SOUTH WHITLEY - The leading rusher, scorer and a two-way starter, Whitko football coach Bryan Sprunger knows what senior Brandon Waterson means to the team.

Friday night's 27-8 loss to visiting Norwell in the championship game of Class 3A Sectional 20 at Ryan Huff Memorial Stadium was a reminder.

Waterson, who entered the game with 1,270 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 115 yards per game and 7.6 yards per carry, injured his knee on an 8-yard gain in the second quarter and never returned.

He finished the game with five carries for 36 yards.

Without him, Sprunger said, the Wildcats lost their explosiveness.

Without a doubt, Whitko was a different team without their senior leader.

"When you lose a back like Brandon (things are different)," said Sprunger, who would have garnered his 130th win had the outcome been different. "We were a half-step slow. We didn't have that explosiveness."

Instead, a Wildcat offense that scored 76 points in sectional wins the past two weeks struggled to get things going, falling behind 20-0 before junior running back Tyler Wilkinson pounded his way in from 1 yard out to put Whitko's only touchdown on the board with 7:02 remaining in the game.

Junior John Carroll ran in the two-point conversion to give Whitko a glimmer of hope, but when the Wildcats' onside kick attempt didn't go 10 yards, the Knights took over at the 47.

Whitko's defense forced Norwell into a three-and-out, but the Wildcats' next drive ended after nine plays when junior signal caller Nate Hart threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-five from the 46, turning the ball over on downs.

A team not known for its passing game, Hart moved the Wildcats down field with a pair of big passes - one of them for 18 yards on first down - to senior tight end Zach Anderson.

But in the end, it was Norwell's running game that sealed the deal, giving Norwell its fifth sectional championship in school history and first since 1999.

After the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs, Norwell moved the ball 58 yards on seven rushing plays, capped off by a 13-yard touchdown run by junior Chris Aschliman with 28 seconds left that gave the Knights a 19-point win and a berth in next week's regional championship game with NorthWood.

"I feel like this was a game of opportunitites and missed opportunities," said Sprunger. "You just can't turn the ball over four times in the sectional championship and win. Give Norwell credit, they executed on offense, and they executed better on defense than us. We just didn't get it done."

A team that averaged nearly 250 yards per game on the ground, Whitko was held to 198 yards of total offense - 158 yards rushing and 40 yards passing.

Wilkinson led Whitko with 17 carries for 77 yards, while Waterson finished with five carries for 36 yards. Carroll came off the bench and carried three times for 30 yards.

After throwing incompletions on his first six attempts, Hart finished the game 3 of 13 with 40 yards.

Norwell's offense racked up 386 yards of offense, 267 on the ground and 119 through the air.

Ashliman led the Knights with 18 carries for 110 yards, while senior fullback Jeremy Wendling had 10 carries for 79 yards.

Senior quarterback Jason Schortgen, who also left the game with an injury, finished with 107 passing yards after completing 6 of 9 attempts.

All six of Schortgen's completed passes came in the first half, including one from 15 yards out to Mitch Harnish to put Norwell up 7-0 with 6:08 on the first-quarter clock.

Norwell's second score came with 5:13 left in the second quarter when Schortgen barged in from a yard out.

Senior Cale Grzych then added field goals of 22 and 30 yards, and the Knights led 20-0 with 9:10 remaining.

The win improved Norwell to 6-6 on the season. The Knights host NorthWood next Friday in the regional round. NorthWood (9-3) advanced by beating No. 10 South Bend St. Joe 22-21 on a field goal with under 30 seconds left.

Whitko, searching for its second sectional championship in school history and first since winning the 2A state championship in 1986, finished the season 7-5.

NORWELL 27, WHITKO 8

Norwell (6-6) 7 10 0 10 - 27

Whitko (7-5) 0 0 0 8 - 8

N W

First downs 18 15

Rushing yards 267 158

Passing yards 119 40

Comp.-Att.-Int. 8-12-0 3-13-0

Total offense 386 198

Fumbles/lost 2/2 4/1

Punts/avg. 1-41 3-28.7

Penalties/yards 1-5 2-20

SCORING

First Quarter

N - Jason Schortgen 15 pass to Mitch Harnish (Cale Grzych kick) 6:08, 7-0

Second Quarter

N - Schortgen 1 run (Grzych kick) 5:13, 14-0

N - Grzych 22 field goal :06, 17-0

Fourth Quarter

N - Grzych 30 field goal 9:10, 20-0

W - Wilkinson 1 run (John Carroll conversion run) 7:02, 20-8

N - Chris Aschliman 13 run (Grzych kick) :28, 27-8

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Whitko, Tyler Wilkinson 17-77, Brandon Waterson 5-36, Jarad Eberly 5-16, Carroll 3-30, Nate Hart 3-(-11); Norwell, Aschliman 18-110, Jeremy Wendling 10-79, Schortgen 8-40, Cory Mygrant 4-26, Tyler Baatz 3-12

Passing - Whitko, Hart 3-13-40; Norwell, Schortgen 6-9-107, 1 TD

Receiving - Whitko, Zach Anderson 2-22, Coble 1-18; Norwell, M. Harnish 2-32, Aschliman 2-23, Baatz 1-31, Jeremy Bodigan 1-23, Chandler Harnish 1-3 [[In-content Ad]]