SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊIt has been said that two heads are better than one.

Friday night in South Whitley, Whitko showed that two running backs can be better than one as the Wildcats topped Concordia 54-40 in the opening round of Class 3A Sectional 20.

Concordia's Bryan Payton racked up 342 total yards on the ground, with 309 of those coming in the first half, but Whitko's Brandon Waterson and Tyler Wilkinson joined forces to gain 397 yards on the ground and lead Whitko to the sectional win.

"We knew they had a good running back," said Wilkinson. "But our offense just kept plugging away."

"Payton is a great running back," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger. "I think the kids were enjoying watching him run in the first half. He made some great moves to get through. At halftime, we got after the guys a little bit, and they held him to 33 yards in the second half."

But the play of the game may have been a penalty. With just over two minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, Whitko was up 46-40 but faced a fourth-and-one situation on its own 36-yard line. Sprunger decided to punt the ball, but as the play unfolded, a flag hit the field. Concordia was called for a 15-yard penalty for having too many players on the field, giving Whitko a first down at the Cadet 45-yard line.

On the next play, Wilkinson broke free for 43 yards. Then he finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that put Whitko up 54-40 with 1:10 showing on the clock.

"My coaching staff and I debated about whether to go for the first down or punt," said Sprunger. "I'm glad I punted now."

The Wildcats took the lead early as Waterson scored on a 11-yard run with 8:11 on the first-quarter clock. Nate Hart connected with Jeremy Coble for the two-point conversion, and Whitko was up 8-0.

Then Payton kicked into gear. In the first quarter he scored on an 18-yard run and then on a 62-yard run to put Concordia up 14-8 going into the second frame.

Payton broke free for a 50-yard touchdown to open the second quarter and give the Cadets a 21-8 advantage.

But Whitko fought right back.

At the 9:55 mark in the second quarter, Wilkinson ran 14 yards for a touchdown and put Whitko back in the game, 21-14.

Six minutes later, Waterson struck gold for the Wildcats. He broke away for a 30-yard touchdown run and then followed his score with a conversion run to put the Wildcats up 22-21.

However that lead did not last long as Payton blasted through Whitko's defense for a 67-yard touchdown run at the 2:56 mark and then a 34-yard touchdown with 43 ticks left in the half to give Concordia a 33-22 advantage at the half.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Whitko scored again. Waterson capped off a 36-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown trot. Hart connected with Kurt Swender for the conversion, and Whitko was within three, 33-30.

Then at the 1:28 mark in the third frame Waterson scored again. This time, he punched it in from 7 yards out and then finished things off with the conversion run as well to put Whitko up 38-33.

The Wildcats continued their scoring run in the fourth frame when Wilkinson scored from 1-yard out. Hart connected with Coble for the conversion to give Whitko a 46-33 advantage.

Concordia closed the gap to 46-40 with 4:57 left in the game after he scored on a 13-yard run.

But Whitko put the game out of reach with Wilkinson's touchdown at the 1:10 mark.

"I was concerned with the way we would bounce back from the loss (29-28 to Valley) last week," said Sprunger. "I am very proud of these young men and the way they fought back."

Whitko improves to 6-4 on the season and faces off against New Haven Friday in New Haven.

WHITKO 54, CONCORDIA 40

Concordia 14 19 0 7 - 40

Whitko 8 14 16 16 - 54

C W

First downs 10 18

Rushing yards 29-366 54-393

Passing yards 73 78

Comp.-Att.-Int. 5-19-1 6-13-1

Total offense 439 471

Fumbles/lost 2-1 1-0

Punts/ave. 5-35.4 4-36

Penalties 8-52 3-15

Scoring

First Quarter

W - Brandon Waterson 10 run (Jeremy Coble pass from Nate Hart), 8:11, 8-0 W

C - Bryan Payton 19 run (run failed), 4:46, 8-6 W

C - Payton 62 run (Andrew Knox pass from Jason Doerffler), 1:44, 14-8 C

Second Quarter

C - Payton 50 run (Josh Macke kick), 11:49, 21-8 C

W - Tyler Wilkinson 14 run (run failed), 9:55, 21-14 C

W - Waterson 31 (Waterson run), 3:11, 22-21 W

C -ÊPayton 67 run (pass failed), 2:56, 27-22 C

C -ÊPayton 34 run (run failed), 0:43, 33-22 C

Third Quarter

W -ÊWaterson 4 run (Kurt Swender pass from Hart), 10:44, 33-30 C

W -ÊWaterson 7 run (Waterson run), 1:28, 38-33 W

Fourth Quarter

W -ÊWilkinson 1 run (Coble pass from Hart), 11:26, 46-33 W

C -ÊPayton 13 run (Macke kick), 4:57, 46-40 W

W - Wilkinson 2 run (Hart run), 1:10, 54-40 W

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Concordia: Bryan Payton 25-342, Deon White 2-7, Jason Doerffler 1-3, Andrew Knox 1-14; Whitko: Brandon Waterson 24-184, Tyler Wilkinson 25-213, Nate Hart 4-(-5), Jeremy Coble 1-1

Passing - Concordia: Doerffler 5-19-73 yards, 1 INT, 0 TD; Whitko: Nate Hart 6-13-78, 1 INT, 0 TD

Receiving - Concordia: Braden Turner 2-24, Dwight Eatmon 1-14, White 1-16, Knox 1-4; Whitko: Coble 2-31, Wilkinson 1-(-3), Waterson 1-22, Zach Anderson 1-22 [[In-content Ad]]