Winning ugly. Field position. Running the football. Forcing turnovers. Goal line stands. Pitching a shutout.

I am sure there are more, but all of those things fit Phil Jensen's coaching style to tee. All of those things added up to a dominant defensive performance as the Warsaw Tigers went on the road and beat the Goshen Redskins 14-0 on a rainy Friday night at Foreman Field.

Surprisingly, a game where Warsaw did not complete a pass, there were a couple of "milestones" reached on this soggy night. Warsaw shutout its opponent for the first time since 2009, a 21-0 victory over Fort Wayne Northrop in the opening round of the Sectionals. Warsaw also tied a school record mounting a 99 and a half yard drive on 14 plays to to take a 14-0 lead.

Before you had a chance to open your umbrella, feisty sophomore Gabe Furnivall picked off an errant Goshen pass and returned the ball 18 yards for a Tiger touchdown. The feisty Furnivall would also end the game with 4.5 tackles. Tigers 7 Redskins 0.

HALFTIME.

The 3rd quarter began and it looked as if Goshen would make it interesting on this rainy night. The Redskins drove the ball down the field and had the ball first down and goal on the Warsaw 5 yard line. Warsaw would bend but not break. The Tigers gave up 4 1/2 yards...setting up a 4th down and goal from the 1/2 inch line. In golf they call this a "gimme." Pick the ball up. It's in the hole. The Tiger kickoff return team was assembling itself on the sideline getting ready to take the field in what looked to be a "gimme" touchdown for Goshen.

Quoting Florida State alumnus Lee Corso, (again) "not so fast my friend!"

The Tiger defense roared as they held Goshen to no gain and the ball turned over on downs! On this rainy, soggy night and the ball on its own inch line, the Tigers called on senior Brock Anson to save the day. Brock has been sidelined the last couple of weeks due to a concussion. As a matter of fact on this night he was penciled in to play defense ... only. The senior would have none of that as he called his own number on the option and got the Tigers out of "jail." Twelve plays later it was scoring machine Zach Rooney waltzing into the end zone giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead.

Warsaw held on, allowing the Redskins a paultry 167 total yards of offense.

The Tigers on the other hand amassed 248 yards of total offense led by Zach Rooney with 108 yards on 21 carries. Senior Peyton Balazs pitched in with 79 yards on 14 carries.

Along with Furnivall's "pick 6," Jeremy Lehman, Justin Miller and Taylor Cone also had interceptions. Forde Ness and Tanner Dickerhoff were both credited with a sack. Cameron Fritzel led the defense with 6 tackles. Lehman was credited with 5.5 tackles, Furnivall with 4.5, Ness had 4 tackles and Tristan McClone had 3.5 tackles. Lance Lybarger was also credited with 3.5 tackles but it seemed as if he was all over the field wreaking havoc on the Redskins all night long.

One win is a start. Two wins and you can start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Three wins in a row and it's a streak! The Warsaw Tiger football team is on a 3 game winning streak!

Next up for the Tigers is a game that in this writer's mind is a game that you just cannot lose.

It is a game against (I cannot even bring myself to mention their name) a team from the north that wears a hideous shade of green.

A game that is so important that a trophy is given to the winner to keep in their trophy case until the next year. It is a game where the mighty Tigers have a chance to meet on the Saturday following the Friday night game and take the "W" that is missing from their helmet ... and get it back on their helmets where it belongs.

For those of you that do not know or have not been paying attention ... the Warsaw football team played their final three games last year and their first six games this year with a "naked" helmet. The tradition of the "W" ... the Tigers beat that "green team" and they get to wear the "W" on their helmet. They lose and the "W" comes off.

In 2007, 2008 and 2009 the Tigers dominated the "green team" and the black helmets are sharp looking with that orange "W." Last year we were not as fortunate. Following the "W" game the mighty Tigers had to peel off those "W's" and go "naked."

The "W" trophy, the "W" helmets and oh by the way, the winner of this game sits alone in second place ... in the ever so tough Northern Lakes Conference. As a matter of fact, with Northwood and Concord remaining on the Tigers' schedule, the Tigers control their own destiny!

Other than that, this game on Friday night at home ... against "the green team" ... means nothing.

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Football