The Warren Central High School football team has finished No. 34 nationally for the 2013 season. The announcement was made by MaxPreps, the online high school sports leader and a CBSSports.com site. MaxPreps ranks more than 16,000 high school varsity football teams.
Warren Central (11-3) avenged all three of its regular season losses with victories in the playoffs capped with a 7-6 win over Carmel on Nov. 30 to capture the Indiana 6A state championship. It was the school’s first since the 2009 season and their eighth overall. Warren Central is one of 50 schools being honored on the ninth annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard. This marks the third time that Warren Central has been part of the football Tour of Champions. The school was ranked fifth for the 2005 season and No. 7 in 2006. Coach Jayson West and his Lawrence Central team was on last year’s Tour when it was ranked No. 21.
“In partnership with the Army National Guard, MaxPreps is delighted to honor Warren Central as one of fifty schools on the 2013 Football Tour of Champions,” said Andy Beal, Founder and President of MaxPreps. “We’re proud to include Warren Central into this elite group of teams in the country.”
“There’s so much good football out there and when you’re in the upper crust it means a lot and we couldn’t be more happy,” said Warren Central head football coach Jayson West, who completed his first season.
Quarterback Jeff George orchestrated Warren Central’s multiple offensive sets by passing for 1,859 yards and 19 touchdowns. Senior tight end Zach Gegner, an all-state player, led all receivers with 37 catches for 611 yards and four TDs. Slot-back Darius Lee caught 31 passes for 653 yards and seven scores and rushed for 101 yards and tallied once. He also had 372 kickoff return yards to account for 1,156 all-purpose yards for the Warriors. Senior guard Phil Gegner, an all-conference and all-Marion County selection, did yeoman’s work on the offensive line.
Warren Central had a passel of playmakers on defense. All-state lineman Max Hernandez mad 83 tackles, forced four fumbles and recovered two. Linebacker Katrell Moss was the 3-4 unit’s leading tackler with 159 including 13 for loss, caused two fumbles and fell on two. End Darion Howard contributed 85 tackles including 16 for loss, forced two fumbles and pounced on three loose balls while junior defensive back Mykelti Williams made 58 stops forced a pair of fumbles and intercepted two passes.
Indiana Army National Guard Corporal Brandon Warner presented Coach West and the team with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy Friday at halftime of the boys’ varsity basketball game. The team also received a banner for their accomplishment.
“For over 375 years, the men and women of the National Guard have come to the aid of their neighbors during times of need,” said Major Mark Burns. “As Citizen-Soldiers who serve part-time, we live and serve in more than 3,500 communities throughout the country. It is our privilege to honor and recognize nationally ranked football teams with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy which includes the Minuteman statue, a symbol of the National Guard.”
MaxPreps uses a sophisticated computer program, known as the Freeman Rankings, to determine team rank for the Tour of Champions. The system utilizes the huge number of game results stored in the MaxPreps database. Generally, the more a team wins the higher the ranking, but the system takes into account quality wins (against other highly ranked opponents), margin of victory, and strength of schedule. Playoff games are weighted 2.1 times a regular season game.
