DUNLAP – The Concord football team threw the big punch at Warsaw right from the start Friday night.

The Tigers, though, never flinched or backed down as they picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and gamely fought back from the early haymaker.

It just wasn’t enough in the end.

The host Minutemen grabbed a quick two-touchdown lead and then held off the determined Tigers 26-20 in the Northern Lakes Conference and regular-season finale for both squads at Jake Field.

Concord, ranked No. 6 in Class 5-A, improves to 8-1 overall and finishes at 6-1 in the NLC, Warsaw, which sees its three-game winning streak stopped, falls to 5-4 overall and wraps up league play at 4-3.

Fifty seconds.

That’s all it took the host Minutemen to take a 7-0 lead Friday night. Harold Moon got the hosts going with a big return on the opening kickoff and a personal foul on the Tigers on the play moved the ball to the Warsaw 26 yard line.

Concord grabbed its 7-0 lead just two plays later as sophomore quarterback Ethan Cain hit senior tight end Brady Reed with a 21-yard touchdown toss.

The Minutemen, who were coming off their lone loss of the season last week to Northridge, made it 14-0 less than three minutes later. This time, workhorse running back Dominick De Broka raced in from eight yards out to cap a three-play, 35-yard scoring drive.

“The start couldn’t have been worse for us,” said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen.

“We won the toss and deferred. The way I drew it up was we kick the ball in the end zone on the opening kickoff, we stop them and we score. And I’m always right,” Jensen added with tongue firmly in cheek about the tough first 3:26 that found his team down 14-0.

The Tigers responded in a big way though.

The duo of quarterback Tristan Larsh and receiver Zach Riley hooked up a sweet 62-yard toss and run for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 5:39 to go in the opening period.  The pair, who both practiced very little this week due to injuries, were outstanding all game long.

Both Warsaw and Concord each missed out on scoring chances in the second period by misfiring on field goal chances despite having a pair of outstanding kickers in Harrison Mevis for the Tigers and Josh Gorball for the Minutemen.

Concord took a 16-7 lead into the locker room at halftime though after getting a safety with just 13.9 seconds to play before intermission. The snap in punt formation sailed over Mevis’ head and out of the back of the end zone.

The Minutemen, who have now won seven of the last eight meetings versus the Tigers, stretched its lead to 26-7 in the third period. De Broka scored on a four-yard run and then Gorball hit a field goal. The Concord defense did not allow Warsaw a first down in the third stanza, holding them to a trio of three-and-out possessions.

The Tigers showed their mettle in the final quarter. Sophomore Blake Marsh pilfered a Concord pass attempt on the first place of the fourth stanza for a pick six to cut the deficit to 26-13 with 11:50 to play. Larsh then hit Riley with a 35-yard touchdown pass to make it 26-20 with 4:31 to play in the game.

The Minutemen, though, behind their massive offensive line, were able to run out the final 4:31 to seal the win.

“Concord is a good football team,” noted Jensen. “They have size and athletes. They took advantage of their opportunities early. This one could have gotten out of hand early, but our kids didn’t quit. They battled back and they played.

“We had a lot of gutty performances tonight. I was real pleased with Tristan and Zach. They hardly practiced at all this week and really came out and performed well. I’m just real pleased with the resiliency and determination tonight that all of our kids showed.”

Concord used its punishing ground game to outgain Warsaw 435-195 in total yards. Running behind a huge offensive line, led by 6-4, 290-pound senior Grant Magnuson, the Minutemen rushed for 343 yards on 49 carries.

De Broka was the main man with 21 carries for 149 yards. Jack Lietzan had 12 totes for 99 yards and Cain 16 for 95 for the Minutemen, who averaged seven yards per carry and piled up 28 first downs.

Larsh was 8-17 passing for 135 yards. He also led the rushing attack, which only accounted for 60 yards, with 14 carries for 54 yards.

Riley had a monster game all over the field. The senior had seven receptions for 132 yards to go with his two touchdown grabs. He also added an interception.

Lane McClone led the Tiger defense with 13 total tackles. Logan Johnson had 8.5 tackles and Riley six.

Warsaw is idle until hosting Chesterton in a Class 6-A sectional semifinal game on Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Fisher Field. Concord is also off until playing its sectional opener on Oct. 27 versus either Fort Wayne North or Elkhart Memorial.