SOUTH WHITLEY - Gatorade was not dumped, nor was the coach hoisted up on the shoulder pads of burley linemen and carried around the field.

No, the celebration for the 100th win in 17 years by Whitko football coach Bryan Sprunger was simple, just an announcement over the public address system after Friday's 20-17 win over Whitley County rival Columbia City.

And Sprunger would have it no other way. Standing on the field after watching his team come back from a 17-6 halftime deficit, Sprunger neither celebrated with giddy jubilation nor waxed poetic when he talked 100.

Giddy jubilation and waxing poetic are not Bryan Sprunger.

"I'm kind of at a loss for words," Sprunger said. "It's nice, but I've gotten a lot of help. It's a tribute to the kids and assistant coach Dave Lopshire."

Helping Sprunger and his Wildcats back from a lethargic first half were senior halfback Josh Gonzalez, sophomore fullback Trent Burelison and senior wingback Adam Goble.

So bad was the first half that Sprunger, after watching one of Whitko's three fumbles, grabbed a water bottle, tossed away the lid and reached for the Tylenol.

Columbia City finished the first half with 11 first downs and 169 rushing yards.

But Burelison, Goble and Gonzalez made the headache go away in the second half.

Those three, who tallied three rushing yards on one carry in the first half, combined for 132 rushing yards on 18 carries in the second half. Gonzalez's 17-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes to go in the third quarter cut the Columbia City lead to 17-14. Goble's 10-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave Whitko the 20-17 win.

The Wildcats appeared to hand the game and any chances of winning away with 3:56 left. Trailing 17-14, they marched down to the Columbia City 12-yard line. Quarterback Ben Mohr fumbled the football on a handoff, and Columbia City recovered the football.

But this was Whitko's home opener, and Sprunger was meant to get his 100th win.

Only two plays into Columbia City's possession, Eagle junior quarterback Seth Hoppe fumbled the football back to Whitko. Defensive end Joe Grant recovered the fumble, giving the Wildcats the ball at Columbia City's 20-yard line.

Six plays later, Goble's 10-yard run in the last minute gave Whitko the win.

"Our quarterback was upset, and his head dropped a bit," Sprunger said. "I told him we would get one more shot. I really believed that. I knew we would get the football back one more time and make it count."

A halftime adjustment helped Burelison, Goble and Gonzalez rack up the rushing yards in the second half.

Mohr continually faked a handoff to the fullback, pulled the football back and handed to one of these three. They kept going to the play because the Eagles never stopped it.

"We work very hard on hiding the football," Sprunger said. "We found a weakness at halftime when we looked at the way (Columbia City) was lining up. We were attacking the weak side. For us to do that, Josh has to get the football."

The Whitko defense shut down the Columbia City running game in the second half. Columbia City running backs Shanon Ward and Greg Hollenbaugh, who combined for nearly 170 rushing yards the first half, had only 58 in the second half.

The Eagles fumbled three times in the second half, and Whitko recovered all three.

Columbia City dropped to 0-2. Whitko, 1-1, hosts Southwood next Friday.

"If you start out 0-2, it's hard to come to practice," Sprunger said.

While Sprunger still stood on the field after the game, a man told him he hopes he gets 100 more.

"I don't think I'll still be around here for 100 more," Sprunger cracked. [[In-content Ad]]