Rhoades, Marshall Help Hand Redskins A Loss
GOSHEN – The Warsaw football team was in good hands Friday night.
Mainly thanks to the magnificent mitts of Riley Rhoades and Collin Marshall.
Receiver Rhoades took care of the offense and Marshall made the plays on defense to ignite the Tigers to a dominating 35-7 Northern Lakes Conference win over Goshen.
Senior Rhoades, a matchup nightmare for defenses at 6-4 with blazing speed, hauled in 13 receptions, including a pair of touchdown tosses from Michael Jensen, for 214 yards as Warsaw beat the Redskins for the eighth straight time.
Junior Marshall made a pair of picks from his defensive back position, returning the second one for a 60-yard touchdown for the final score and an exclamation point on a big victory.
Warsaw, winners of its last two games, improves to 3-3 overall and in the 2-2 NLC. Goshen, losers of its last two contests, drops to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in league play. The Redskins had lost 23 straight games entering this season, including going 0-10 last year.
The Tigers, who shut out Goshen three of the last four years including 24-0 last season, scored the final 28 points Friday night.
Warsaw was very good in all three phases of the game, including a huge 4-0 edge in turnovers.
Quarterback Jensen just continues to get better in the no-huddle, spread system in his first year as the starter. He was 21-28 passing for 338 yards with three touchdowns.
“We thought we could find some different spots tonight to get things for Riley against their defense,” said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. “Our offensive line protected well, Michael threw the ball well and Riley made some big plays.
“Our defense bent a lot tonight, but did not break. Collin had a big game for us with those two picks. To create that many turnovers and not have any is a pretty good night.
“Our challenge tonight was to come out and play four quarters after we just had to play two on Saturday (to finish off a 14-7 win over Northridge in a game that had been suspended last Friday night due to weather). Our defense stepped up for us in the second half.”
Warsaw got a huge pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes of the opening half to gain momentum and take control.
The defense forced Goshen into a pair of three and out series and Jensen to Rhoades took over. Jensen hit Rhoades with an 11-yard scoring strike with 1:38 to play to make it 14-7. The connection then clicked with just four ticks left until intermission as Jensen fired a perfect strike on a crossing route to Rhoades on a fourth and 10 play that resulted in a huge 37-yard touchdown for a 21-7 halftime lead.
Jensen, who completed his first 10 passes of the game, was 14-19 passing for 224 yards in the first half. Rhoades had 10 catches for 161 yards in the opening half.
“That was a backbreaker before halftime,” said coach Jensen of the gorgeous 37-yard score to the athletic Rhoades. “That was a big, big play for us by Riley. I was just thinking a field goal on that drive.
“Michael is maturing as a quarterback. Confidence goes a long way. I just am pleased with the chemistry of everyone on the team right now.”
Rhoades, a three-sport athlete who is having a phenomenal year on the gridiron, said it’s all about faith.
“It’s about having faith in the quarterback and our offense,” said Rhoades, who now has 54 receptions for 623 yards and six touchdowns in six games. “I was just reacting on the touchdown before half. I got open and just ran for the touchdown. It’s just about keeping our heads and focus on getting better every day.”
Rhoades, who owns the single-game reception record with 17 catches in a game, just missed the single-game yardage receiving mark for the program Friday night. Ron Davis holds that standard with 220 yards receiving versus Northridge in 1987. Davis set the WCHS school record that night with just six receptions.
Warsaw went up 7-0 in the first period late on a six-yard touchdown run by Will McGarvey. Goshen tied the contest at 7-7 on a four-yard run by Dylan Back with 9:10 to play in the opening half. Warsaw then hit the pair of scores to Rhoades to make it 21-7.
The Tigers added two scores in the final period. Jensen threw a beautiful 33-yard touchdown strike to Jeremy David to make it 28-7. Marshall then capped the scoring with his interception return for the final tally.
David had six catches for 85 yards for Warsaw. McGarvey had 13 carries for 34 yards and Rob Sullivan 11 rushes for 33 yards. Warsaw outgained the Redskins 391-283.
Junior quarterback Jensen, who did not play last season, is now 121-226 passing for 1,540 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions through six games.
Brock Riley and Dylan Childers each had a fumble recovery in the win for the Tigers. David and Landan Perry were the top tacklers for Warsaw.
Goshen junior quarterback C.J. Detweiler was 18-26 passing for 135 yards. Corbin Harrison and Rummel Johnson each had six catches to lead the Redkins. Chris Ubaldo had 11 carries for 49 yards and Jeff Stoll 11 rushes for 47 yards.
Warsaw hosts Wawasee (2-4, 0-4) and Goshen plays at Northridge (4-2, 2-2) in NLC action next Friday night.
Wawasee lost 29-20 to Plymouth and Northridge beat NorthWood 31-21 in league play Friday night.