HUNTERTOWN - Braden Steely, a sophomore kick returner for the Carroll Chargers, returned Mason Smythe's opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with the help of a perfectly execut ed wall up the left sideline. The hosts never looked back, shutting out the Warsaw Tigers 36 0 to hoist one of 48 sectional championship tro phies awarded this weekend among Indiana's six football classes. The Tigers thought they had Steely corralled around the Chargers' 25 yard line before things fell apart at the start of the evening's action. "We had guys out of lanes, and it goes downhill from there," Warsaw had coach Bart Curtis said. "We fumbled the ball away when we had a nice drive. It didn't go our way. Very disappointing that we came out and played like this." The miscues Curtis cited put the Tigers behind 29 0 by halftime, and Carroll only had one scoring drive start ing from their side of the field, but still found payback when South Dakota State commit Jeff Becker ran 65 yards on a quarterback score with 52.9 ticks on the clock. "It was a called draw," Curtis noted. "Our backers went out to cover the pass. He found the seam." Becker, who threw for 228 yards in last year's 42 35 post season loss to Warsaw, was a nuisance on the ground this year gaining 131 yards on nine carries with three touchdown runs (one yard, 65 yards, 13 yards). Accuracy was more of a problem this year. Becker connected on five of 15 pass attempts for 59 yards and a touchdown pass to AJ Lazoff with 7:12 left on the first half. The Tigers' who were scored upon in six of seven meaningful Charger posses sions for the game, put Carroll in a position where they didn't need to put together any long drives for a score. Warsaw's first four possessions ended with a fumble, a bad punt snap resulting in a 19 yard loss, another fumble, and turnover on downs. Warsaw's fans are accus tomed to seeing their squad execute such brutal offensive efficiency, but it did not hap pen last night in Huntertown. The Tigers suffered their first shutout since Curtis took the program's reins in 2018. Warsaw held its hosts to 58 second half yards and one touchdown, however, while the orange and black rushed for 125 yards in the same two periods. The Tigers remarkably rolled up 16 first downs to the Chargers' eight, but Warsaw spent the evening getting in its own way. "We came out in the sec ond half and fought like crazy on both sides of the ball," Curtis said. "You can't give up a kick return for a touch down and fumble the ball three times and expect to win." "Bad things happened so quickly," Curtis continued. "We didn't respond very well. We got a little wide eyed, and that's my fault. I've gotta get my kids ready for those types of scenarios" The Tigers ended their 2021 campaign with a 7 3 overall record including six straight wins before two straight losses to Concord and the Chargers last night. Warsaw had two consecutive trophy games (conference, sectional), but couldn't finish well enough to hoist the hardware at the end of either of those games. "I'm proud of the kids. The season didn't end the last two games the way I'd hoped," Curtis remarked regarding this year's campaign. "It was a little disappointing particu larly with the start we had throughout most of the year." "I hope the seniors can take away from this that they're a better person because of the game of foot ball," Curtis remarked. "I cer tainly enjoyed coaching them." Julius Jones, getting most of his reps at B back last night, had 101 yards on 24 carries. Tucker Curtis added 62 yards on 15 totes. Jace Sawyer (17 car. 49 yds.), and Bryson Brown (4 car. 20 yds.) rounded out Warsaw's offen sive output. They did not complete any passes among seven attempts.
TIMES-UNION
1B
Weekend, November 6 & 7, 2021 Warsaw, Indiana
SPORTS
Football -
Page 2B
Wentz trade paying dividends with Indy in the playoff hunt
Chargers Bag Tigers 36-0 for Sectional Title
Lancers Mens Hoops Holds Off Mighty Oaks
Photos by Gary Nieter,
TIMES-UNION
LEFT - Senior Julius Jones of Warsaw looks for running room during Friday night's sectional championship game against Fort Wayne Carroll. RIGHT - Warsaw sophomore Colt VanHouten breaks up a would be touchdown pass to a Carroll wide receiver during the first quarter.
BY CHIP DAVENPORT
TIMES-UNION Sports Correspondent
Many Can Speed, But Few Can Brake
My brother in law, Joe, has been able to operate rac ing and customized automo biles at speeds exceeding 150 miles per hour. I recall telling him I wish I could operate a vehicle at such a speed. He told me, "Anyone can drive as fast as their car can go, but there are very few who can stop it safely." When I read about Las Vegas Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III crashing his Corvette while operating at 156 miles per hour I thought about what Joe told me when I was still a high school stu dent. Ruggs's collision result ed in a fatality, a 23 year old woman operating a Toyota. He was operating his Corvette under the influence of alcohol, twice the Nevada legal limit (0.15 - the limit 0.8). He was in a city setting moving ridiculously beyond the speed limit. His ability to slow down, the way Joe likes to put it, was impaired. A professional athlete is going to get a lot of attention when he or she is caught operating a vehicle above the speed limit, and impaired by alcohol, drugs, or distracted driving (e.g., texting). Our highways are chock full of impaired drivers. Yes, here in Kosciusko County there are numerous drivers impaired in some manner and exacerbating the prob lem by operating at speeds they have no business attain ing. There are rare occasions these local individuals are caught, or face oncoming traffic, lose control of their vehicles, and consequently place themselves in the trou ble Ruggs is currently in. The Raider receiver might face up to 26 years, and the media will put him on trial numer ous times before he faces his trial date. In a time long ago Al Davis, the raiders' original owner, would have likely kept Ruggs on the payroll, but everything professional sports franchises do these days is easy to catch online, or on numerous sports chan nels. If Davis would have kept him on the payroll, innocent until proven guilty, until his verdict was served, there would be a wave of outrage. I believe the NFL would not have allowed Ruggs to stay on the payroll, either. Private citizens, for lack of a better term, are every where breaking the same rules, and for now they're just lucky. Will every one of the intoxicated speeders meet the fate Ruggs faces? Probably not, and if they engage in fatal wrecks, the news won't travel beyond a few counties within a TV sta tion's viewing area. I leave you with the advice my brother in law gave me. Anyone can speed, but not everyone can safely slow down. I've exceeded 120 miles per hour in a vehicle, but I was sober as a judge, and I was on a stretch of Canadian highway in the southern plains of Ontario, Canada. It still wasn't right, and I was lucky. I caught flak from my wife when I thought she would, instead, be impressed by how fast I could get our car going. I move to an experience last weekend where rather than asking if a speeder can slow down safely, I won dered, after this weekend, if people who vape can quit more easily than cigarette smokers. Vaping was the solution to transition smokers who could not quit cold turkey. The cigarette substitute, however, appears to be even more addictive than the ciga rettes preceding it. Case in point, last Saturday at Ohio Stadium, I witnessed something I would never see in my beloved Buckeyes' Ohio Stadium last Saturday against Penn State. I'm not talking about the long scoop and score run by hefty Ohio State defensive lineman Jaron Cage. Two gentlemen sat two seats down from me in Ohio Stadium at the Ohio State football game versus Penn State. Suddenly, I saw smoke, much more smoke in fact than I've seen from a ciga rette puff. I've gone to Ohio State games every ear with my son Parker since 2016 as well as several games for decades before then. The "twin towers" took, without sneaking, noticeably big puffs from their vaping sticks. Ohio State's security and usher crews have sharp eyes. They'll detect, in a fully packed 105,000 fan crowd, excessively drunk fans, and other irritating types of spec tators. The security staff zoomed in on the vapers and warned them they would be removed from the game if the puffed again. $320 in, and two pre bought cans of beer for each bold vaper in hand, they dared to, then did take anoth er hit. The security staff with out reservation came right to the section and ejected the violators early in the first quarter, and suddenly my son and I had much more room in a seat that is set up for less than one full sized tukus on its bleachers. All I can think to myself is vaping must really do some thing for these two big fellas to be compelled to take a hit after a warning. I'm assuming they weren't season ticket holders like my family is (we share games throughout the year). They would have known the event staff at Ohio Stadium means what they say. I hear smokers and vapers say they can quit anytime, but it seems, as it was in this case, a craving just as hard to control as managing a car at exceedingly high speeds.
Jets Blow Past Trojans For Sectional Title
MONROE - Visiting Triton had a few nice plays, and did well in terms of time of possession. But host Adams Central scored its first three touchdowns quickly, from 52, 54 and 78 yards out and rolled to a 49 3 Class 1A Sectional 44 football championship vic tory Friday night. The host Flying Jets entered the game ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press media poll and sec ond in the coaches' poll, and it didn't take long for them to demonstrate how they earned the lofty rank ing. Long touchdowns by seniors Blake Heyerly (on Adams Central's first play of the game), Nick Neuenschwander and Ryan Black, respectively, set the tone early. Heyerly added a 27 yard scoring scamper in the sec ond period. After a squib kickoff bounced off a Triton blocker and the Flying Jets recovered, Trevor Currie scored from 25 yards out. Currie added a 13 yard TD run to close out the first half, then opened the sec ond half with a 62 yard run for his third touchdown of the night, closing out the scoring for the contest. The bright spot for the Trojans was sophomore Anthony Schuh, who added to his 1,000 yards rushing season with a 100 plus yard game. Cole Shively had a 30 yard field goal in the
BY MARK HOWE
TIMES-UNION Sports Writer
Chip Shots
By Chip Davenport,
Times-Union Correspondent
OAKLAND CITY, Ind. Grace's men's basketball team locked up its fourth straight win to start the sea son on Thursday. The Lancers defeated Oakland City 74 64 in Grace's first road game of the year. Grace won the game despite not making a 3 point er (0 for 7). The Lancers shot 55 percent from the floor despite their long range struggles, and Grace held the Mighty Oaks to 34 percent shooting. The Lancers took the lead in the initial stages of the game thanks to early scoring by Frankie Davidson and Elijah Malone. Grace held a slight lead for most of the half, but the Lancers' offense grew stag nant down the stretch. Grace scored just seven points over the final 6:32 of the half, allowing Oakland City to sneak ahead for a 30 29 lead at halftime. The Lancers shot just 39 percent from the floor in the half and had almost as many turnovers (8) as made field goals (11). Davidson's 11 points led Grace, and Ian Scott gave Grace's offense life with eight points on 4 of 4 shooting off the bench. Grace quickly regained the lead in the second half, scor ing the first six points to lead by five. The Lancers' shooting touch improved as Grace made its first six field goals - all in the paint. Before five minutes had expired, Grace had turned a one point deficit into a nine point lead. The Lancers never trailed again, but Grace's lead was far from safe. The Mighty Oaks threat ened Grace's lead multiple times, but each time Grace had a response. With 12 minutes remain ing, Oakland City trimmed the cushion down to five, but five quick points from Davidson gave Grace breath ing room. The Lancers' offense again went cold to end the second half. Grace recorded seven points over the final 6:16, which gave Oakland City a chance. A pair of free throws by Eddie Gill IV put the Lancers ahead 69 57 with 4:38 on the clock. But Grace did not score again for over three minutes. As a result, the Mighty Oaks pulled to within five at 69 64 with 1:22 to go. But the Lancers' defense took care of the rest. Oakland City was unable to score again, going empty on its final four possessions of the game. Davidson, Jake Wadding and Gill helped ice the win with key points dur ing the final minute. Davidson's 25 points led all players, and he added a game high 10 rebounds. Malone needed just 21 min utes to rack up 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Scott did not miss a shot and finished with 10 points and eight boards. Gill added 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and Wadding had seven points and seven boards. The Lancers will return home next weekend. On Friday and Saturday of next week, Grace will host the annual Hoops for Hope, which raises funds for the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund.
BY JOSH NEUHART
Grace College Sports Information
See TROJANS - Page 2B
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