Columbia City - Columbia City and Whitko were both coming into last night's game looking for a little revenge from last week.

Columbia City emerged victorious in a big way, crushing the Wildcats 45-8.

The game turned into a complete offensive outing for the Eagles. Seth Hoppe, the Eagles quarterback, went 4 for 14 for 157 yards and no interceptions.

"Our defense started off very strong, but when you are playing the same guys on both sides of the ball, they get tired quick," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger.

The Wildcats are facing a slight player shortage this year, only dressing 35 varsity players.

The shortage showed last night as the Wildcats tallied 224 offensive yards while giving up 363 to the Eagles.

"We've got to get better on all phases of our game, or we aren't going to win a game," Sprunger said.

The Wildcats did show some promise in their halfback Jeff Shepherd. Shepherd carried the ball five times for 74 yards and scored Whitko's lone touchdown of the season.

The special teams of the Wildcats allowed two blocked punts. One was run for a touchdown by defensive back Greg Hollenbaugh. Columbia City hurried Whitko kicker Brent Goble on each of the Wildcats' six punts.

"Our guys are young, and they play the game extremely nervous and uptight, but they have a lot of talent," said Sprunger.

The Wildcats (0-2) travel to Wabash for their first Three Rivers Confrence match against SouthWood next week.

Columbia City improved to 1-1. [[In-content Ad]]