Tristan McClone of Warsaw blasts into Goshen’s John Trenshaw Friday night. McClone ran for 254 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-13 Tiger win (Photos by Scott Davidson)

GOSHEN – Tristan McClone was too good for his own good Friday night.

The Warsaw star tailback did not have a carry in the second half.

The Tigers didn’t need him to.

McClone had a monster opening half in pacing a focused Warsaw squad to a convincing 34-12 win over winless Goshen in a Northern Lakes Conference contest.

The Tigers, who improve to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the NLC, bounced back in a big way after a 24-0 NLC loss at home a week ago to Northridge.

Warsaw played with purpose and passion in the midst of a tough week. Warsaw coach Phil Jensen’s brother Gil passed away unexpectedly last Sunday. Jensen attended his brother’s funeral earlier in the day on Friday in South Bend before coaching the Tigers to a dominating win.

Warsaw tailback Tristan McClone looks on during the second half at Goshen Friday night.

McClone ran over, around and through a porous Redskin defense. The senior star had just 13 carries for 254 yards and three  touchdowns in the opening half as Warsaw built a 34-6 lead.

Jensen then opted to rest McClone, who is also playing linebacker, from his tailback spot with the game in complete control.

That was fine with McClone, who set the single-game school record a year ago with 322 yards versus Northridge. He also had five touchdowns in that 35-21 win, in a game in which he only played the first three quarters of.

The humble McClone, who had touchdown runs of 27, 50 and 15 yards, downplayed a question about breaking his own standard.

“It’s not like it matters,” said McClone. “I already have the record and I don’t care about that. It was fun tonight. It was nice to see the offensive line click and to see other guys get some carries.

“I had a better mentality tonight. I had not been performing up to par. It was not easy by any means out there tonight, but this was a good game to get back on track.”

McClone, who set the school single-season rushing record with 1,718 yards in 2012, entered play Friday night with 602 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.

Warsaw  wasted no time in taking command. The Tigers led 17-0 by the end of the opening period as McClone scored from 27 yards out first and then raced 50 yards. Caleb Klusman booted the first of his two field goals on the night for the 17-0 lead.

The Tigers stretched their lead to 27-0 midway through the second quarter. Klusman nailed another field goal and then senior fullback Jason Taylor bulled in from eight yards out.

Goshen, now 0-6 overall and 0-4 in conference play, made it 27-6 on an 11-yard touchdown toss from Derek DeMeyer to Brady Bechtel with just 2:14 left before intermission.

Warsaw senior Gabe Furnivall plays off a Goshen blocker Friday night.

Warsaw was not done though. The Tigers, after a punt, got the ball back at the Goshen 15. Senior Gabe Furnivall, who was all over the field again for the Tigers from his safety spot, drilled DeMeyer to force a fumble that teammate Darren Schaefer recovered. On the next play, McClone trotted in from 15 yards out to make it 34-6.

Warsaw scored points on all six of its’ possessions in the first half.

Jensen opted to play everyone, but the Warsaw bus driver, in the second half.  The foursome of Tanner Balazs, Ross Armey, Jacob Wood and Tyler Packard all got plenty of work in the backfield with McClone on the sidelines.

The Tigers, who beat Goshen 17-0 last season, did not attempt a pass in the second half of the victory.

Warsaw, with its offensive line opening huge holes all night long, rushed for 380 yards in the dominating win.

Kris Hueber, the defensive coordinator for the Tigers, spoke following the game as Jensen left the field with his family.

“The biggest thing that coach wanted was for the guys to execute and play hard tonight,” said Hueber. “There’s maybe been opportunities where we did not leave it all on the field.

“It was about more focus and more purpose driven this week. We harp on being as aggressive as possible and good things happen when you attack and we did that.

“I was really happy with our offensive line tonight. They just let it go. They pinned their ears back and just got after it.”

McClone had seven runs of 10 or more yards in his impressive first half performance.

Schaefer, Furnivall and Caleb Wooldridge were the top tacklers for an aggressive, relentless Tiger defense. Warsaw was without standout linebacker Seth Fouts, who missed the game due to an injury.

Warsaw hosts Wawasee next Friday night in a huge NLC game. The Warriors beat the Tigers 14-13 last year and have won three in a row versus their county rival. Wawasee improved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the NLC Friday night with an impressive 52-35 home win over Plymouth.

Fullback Jason Taylor leads the way for Tristan McClone Friday night. McClone had three touchdowns and Taylor one in a 34-13 Warsaw win over Goshen.