The Mail-Journal, Volume 28, Number 37, Milford, Kosciusko County, 25 October 1989 — Page 8

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., October 25,1989

8

Sports

Gridders win sectional opener

j By MITCHELL STINSON Sports Writer

With the Fort Wayne South Side Archers nipping at their heels and Jack Frost nipping at their noses, the Wawasee Warriors came away with an impressive 20-14 victory in sectional football action at Syracuse last Friday. The suspect Warrior defense came through with an outstanding performance, forcing crucial turnovers and thwarting the big play ability of Juan Gorman, the Archers' star quarterback. Old Man Winter didn't hurt the Warrior cause either, as slippery, snowy conditions negated some of the Archers' team speed “I’d be deceitful if I said the weather conditions didn't assist

I ■MBagfhi BUI. T * /--■* * ”«•» * VIEW FROM ABOVE — Wawasee sophomore Ryan Coverstone viewed much of Friday’s sectional football game from the top of a pile of snow. Wawasee ground crews kept most of the snow off the field but the sidelines looked like a winter wonderland. ( Photo by Mitchell Stinson)

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us," said Warriors' coach Myron Dickerson. "However. I think the (Warriors) young people did an excellent job of doing what was asked of them on defense.” South Side coach John Hester said the Archers are a speed football team and that his receivers had a hard time adjusting to the conditions. But he emphasized that his team came to Syracuse ready to play in any kind of weather, warm or cold. "We re not going to make excuses." Hester emphasized. "I want to make that clear. We just didn't play four quarters of football." The Warrior defense set up the first touchdown of the night in the second quarter, when a bobbled South Side punt .attempt gave Wawasee possession at the Ar-

6* ii r z sig TRAPPED — Warrior running back Scott Carlin runs into South Side’s Londell Woods during sectional football action at Wawasee High School last Friday. Carlin was stopped on this play but he was part of a successful Wawasee running game that helped the Warriors to a 20-14 victory. (Photo bv Mitchell Stinson) '

it -'l. F *»• wkL * A- -jkHßa - \WL\ • * l oßrafel &NV jbE\ Aust -W. 'U, / TRL’E BLL'E F \NS — Wintry weather didn't deter these fans from sectional football action at Wawasee High School last Friday. A small, but vocal, Wawasee contingent braved the rain, wind and cold, to cheer its team to a 20-14 victory over Fort Wayne South Side. Pictured, from left, are: Wawasee students Lori Stiver. Diane Karst, Angela Kistler and Adam Wilson. (Photo by Mitchell Stinson)

'll ‘ l * l r ' -~- 7 * -W CELEBRATING — Wawasee Warriors' assistant coach Trov Akers reacts with joy after watching Tim Lilly score on a 19-yard interception return. Akers had more to yell about at the end of the game when the Warriors closed out a 20-14 sectional victory over Fort Wavne South Side. < Photo by Mitchell Stinson)

chers’ 22-yard line. Five plays later, running back Scott Carlin plunged into the end zone from one yard out-. The defense struck again a fewminutes later, when Tim Lilly picked off a Gorman pass and raced 19 yards up the middle of the field into the end zone. Randy Cesco’s second straight extra point kick made the score 14-0 at 6:16 of the second quarter During halftime, the Wawasee coaching staff challenged its offense to score a touchdown on its

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own The players responded by opening the second half with a 15- 80-yard touchdown drive Lilly culminated the scoring ijirive, hitting paydirt from the of tensive side of the ball this time The all-star receiver hauled in a 16- scoring strike from Chris Conkling to make the score 20-0. It looked as if the Warriors were on their way to a romp at that point But the Archers had different ideas. South Side s grid ders wasted no time answering Wawasee's touchdown, marching

59 yards on four plays after the ensuing kick-off. The Archers finally got on the scoreboard at 4:19 of the third quarter, when Gorman found Thomas Blackburn all alone in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown strike. South Side's gritty gridders made it 20-12 in the fourth quarter, as running back Keith Hinton charged up the Archers faithful with a 75-yard. broken field run Gorman ran for the two-point conversion to make the score 20-14. After a series of turnovers by both teams, the Archers mounted a drive to the Wawasee 2.3-yard line late in the fourth quarter. But on a crucial fourth-and-six play, Gorman had an end zone pass batted down by the omnipresent Tim Lilly. Archers players began to cheer when the pass appeared to hit the receiver in the hands. But it was the Warriors who cheered last. "It was right there, it was in his hands." Dickerson said of the fateful play. "(But) Tim was quick enough to turn, get his hand in. and that was it." The game was won on strategy as well as on-the-field performance. The Warriors coaching staff knew that Gorman was the kind of athlete who could win a game single handedly. and they w ere prepared for him The Warrior pass rush forced Gorman to throw the ball, by making a pocket around him It appeared as if they only wanted to contain him. not sack him Assistant coach Kerry Murphy also worked hard with the special teams, devising ways to keep the ball away from Gorman on kickoffs. "I think coach Murphy and that group of«people deserve a lot of credit," Dickerson said The preparation of the Warriors’ coaching staff even impressed the opposition. "I want to congratulate coach Dickerson on a job well done,” said the Archers' coach Hester "They came out and were ready from the kickoff.” The Wawasee brain trust will have its work cut out for it this Friday when the Warriors head to Dekalb for another sectional matchup against-'The Barons. Dekalb's squad sports an 8-1 record and is the sixth ranked 4A team in the state.

Swim squad completes successful regular season

| By SCOTT DAVIDSON Sports Writer

Despite suffering a 97-75 defeat at the hands of the South Bend St. Joseph's swim squad last night (Tuesday) on the road, the Lady Warriors of Wawasee finished the regular season with the best record in the school’s history at 12-3. “It was a disappointing loss for us because it w'as a meet where St. Joe swam exceptionally well and our performance was off a little bit," commented coach Roger Karns after the loss. “I think that St. Joe was up for us and that we were kind of tired due to our training and it was a combination of things that gave them the victory and us the loss," he added. "Our 12-3 record in dual meets this season is something that is satisfying and pleasing to us because it’s the best season for a girls’ team here at Wawasee and that was one of our goals at the start of the year," commented the first-year coach. The loss to conclude the regular season saw the Wawasee squad take just one first place on the evening, as Julie Gunn captured the top mark in the diving event for the 15th consecutive time this season in dual meets. Gunn, who was rated third in diving in the latest statewide rankings, and teammate Dawn Firestone

Football team to face sixth ranked DeKalb

I By MITCHELL STINSON Sports Writer

There’s no rest for the Wawasee weary in sectional football action They met one big challenge last Friday with a 20-14 victory over the South Side Archers This Friday, they will face an even bigger obstacle. when they travel to Dekalb to take on the sixth-ranked Barons. The 8-1 Barons have big linemen and a running game that can wear a defense down They have averaged 195 yards rushing per game behind offensive linemen who average about 210 pounds each "They can run that powerful football game and run it right down your throat. " said Warriors' coach Myron Dickerson. Dekalb's leading ground gainer is Tom Findley, a 5-foot-9. 165-pound running back who has amassed 991 yards on 197 carries. The passing game has been effective too In fact, when they defeated Carroll to clinch the Northeast Hoosier Conference championship, it was the passing

Volleyball squad sees end of season with sectional loss

I By SCOTT DAVIDSON Sports Writer

"We played a much better match than the first time that we lost to them this season but a combination of things (poor serving. slow start > is what hurt us, just like throughout the season." commented Jill Yoder. Wawasee volleyball coach, after seeing the Lady Warriors finish the season with a loss to host Northridge in a sectional semifinal match Saturday afternoon. The 1-15. 15-1.3. 4-15 loss left the squad with a record of 4-24 on the year, which is misleading according to Yoder. "On paper (record wise) the team doesn’t look like we w:ere even as good.as last year <6-23) but- this team really played much better and was much more competitive, even though our won-loss record didn't prove that," said Yoder The Lady Warriors fell behind in the first game. 8-0, as a slow start, attributed to poor serving by the team, helped to give Nor thridge the early momentum en route to the 15-1, win. The second contest saw Northridge grab a 13-6 lead before the Wawasee squad regrouped behind the seven straight service points of senior Diane Karst to come back for the 15-13 win. "I think that we surprised them in the second game because they seemed to think that they had the match already won before we rallied." remarked Yoder The third and deciding game of the match on Saturday saw

(rated 10th) finished first and second for the Lady Warriors in every one of the team’s dual meets this season. “The performance of Julie and Dawn has been really great throughout the entire season,” said Karns about his diving duo. Second place efforts in individual events at St. Joe were turned in by Brandee Carlson (200-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke), Krista Guimond (200 IM and 100 breaststroke), Sherry Payne (50 freestyle), Firestone (diving), Lori Boles 4 ( 100 butterfly) and Chris Ridings (500 freestyle). The foursome of Firestone, Guimond, Boles and Payne also teamed together to finish second in the 400 medley relay event. With ; along and tiring, but very successful, regular season now .complete, the squad must prepare for the NLC Meet, which will be held next Thursday, Nov. 2, and Saturday. Nov. 4, at the Warsaw Pool. A victory in the conference-meet would give the Lady Warriors a share of the championship with Concord, which captured the regular season portion of the championship. “We had a successful regular season, but now we have to get some rest and focus in on the NLC Meet, which we feel we can win if we perform to our abilities,” emphasized Karns. “It looks like the meet should be a nailbiter between our squad and

attack that led the way. Eric Weber (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) handles the quarterbacking duties. His eight-game totals include 52 completions out of 105 passes for 741 yards. Kirk Sells (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) has been Weber's primary target, with 263 yards on 19 carries. On the defensive side of the ball, the line averages about 220 pounds. Dickerson says Dekalb is an aggressive team that can dominate physically if you're not prepared for a battle. "They're just a well-coached football team." Dickerson said. "Dale (Hummer) and I go back a long way and he's not just a good football coach but a good person. From that standpoint, it will be a big challenge." C’oa.ch Hummer thinks Wawasee is a well-coached, fundamentally sound football squad too. He says his defense will have its work cut out for it against the Warrior offense. "I think they mix the run and pass very well,” Hummer said. "I think they have excellent receivers and a good quarterback." ,

Wawasee grab a 3-0 lead before the Lady Raiders turned up their performance to win going away. 15-4. “I thought that we had the momentum after winning the second game but our consistency hurt us in the third game and they played well to win," the coach said. Karst led the squad in the statistical column with eight service points, including two.aces, while senior teammate Kriss Eisenhour had 11 spikes with four kills. Sophomore Wendy West, a pleasant surprise this season for the team, added seven spikes with three kills. "The team showed improvement this year and we had some good matches where we had the lead, but we just couldn't put teams away for the wins.” analyzed Yoder. She noted that several of the opposing coaches even commented on the improvement that the team displayed from last year to this season. "The seniors on the team (Karst. Eisenhour. Angela Kistler and Wendy Mills) have just done a super job throughout the season and their careers and we re really going to miss them.” the coach emphasized. Looking Towards Next Season With the loss of four seniors who comprised the starting core of this season's squad, Yoder know’s that'there will be some spots to fill on next year's varsity squad. "Even though we did have some underclassmen that played a lot (Lisa Mikel. Wendy West), we ll basically have a new line-up

Concord's and since it is a twoday event, we’ll have to swim very well both days to win it.” A preview of the NLC Meet will be included in next week's edition of The Mail-Journal. Win Over Huntington, 89-83 The Lady Warriors moved their season mark to 12-2 with a close, 89-83, win over a talented Huntington team on the road last Thursday. “The girls didn’t swim all that well but we’ve been working them hard and they’re tired. Huntington also had three or four very good swimmers and they were a better team than we had really expected,” said Karns after the win. Wawasee grabbed just two first place finishes out of the 11 events meet but the squad's depth helped it pull out its 12th win. Gunn captured first in the diving event while the medley relay team of Carlson, Guimond, Payne and Boles were also victorious. Eight second place efforts helped the Lady Warriors pile up enough points to come away with the close win. Carlson (200-yard freestyle). Payne (50 freestyle), Firestone (diving and 100 backstroke), Boles (100 butterfly), Ridings (500 freestyle) and Guimond (100 breaststroke) were second in individual events while the 200 freestyle relay team of Ridings, Amy Pratt, Teresa Chestnut and Nagisa Matsuoka also finished second.

The Barons beat Wawasee in the opening round of the sectional last year, before losing to Columbia City in the second round. Dekalb’s goal is to win a few more post-season games this year, and once again, they find the Warriors standing in their way. "I think coach Dickerson has a nice football team and we’ve got a nice football team." Hummer said. "It should be a heck of a ball game." It's been a "heck of a season" for the Barons so far. They have scored a cumulative total of 232 points in nine games, while holding the opposition to 71. The team's only loss came early in the season, when it dropped a 14-7 decision to New Haven. But season records and statistics don't mean anything now. The Barons are pleased with their conference championship, but now they have to focus on the goal of "making it further than the second game of the tournament."

next season," said Yoder. The varsity squad next season will be relying on veteran returnees such as Mikel. West, Nikki Marsh, Paige Price and Lori Stiver, as well as players who performed on the junior varsity and freshmen squads this season. The Wawasee JV team went 6-14, while the freshman squad, although competitive, concluded their season at 1-10. "Hopefully next year some of our young players will develop and be able to blend with the players that we will have returning from this season's team. After finishing 6-23 last year and then going 4-24 this year, it’s hard to assess right now what exactly will happen next season, especially after just finishing a tough season that we had higher expectations for." concluded Yoder

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