Warsaw Football: Tigers Have A Senior Moment
WARSAW – The senior class of the Warsaw football team had a moment to remember Friday night.
Make that a senior moment to savor for the tight-knight Class of 2017.
The Tigers, sparked by a slew of standout performances from its seniors, upended playoff nemesis Carroll 23-13 in a Class 6-A Sectional 3 semfinal game at Fisher Field.
Warsaw, which improves to 6-4, advances to host No. 11 Homestead (8-2) in the sectional championship game next Friday night. Homestead, which beat Carroll 35-18 on Sept. 30, defeated Fort Wayne Northrop 66-31 Friday night.
Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said earlier in the week that it was all about how bad his team wanted to suit up for one more game coming off a bye week following two straight losses to close out the regular season.
He found out that they wanted it pretty bad.
The Tigers, who had lost their last four meetings with Carroll (all in postseason play), were outstanding in all three phases of the game in outplaying the Chargers.
“What a great effort by everyone on this team tonight,” said coach Jensen following the huge win. “I’m just so proud of all of them. We have talked all season about being grateful to be able to play this game for a great school and a great community and having a grateful heart. These kids showed it tonight. We are just so blessed.
“These seniors just love each other and they love this program. Now we have a chance to make history next week.”
The Tigers, who are now 12-31 all-time in postseason play, will try to knock off Homestead for the first sectional title in program history.
Want heroes from Friday night?
Try Michael Jensen. The gutsy Tiger quarterback threw a pair of touchdown passes despite playing with an injured elbow on his left arm from the season finale versus Concord two weeks ago.
Try Jeremy David. The stud tight end caught both of Jensen’s scoring tosses and also had an interception on defense.
Try Andrew Mevis. The brilliant kicker nailed three field goals and gave the Tigers the edge all night long in the field position game with his booming kickoffs and punts.
Try Rob Sullivan. The backup tailback and starter on on defense stepped in when starter Will McGarvey left the game early on after getting dinged up and ran hard all night long.
What do the quality quartet have in common?
All are seniors.
“We were solid in all three phases tonight,” said coach Jensen. “Jeremy David on both sides of the ball. He’s just a kid that does everything you ask of him. Michael ran the offense well. Rob stepped up huge and gave us a great effort. He exemplifies everything we want in a student-athlete in our program. Andrew did his job. He just gives us a big advantage in the kicking game.”
Warsaw, which lost to Carroll 49-21 in the sectional last year, led 13-7 at halftime. Mevis hit a 42 yard field goal in the opening quarter for a 3-0 lead. The Tigers made it 10-0 with 6:16 to play in the opening half as Jensen hit David right down the middle for a gorgeous 43-yard touchdown connection. Carroll cut the lead to 10-7 on a six-yard touchdown pass from Jack Miguel to Connor Call before Mevis drilled a 40 yard field goal with just 17.3 seconds left before intermission.
“I just did my job,” said Mevis is his humble low-key manner. “Hatch (holder Kyle Hatch) did a great job tonight. I was just focused on my next kick. This was really huge for us to get this win tonight.”
Mevis, who could be kicking for a lot of teams playing on Saturday, hit a 26-yarder late in the third period to make it 16-7. Jensen then found David with a 15-yard scoring toss with 5:22 to play to make it 23-7. The Chargers scored with 1:42 left on a 23-yard scoring toss from Miguel to Jordan Schmeling for the 23-13 final.
“This is amazing,” said Michael Jensen after giving his coach and father a huge hug following the win. “I’m so proud of the seniors. We have all been playing together since we were like 3 or 4 years old. The connection we have, that this entire team has, is incredible. I can’t wait for next Friday. I’ve never been more excited to have another practice.”
Warsaw outgained the Chargers 330-230 in a nearly flawless display. The Tigers, who had seven turnovers and gave up 106 points in losses to NorthWood and Concord to close the regular season, had no miscues. The defense held the Chargers, who were averaging 33 points-per-game, to its third lowest point total of the season. Carroll had the ball for just 16 minutes in the 48-minute contest.
Jensen was 12-19 passing for 177 yards and his two touchdown tosses to David give him 23 this season.
Sullivan gained 80 yards on 24 carries as the Tigers rushed for 153 yards. Sullivan entered the game with just 15 carries for 52 yards on the season.
Junior Will McGarvey had eight carries for 29 yards before leaving the game due to an injury early on. McGarvey, who was on the sidelines in street clothes the second half, now has 1,019 yards on the season.
Warsaw was 8-16 on third down conversions to just 5-15 for Carroll. Seniors Devin Street and D’Andre Street each had three receptions for Warsaw.
Carroll had just 11 first downs and rushed for only 53 yards on the night. Nic Novotny led Carroll with 19 rushes for 69 yards. Miguel was 13-29 passing for 167 yards and senior Ian Miller was 1-4 for 10 yards with an interception. Justin Becker had four catches for 68 yards and Jonathan Becker and Schmeling each had three receptions. The Chargers also had nine costly penalties for 80 yards.
AJ Villarreal, another senior, was a terror on defense for Warsaw. The monster defensive lineman, who missed the Concord game due to a rib injury, had six tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. Joseph Harness and Mason Faas were also big on defense for the Tigers.