By Connor McCann
Times-Union
DUNLAP — Revenge is a dish best-served cold.
A month and a half ago, Warsaw football led Concord, the No. 1 5A team in the state 17-0 at halftime before the Minutemen staged a furious comeback late to escape with a 28-24 victory to remain undefeated. Friday, the two teams met at Jake Field again, this time with a sectional championship on the line. As was the case the first time around, the Tigers played a great game, keeping it close throughout. But this time, it was Warsaw with the last laugh, as a last-second touchdown gave the Tigers a 31-28 for the team’s first sectional title since 2019.
“This was a game that saw two tough teams get knocked down to the canvas over and over again and both of them got up every time,” Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis said after the game. “Our kids are resilient. We’re fortunate to play the game we played and do the things we did tonight.”
The Tiger defense started the game off on fire. After giving up a first down on the first series of the contest, the D picked it up from there, perfectly reading two passes by Concord’s Bo Brunner and tackling receivers at or near the line of scrimmage. Facing a third and long, Brunner dropped back to pass and was hit as he threw it, leading to an interception by Jayden Habegger to set Warsaw up with some great field position.
The good times didn’t last very long, as something very similar would happen to the Tiger offense. After picking up a first down, the visitors turned it over on a botched handoff, giving the ball right back to the Minutemen unable to take advantage of the turnover.
On the other hand, Concord was very much able to use the quick possession change to their benefit, as on the second play of the home team’s second drive, Jaron Thomas took a carry straight up the middle and blew past everybody, making it all the way to the end zone and opening up the scoring with a 79-yard touchdown run that made it 7-0 five minutes into the game.
Perhaps looking to prevent the quick-strike Minutemen offense from getting the ball back, the Warsaw offense took its time moving the ball upon getting it back. The visitors held onto possession for the remainder of the first quarter, often needing all three downs to pick up a first while methodically moving up the field. After starting the drive near their own 20, a big run by Brody Duncan put the Tigers at the Concord 25 as the second quarter got set to begin.
The Tigers kept slowly, but surely, moving the ball in the opening minutes of the second, inching closer and closer to the end zone on each subsequent carry. After making their way all the way down to the three, Duncan finally put the exclamation point on a nearly 10-minute drive with a rushing score that tied things up with nine minutes to go in the half.
It took Concord less than 15 seconds to come up with an answer. On the ensuing kickoff, a line drive kick to the Minutemen do-it-all player Char’rese Brevard ended up becoming a problem. After picking up a few key blocks near where he picked it up, Brevard was able to find the edge and using his blazing speed, beat out every other defender on the field en route to a 90-yard return touchdown that put the home team up almost immediately after the game had been tied.
Evan Davis supplied the Tigers with their biggest play from scrimmage thus far on the following drive, rushing for 26 yards to put the ball near midfield. A chunk play through the air by quarterback Drew Sullivan to receiver Ethan Egolf put the visitors in Minutemen territory. After a pair of big plays, the Warsaw offense went back to a more methodical approach before finally being faced with a fourth down near the 30. Curtis elected to send the field goal unit out, and was rewarded for his decision as Mason Smythe buried a 39-yard field goal with three minutes left in the half to make it 14-10.
The juggernaut of a Concord offense came up with an immediate strike once again. Feeding the ball to Brevard on a reverse play, the senior did the rest. Finding the edge once again Brevard dashed past the Warsaw secondary and added a stiff arm to break free for good measure on his way to a 73-yard touchdown that made it 21-10 just 25 seconds after getting the ball back again.
A circus catch by Egolf put the Tiger offense back in business as they got the ball back. The senior receiver timed his jump perfectly to come down with a perfectly thrown ball by Sullivan down the sideline to get the ball to midfield instantly. That would be all Warsaw would get on the drive though, as the visitors were forced to punt a few plays later.
Needing a stop to keep things close heading into halftime, the Tigers caught a big break in the final minute of the half, as a fumbled snap by Brunner found its way onto the grass and was recovered by Warsaw for an instant red-zone opportunity.
The visitors were able to use a little bit of trickeration to turn the chance into some points, as a pitch backwards by Sullivan to Quinton Brock ended up leading to a pass, as the team’s backup quarterback found Tucker Reed in the end zone for the score. The PAT by Smythe that followed was good, making it a ball game once more with the Tigers trailing 21-17 heading into halftime.
“That was huge for us. Having the opportunity to be down four instead of eleven or more at halftime was massive,” Curtis said. “They’re a really good team on both sides of the ball and our kids battled snap for snap with them and I’m damn proud of them.”
Getting the ball right back to begin the third quarter, Warsaw continued with its strategy of taking the air out of the football, taking plenty of time to move down the field. Similar to the team’s first touchdown drive of the night, the Tigers were using every down available to them to move the chains while churning time off of the clock. Facing a fourth and short on the Concord 40, the visitors elected to go for it, picking it up on a keeper by Sullivan to keep the drive alive.
A nice run by Duncan immediately afterward put Warsaw into the red zone. After a few more strong runs by Sullivan, the visitors were within 10 yards of their first lead of the night. After a pair of penalties, one by each side, Sullivan kept it himself on an option play from six yards out to finish off a massive 10-minute drive and put the Tigers on top for the first time at 24-21.
“I think we did very well on offense. When you’re playing a team like them with some great linebackers and great offensive linemen, you have to execute to the fullest,” Curtis said.
Sullivan, who missed all of last season after an injury in the opening game, as well as a good chunk of time this season after an injury sustained in the first game against Concord, was excellent all night long. After the game, he was emotional as he reflected on his long journey to hoisting the trophy.
“This is the stuff you dream of. All of the work that we’ve put in, I love these guys, man. They work their tails off and they didn’t lose faith. We fumble on the first drive and nobody skips a beat. It took us four quarters of football to beat those guys,” Sullivan said with tears in his eyes. “I’ve been in this situation two times before, came up short, felt like I didn’t do enough. To go out there and play four good quarters of football, it feels special.”
Feeding off of the momentum the offense had just created, the defense returned to the field on a mission, and delivered the crucial stop they had been looking for. Forcing a three-and-out, the Tiger D gave the ball right back to the offense on its own 42 as the fourth and final quarter prepared to declare a sectional champion.
For the second time in the game, Warsaw elected to roll the dice and try to convert on a fourth and short near midfield. This time, the Concord defense was the one celebrating, as the Minutemen got the push they were looking for in the trenches and came up with a crucial stop to give the ball back to the offense.
As was the case with the first Tiger turnover earlier in the game, the home side wasted no time at all turning the turnover into points. Another long run by Thomas, this one 55 yards, ended in the end zone as the senior broke five different tackles and even added a hurdle to put the NLC champs back in front, 28-24, with nine minutes left.
With just six minutes remaining in the game and facing another fourth down at the Minutemen 37, the biggest play of the game to this point had arrived. This time, Warsaw kept the chains moving by picking up three yards while needing two. Another first down with four minutes remaining in the game put the visitors on the cusp of the red zone.
Here is where the Concord defense came up big, stopping the Tiger offense for little or no gain on three straight plays to force the second fourth down of the drive, this time the visitors needed to get seven with two minutes remaining. Needing to make the biggest throw of his life, Sullivan was perfect. He connected with Egolf, who somehow kept his feet in bounds to pick up the massive first down.
“I knew my guy Ethan was going to be open. We work on that play. We stay after practice and we work on that play,” Sullivan said. “We knew that moment was going to come. I’ve never heard a louder crowd than on that fourth down. We had one shot to win a football game. We work on that every single day.”
Having to protect the end zone inside the 10 with just a minute left in the contest, the Concord defense held strong once again, forcing a fourth and two at the four. With the season on the line, Warsaw called time with 17 seconds left to try and get the perfect play.
It was exactly that, as a pitch to Brock was the last thing the Minutemen were expecting, as he galloped untouched into the end zone to put the Tigers up 31-28 with just 13 seconds left.
Not able to come up with that final stop in the regular season matchup, Warsaw was able to exercise some demons and got the big one here. The Minutemen tried to get the ball down the field with a series of pitches, but it did not work. The ball was batted down for an orange and black sectional title.
Warsaw (8-3) will look to take down its second undefeated team in as many weeks as they square off with Lafayette Jefferson in next Friday’s regional game.
