1	2	3	4	F
	Goshen Redskins	0	0	7	0	7
	Warsaw Tigers	0	21	0	0	21

Home cooking is comforting.

Homecoming is just what our Warsaw Tiger football needed.

In front of the largest crowd of the season....on a gorgeous late September night....the legs of Zach Rooney, Brock Anson, Tyler Adams and Jeremy Coppes overpowered the Goshen Redskins leading the Warsaw Tigers to their first win of the season by the score of 21 - 7.

Something was different from the very beginning of this game. Something was very different from last week. Something was different that had not happened the entire season...thus far. The Tigers led from start to finish. The Tigers dominated in every offensive category. EVERY OFFENSIVE CATEGORY.

1st downs ... Warsaw 19 Goshen 10

Rushing yards ... Warsaw 289 Goshen 77

Total plays ... Warsaw 70 Goshen 44

Total offense ... Warsaw 309 Goshen 177

The most glaring statistic, in the writer's opinion, had to do with turnovers. Through the first five games Warsaw was MINUS 12 in the turnover department. Not good. Last night Warsaw won the turnover battle 1-0 (Senior Cody Braggs big interception).

After a scoreless first quarter, Zach Rooney opened the Tiger scoring with a 1 yard blast giving the Tigers the lead...for the first time this season. Scott Smyth's extra point was good and the Tigers led 7-0. A lead they would not relinquish.

As well as the offense played, the defense flexed its muscle all night. On the next possession the Tiger defense forced Goshen to punt (three and out).

In steps # 21. A kid named Rooney. Zach Rooney.

Rooney's 45 yard electric run...zigging and zagging his way to the end zone gave the Tigers a 13-0 lead. Smyth's extra point made it Warsaw 14 Goshen 0.

The Tiger defense once again stiffened and got the ball back. Up to this point in the season the Tigers would have been more than satisfied taking a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Phil Jensen thought otherwise.

Quarterback Jeremy Coppes was fairly quiet up to this point. Not anymore. With a little over two minutes to go in the first half, Coppes ran left and kept on running....for 22 yards....all the way down to the Goshen 1 yard line. Then something bad happened. A Goshen defender punched the ball out of Coppes's arm on the one yard line! Fumble into the endzone. As I stated at the very beginning of this article, sometimes a little home cooking, okay homecoming, is just what the doctor ordered. Coppes's fumble bounced into the end zone but sophomore Taylor Cone, who was blocking his man all the way down the field made a football play. A big, big football play. Cone jumped on the fumble in the end zone and after a Scott Smyth extra point, the Tigers had a commanding 21 - 0 lead at halftime.

Warsaw and Goshen play football in the Northern Lakes Conference. For those unfamiliar with Northern Lakes Conference football it should be noted that teams do not give up. NLC teams are tough and gritty. Goshen proved just that.

Goshen opened the 3rd quarter with an 11-play, 80 yard scoring drive cutting the Tigers lead to 21-7.

Was the momentum about to shift to the guys in the red and white? Up to this point of the season it might have. Warsaw's defense would have none of it. Led by the 5 1/2 tackles of junior Cameron Fritzel, the 3 1/2 tackles by junior Brock Anson and the 3 1/2 tackles by senior Cody Bragg, the Tiger defense stiffened and held Goshen out of the end zone the rest of the game en route to their first win of the season.

Head coach Phil Jensen was heard saying after the game that this team did not have a superstar. That this Tiger team was a collection of great kids who play extremely hard.

He was right.

The Tigers go on the road next week to play the team from Syracuse. The team from Syracuse ended Plymouth's 23 regular season winning streak last night running their record to 4-2. Playing for the "W" trophy is special. The fact that the Tigers have owned the "W" trophy for the last three years adds a little more to this rivalry...as though it really needed it !

Hope to see you there.

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Football

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