sport a 37.1 offensive average and 18.1 defensive average.
Warsaw has scored at least 30 points seven times and is 5-0 at home.
