COLUMBIA CITY — The Bart Curtis era at Warsaw officially began with a 10-8 win at Columbia City Friday night.

Sloppy weather in the first half translated into some sloppy play on the field, but a win is a win as they say. And now the first-year skipper knows what his team needs to work on for Week 2.

“I expected us to execute a little better, and we didn’t so there’s things to work on,” he said. “The weather is a factor, but it’s a factor for them too. They turned it over. If you’re going to commit to something, it’s got to be an all-weather deal, you know? Because it’s not going to be perfect.

“I am not disappointed. I’m a little shocked. And no disrespect towards C City — I think they’re a fine team — I thought we would move the ball a little bit better, and we did not.”

An early Harrison Mevis field goal from 24 yards out staked the visitors to a 3-0 advantage with just a tick under nine minutes remaining in the first frame. The Tigers capitalized on a City turnover deep in the Eagles’ own territory in the second when Eli Owen recovered a fumble at their 36, and Warsaw found the end zone for the first and only time seven plays later on a 4-yard rumble by senior fullback Bryce Garner. Mevis’ PAT pushed the Tigers out to a 10-0 lead with just 21 seconds remaining before the intermission, a cushion they would eventually need almost every bit of.

Mevis was a huge weapon for Warsaw’s special teams Friday, finishing with touchbacks on each of the Tigers’ three kickoffs as well as 100 yards on three punts. He even scooped up a bad long snap and ran it back for the visitors late in the fourth.

“He got in the rushing stats,” said Curtis with a smile. “He’s got a leg. He’s got a live leg, and he’s accurate. I’m glad he plays for us.

“He missed one (field goal attempt), but he hit an important one that was the difference. We lose 8-7 if he doesn’t hit that. Look at what he does on kickoffs. That’s a nice thing to have. Now, if we can score a little more, he’ll get to kick off a little more often.”

Persistent rain over the first half left the field muddy for the entire opener, and the two teams combined for nine turnovers Friday. The Tigers had the advantage in the battle of turnovers, however, as City turned the ball over six total times — four times off five fumbles and two more off interceptions by Trenton Sands and Blake Marsh.

“Our defense pinned their ears back and played,” Curtis said. “There’s some things they’ve got to improve on. All the way around, we’ve got to improve. We’ve got reasons to practice next week.”

The Eagles completed just two passes in the first half, but with the rain finally letting up after halftime, they fared a little better through the air in the second half and quarterback Max Bedwell finished 9-for-13 with 44 passing yards. City put up its only score of the night on an 8-yard touchdown connection from Bedwell to Michael Sievers with just 43 seconds remaining on the game clock. Sievers dropped the pass in the end zone, and the play was initially ruled a touchdown, then overturned as an incomplete pass, then the reversal was reversed to the original ruling. Bedwell connected with Jacob Bolt around the left side for a two-point conversion to give the home team one last glimmer of hope, but Luke Adamiec smothered the ensuing onside kick at the 50, and Warsaw ran out the clock for the win.

“Here’s the deal: I wasn’t over there, and he was. He believes that the ball was caught and as the player hit the ground, he fumbled it,” said Curtis of the City TD. “This isn’t the NFL, so once he had a foot in… I’ll look at the film. It’s over. It’s not going to change whether he caught the ball or not. They thought it was a catch so we’ve got to play. We’ve got to have the guts then to stand up and defend a two-point play.”

Garner led all rushers with 75 yards on 20 carries but ran the ball just twice in the second half before exiting the game for unknown reasons. Kane Dawson picked up where he left off, finishing with 48 yards on 11 carries, while quarterback Josh West sprinkled in 35 yards on 12 rushes in addition to his 1-of-7, 27-yard passing night.

“Bryce Garner had a great first half. We’ll evaluate his situation. That’s why we have trainers and doctors, but we’ll evaluate his situation and we’ll move forward,” explained Curtis.

Bedwell led the Eagles on the ground as well as through the air with 49 rushing yards on 17 carriers, while Jacob Wigent finished with 33 yards on 10 carries.

Cobe VanHouten led Warsaw’s defense with seven tackles, followed by John Culbertson with six and Adamiec with five. Curtis Winebrenner notched 7.5 tackles, and Wigent and Bolt finished with six apiece for the Eagles’ defense.

Warsaw put up 187 total offensive yards to City’s 151, but at plus-three in the turnover margin, the discrepancy didn’t amount to much. The main culprit was 90 penalty yards off nine penalties by the visitors, including several of the 15-yard variety.

“I thought we handled adversity really well defensively, but I was a little embarrassed with some of the 15-yard penalties. That’s not where we’re going to be; that’s not who we’re going to be. There’s no place for that in football, and we’re not going to be in that,” said Curtis.

Columbia City travels to Whitko in Week 2, while Warsaw plays its home-opener opposite East Noble next Friday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

“We’re going to worry about Warsaw. Obviously we’re going to plan for East Noble, but our number one concern right now is program development and getting this team as good as it can be,” said Curtis.