Tiger football season comes to an end ... Carroll 27 Warsaw 0

A few weeks ago when the IHSAA selection committee guy reached in and grabbed the ping-pong balls to select the Sectional 2 teams, you could almost hear the jubilation coming out of Phil Jensen's office. The Tigers drew the Fort Wayne Carroll Chargers. The Chargers, 6-3 entering Sectional 2, looked like a team Warsaw could handle ... on paper. Unfortunately, football is played on the field, not a piece of paper. The other two teams in the bracket, Goshen and Laporte entered the playoffs with losing records. Again, on paper it looked good for the Tigers. Again, the game is played on the field.

The Carroll Chargers came to play the game on the field Friday night. Unfortunately, the Warsaw Tigers did not. The result was a 27-0 loss for the mighty Tigers.

The game started out on a positive note for Warsaw. The Tigers moved the ball down the field, deep into Carroll territory. What has been a thorn in the side all year, a Warsaw fumble on the Carroll 30 yard line gave the Chargers the ball and it was all Carroll after that.

Carroll moved the ball with ease after the turnover, marching 70 yards on 8 plays to take a 7-0 lead...a lead that would never be threatened.

Carroll scored again in the second quarter but missed the extra point. Carroll 13 Warsaw 0 at the half.

The Tigers were fortunate. After being thoroughly dominated in the first half, Warsaw found themselves down by only two scores. Dominated may seem like a harsh word but when Carroll runs 43 plays and Warsaw runs 18 plays ... when Carroll has 255 yards of offense to Warsaw's 68, being down only 13-0 was a blessing.

In the second half, Carroll received the ball, but like it has done all year, the Warsaw defense was there. The defense was led by Cameron "the animal' Fritzel. The senior led all Warsaw tacklers with 11 tackles, 5 of them solo. Fritzel was also credited with 12 assists and 3 tackles for loss. A gutty game for a special player.

The Warsaw defense was on the field for what seemed like forever. A 3rd quarter punt return for a touchdown and Carroll had themselves a 20-0 lead entering the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter was not kind to the Tigers as John Hester hauled in a 71 yard Grant Wilson pass to cap off the scoring. Wilson finished the game 17-28 for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, the star of the game for Carroll was senior wide receiver John Hester who was open all night long. Hester finished the game with 11 receptions for 224 yards and a touchdown.

Carroll came to play on this night. Obviously, Warsaw did not. Three fumbles, all of them recovered by the Chargers and an interception was too much for the Tigers to overcome. The turnovers, along with an offense that could mount 143 total yards to their opponents 443 and it's ONE AND DONE for the Tigers. ONE AND DONE for the second year in a row.

Fritzel led the Tiger defense. However, sophomore Tristan McClone had 6.5 tackles along with junior Forde Ness's 6.5 tackles. Senior Lance Lybarger pitched in with 6 tackles of his own and junior Taylor Cone had 5 tackles and an interception for the Tigers.

Warsaw ends the season with a record of 4-6. Although this team fought all year long, especially after an 0 - 3 start, it was the second straight losing season for the mighty Tigers.

Tiger Sports Nation would like to extend a "thank you" out to all of our seniors. This season did not turn out like they had hoped but what people tend to forget or choose to ignore is that what they see on Friday nights is the finished product. What they do not see is all the time that is spent in getting there. Practice every day. Film sessions. Work out sessions. The time that goes into preparing to play on Friday nights is mind-boggling. Tiger Sports Nation wants this year's football team to know that we realize this and thank the Tiger players along with the coaching staff for all of their efforts.

Our varsity season has come to an end. Our JV and freshmen teams are done as well. We are proud of all of our boys as they fought like Tigers throughout the year.

There is one more football game to be played in the town of Warsaw, Indiana. This Tuesday, October 25, the Lakeview Tiger 8th grade football team (7-1) takes on the Lincoln (Plymouth) Red Storm (8-0) for the NELMSC championship. Lincoln is the only team that has defeated Lakeview this year. The game is being played at Lakeview Middle School and will follow the 7th grade game between Whitko and Wawasee. The 7th grade game will kick off at 5:00 pm with the 8th grade set to start at approximately 6:30 pm.

GO TIGERS!

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Football