Warriors Capture Sectional 41 Championship!

In one of the biggest upsets in the northern part of Indiana, it would be the Winamac Warriors who would come away with the hardware in Sectional 41.

It had been four years since the Warriors were able to hoist a football Sectional Championship Trophy. In the final year of Hall-of-Fame Head Coach Tim Roth’s career, the Warriors were able to go 8-5, with their final win coming in the Sectional Championship of that season. Since that time, the Warriors went through a bit of a drought, unable to reclaim a Sectional Title until Friday night. After an extremely odd start to the season, with the Warriors missing out on the first three games, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Winamac would find a way to piece together a regular season under first year head coach John Hendryx that would see six wins against just two losses. Hendryx, who last season led the Knox Redskins to their first football Sectional Championship in school history, was able to come up with a game plan, which allowed his team the chance to avenge a 29-0, regular season loss to North Judson on September 18th. What made the postseason championship even more odd was the fact that the Warriors had a second round bye, after defeating South Central on the road 21-14 in the opening round. The Championship did not come easily for the Warriors at Liberty Field, however, as they engaged a very strong and talented North Judson team, which had put together nine wins this season, while averaging thirty points per game.

The game would start out with both teams struggling to get things going consistently on the offensive side of the ball, as the two defenses came ready to go from the start. North Judson would begin on offense, getting some rhythm going with their option style attack. It would appear the Bluejays would be able to get on the board on their opening possession, with a heavy dose of Trey Hampton, Eli Blount, and Cheyenne Allen hammering the ball at the Warriors defense. While there would be no huge plays, it would be consistent runs of 3-5 yards that the ‘Jays would rely on. North Judson would get the ball inside the five yard line, with a first-and-goal situation. It would be the Warriors’ defense that would ultimately win the battle, getting a huge sack on third down. The Bluejays would line up for a field goal on fourth down, but would be penalized on a delay of game, taking them out of field goal range. Ultimately, the Bluejays would get no points on an impressive opening drive which nearly took up the entire first quarter.

As the second quarter would begin, the Warriors would take a deep shot on a third down, sending Brayden Lynch on a post route down the middle of the field. Quarterback Russell Compton would heave a beautiful spiral down the field, finding Lynch for a sixty-eight yard gain. It would be Winamac Junior Hayden Clark who would open up the scoring, as he would take the ball from Compton and bulldoze his way into the end zone from eight yards out for the first score of the game. Following a successful extra point kick by Max Murray the Warriors led the Bluejays 7-0 with 10:13 remaining in the first half. As both teams continued to battle, the points would be at a minimum, with both defenses answering the call in an extremely physical first half. As the horn sounded at the end of the second quarter, the scoreboard would show the same 7-0 score, with Clark’s eight-yard touchdown the only score of the ball game to that point.

The physical play would continue throughout the second half, as the focus for both teams continued to escalate. With both teams struggling to get points on the board, the defenses would be in the spotlight as both defensive lines would make getting big yardage extremely difficult. Perhaps the biggest play of the game would come on a punt by Winamac. With the Warriors’ drive stalling out, a fourth and long situation would dictate a punt by the Warriors. The kick, however, would be mishandled by the Bluejays and recovered by the Warriors deep in North Judson territory. The Warriors would get the lone score of the third quarter, following the recovery, as Russell Compton would take the ball across the goal line from one yard out on a quarterback sneak. After a successful extra point by Murray, the Warriors would lead 14-0. The Bluejays would not go quietly into the night. As fans have seen all season long with North Judson, the blue and gold does not stop competing until the final horn sounds. The ensuing kickoff return would put the Bluejays in decent starting field position, giving the ‘Jays momentum to march down the field. The drive would end with a one yard touchdown run by quarterback Trey Hampton, who would plunge into the end zone on a quarterback sneak. Senior fullback Tabor Brown would cap off the drive, scoring the two point conversion to make the score 14-8 with 10:37 remaining in the game.

Ultimately, the Warriors would be able to hold on as the final minutes would tick away with neither team putting anymore points on the board. The win would give the Warriors their sixth football Sectional Championship in school history, and a second straight Championship for Winamac Head Coach John Hendryx, going back to his final season at Knox a year ago. The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI would go to Winamac’s Hayden Clark who, on a fourth down situation late in the game, would come up with a sack, giving the Warriors the ball back with time running out in the game. The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the game went to Winamac’s Russell Compton who, from his quarterback position, completed eight of twelve passes for one hundred forty-four yards, while rushing the ball fifteen times for twelve yards and a touchdown. The 6’1 180lb Junior also provided great effort, defensively, from his safety position, often times coming up in strong run support, helping to stifle the Bluejay offense.

The Warriors move on to Regional competition next week, as they will put their 7-2 record up against Lafayette Central Catholic, which carries a 4-3 record, winning their Sectional by default as their opponent for the championship game had to forfeit due to issues with Covid-19. The Regional Championship game between Winamac and Lafayette Central Catholic will be heard next week on WKVI!

Game Statistics

Winamac (14)

Rushing (Attempts-Yards-Touchdowns)

Hayden Clark: 10-81-1; Russell Compton: 15-12-1; Trent Fox: 3-(-)1

Passing (Completions-Attempts-Yards-Touchdowns)

Russell Compton: 8-12-144

Receiving (Receptions-Yards-Touchdowns)

Jaden Terry: 2-20; Brayden Lynch: 1-68; Trent Fox: 5-57

North Judson (8)

Rushing (Attempts-Yards-Touchdowns)

Eli Blount: 6-19; Trey Hampton: 12-0-1; Owen Frasure: 3-11; Cheyenne Allen: 22-67; Tabor Brown: 3-4

Passing (Completions-Attempts-Yards-Touchdowns)

Trey Hampton: 2-5-32

Receiving (Receptions-Yards-Touchdowns)

Owen Frasure: 1-20; Tanner Craig: 1-12

*Statistics Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*