Whitko, St. Joe Set For Battle In South Whitley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊWhen the whistle blows to begin the sectional semifinal game in South Whitley tonight, folks should expect to see a battle.
The Whitko Wildcats will face off against the South Bend St. Joseph's Indians at 7:30 p.m. tonight in South Whitley.
Both teams sport a 7-3 record, but they have only one common opponent -ÊCulver Military Academy. Last week the Wildcats topped the Eagles 27-21 on some last-second heroics in the sectional opener. Earlier this season, the Indians topped the Eagles 27-7.
Whitko will rely on a pounding running game, propelled by the strong legs of junior Brandon Waterson and senior Alan Robbins. Waterson is creeping up on the 1,000-yard mark for the season, rushing 153 times for 887 net yards. Robbins has carried the ball 125 times for 717 yards. Dane Bause and Jeremy Coble add to the Wildcat ground attack with 104 yards and 114 yards, respectively, so far this season.
In all, Whitko has rushed for 2,093 yards this season and passed for 1,076.
"I tell ya, Whitko can run the ball," said St. Joe coach Andy Strati. "They are a very strong, very physical football team. They run the ball well, and they have several guys who can run the ball."
Quarterback Brad Walpole is looking to lead his team to the sectional final game. The senior signal caller has completed 49 of 92 passes for 967 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has thrown just four interceptions and sports a 53.3 completion percentage.
Walpole's favorite target is Brett Lukens, who has 20 receptions for 571 yards and eight touchdowns. Behind Lukens is Alex Frantz with 145 yards on 10 catches. Robbins also has 10 catches for 142 yards.
Robbins leads the Wildcats in scoring with 10 touchdowns and a two-point conversion, Waterson and Lukens are close behind with 54 points each. Both have a total of nine touchdowns on the season.
South Bend St. Joseph's is a primarily running team as well. To date, the Indians have rushed for 1,633 yards and passed for 974.
The Indians will look to a quartet of running backs to lead the ground game. Mike Ferry has carried the ball 71 times for 394 yards, while his teammate Tim Coleman has 381 yards on 69 carries. Connor Hay has gained 357 yards on 86 carries.
The fourth person in the quartet is quarterback Joe McDonnell. So far this season, McDonnell has carried the ball 84 times for 259 yards and completed 66 of 125 passes for 974 yards. He has thrown nine interceptions.
McDonnell has two main targets: Matt Weldy and Will Hennessy. Weldy has caught 20 passes for 334 yards, while Hennessy has pulled in 19 passes for 304 yards.
Hay leads the St. Joe scoring charge with 10 touchdowns, while Weldy has six. Coleman and O'Donnell have scored four touchdowns each.
"Our biggest strength this season is probably our senior leadership," said Strati. "Our seniors have played well all year. Offensively we have a good mix of the pass and the run. Defensively, we have had a great deal of success stopping people from running the ball."
The Indians will rely on defensive pressure for success tonight as well. Weldy has nine interceptions along with 29 solo tackles and 16 assists. Pete Hamann has 49 solo tackles and 20 assists, while Hennessy has 46 solo and 17 assisted tackles this season.
The battle of the 7-3 squads kick off at 7:30 p.m. tonight in South Whitley. The winner of this game will face off against the winner of the NorthWood-Tippecanoe Valley game tonight in Akron.
CLASS 3A
SECTIONAL 19
SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH'S AT WHITKO
7:30 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
South Bend St. Joseph's
TEAM STATS
St. Joe Opp.
Rushing 373-1,633 345-941
Passing (comp/att/yds)
66-128-974 73-186-1,083
Intercepted 10 19
Completion percentage 52 39
Turnovers 24 32
Fumbles lost 14 13
Punts/ave. 23-33 34-30.9
Penalties 67-532 59-498
INDIVIDUAL STATS
OFFENSE
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) -ÊMike Ferry 71-394, Tim Coleman 69-381, Connor Hay 86-357, Joe McDonnell 84-259
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊMcDonnell 66-125-9, 974 yards
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊMatt Weldy 20-334, Will Hennessy 19-304
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo-assists) -ÊPete Hamann 49-20, Hennessy 46-17, Andy Korpal 42-20, Dan Kobyra 33-27, Joe Foldenauer 32-23
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns -ÊFerry 7-134, Hennessy 7-114, Tim Coleman 5-113
Punts -ÊPatrick Reardon 12-34.9
Punt Returns -ÊHennessy 15-212
Whitko
TEAM STATS
Whitko Opp.
Rushing 425-2,093 366-1,332
Passing (comp/att/yds)
53-103-1,076 53-155-624
Intercepted 4 11
Completion percentage 51.5 34.2
Fumbles lost 14 14
Punts/ave. 26-31.8 47-31.5
Penalties 44-264 37-258
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) - Brandon Waterson 153-905, Alan Robbins 125-717, Jeremy Coble 28-114, Dane Bause 32-104
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊBrad Walpole 49-92-4, 967 yards, 15 TD
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊBrett Lukens 20-571, Alex Frantz 10-145, Robbins 10-142, Waterson 4-100, Coble 6-76
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo-assists) - no stats reports
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns - Robbins 5-216, Coble 3-50, Waterson 8-97, Lukens 4-92
Punts -Ê Kevin Feldman 26-31.8
Punt Returns - Robbins 21-223, Lukens 3-30 [[In-content Ad]]
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊWhen the whistle blows to begin the sectional semifinal game in South Whitley tonight, folks should expect to see a battle.
The Whitko Wildcats will face off against the South Bend St. Joseph's Indians at 7:30 p.m. tonight in South Whitley.
Both teams sport a 7-3 record, but they have only one common opponent -ÊCulver Military Academy. Last week the Wildcats topped the Eagles 27-21 on some last-second heroics in the sectional opener. Earlier this season, the Indians topped the Eagles 27-7.
Whitko will rely on a pounding running game, propelled by the strong legs of junior Brandon Waterson and senior Alan Robbins. Waterson is creeping up on the 1,000-yard mark for the season, rushing 153 times for 887 net yards. Robbins has carried the ball 125 times for 717 yards. Dane Bause and Jeremy Coble add to the Wildcat ground attack with 104 yards and 114 yards, respectively, so far this season.
In all, Whitko has rushed for 2,093 yards this season and passed for 1,076.
"I tell ya, Whitko can run the ball," said St. Joe coach Andy Strati. "They are a very strong, very physical football team. They run the ball well, and they have several guys who can run the ball."
Quarterback Brad Walpole is looking to lead his team to the sectional final game. The senior signal caller has completed 49 of 92 passes for 967 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has thrown just four interceptions and sports a 53.3 completion percentage.
Walpole's favorite target is Brett Lukens, who has 20 receptions for 571 yards and eight touchdowns. Behind Lukens is Alex Frantz with 145 yards on 10 catches. Robbins also has 10 catches for 142 yards.
Robbins leads the Wildcats in scoring with 10 touchdowns and a two-point conversion, Waterson and Lukens are close behind with 54 points each. Both have a total of nine touchdowns on the season.
South Bend St. Joseph's is a primarily running team as well. To date, the Indians have rushed for 1,633 yards and passed for 974.
The Indians will look to a quartet of running backs to lead the ground game. Mike Ferry has carried the ball 71 times for 394 yards, while his teammate Tim Coleman has 381 yards on 69 carries. Connor Hay has gained 357 yards on 86 carries.
The fourth person in the quartet is quarterback Joe McDonnell. So far this season, McDonnell has carried the ball 84 times for 259 yards and completed 66 of 125 passes for 974 yards. He has thrown nine interceptions.
McDonnell has two main targets: Matt Weldy and Will Hennessy. Weldy has caught 20 passes for 334 yards, while Hennessy has pulled in 19 passes for 304 yards.
Hay leads the St. Joe scoring charge with 10 touchdowns, while Weldy has six. Coleman and O'Donnell have scored four touchdowns each.
"Our biggest strength this season is probably our senior leadership," said Strati. "Our seniors have played well all year. Offensively we have a good mix of the pass and the run. Defensively, we have had a great deal of success stopping people from running the ball."
The Indians will rely on defensive pressure for success tonight as well. Weldy has nine interceptions along with 29 solo tackles and 16 assists. Pete Hamann has 49 solo tackles and 20 assists, while Hennessy has 46 solo and 17 assisted tackles this season.
The battle of the 7-3 squads kick off at 7:30 p.m. tonight in South Whitley. The winner of this game will face off against the winner of the NorthWood-Tippecanoe Valley game tonight in Akron.
CLASS 3A
SECTIONAL 19
SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH'S AT WHITKO
7:30 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
South Bend St. Joseph's
TEAM STATS
St. Joe Opp.
Rushing 373-1,633 345-941
Passing (comp/att/yds)
66-128-974 73-186-1,083
Intercepted 10 19
Completion percentage 52 39
Turnovers 24 32
Fumbles lost 14 13
Punts/ave. 23-33 34-30.9
Penalties 67-532 59-498
INDIVIDUAL STATS
OFFENSE
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) -ÊMike Ferry 71-394, Tim Coleman 69-381, Connor Hay 86-357, Joe McDonnell 84-259
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊMcDonnell 66-125-9, 974 yards
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊMatt Weldy 20-334, Will Hennessy 19-304
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo-assists) -ÊPete Hamann 49-20, Hennessy 46-17, Andy Korpal 42-20, Dan Kobyra 33-27, Joe Foldenauer 32-23
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns -ÊFerry 7-134, Hennessy 7-114, Tim Coleman 5-113
Punts -ÊPatrick Reardon 12-34.9
Punt Returns -ÊHennessy 15-212
Whitko
TEAM STATS
Whitko Opp.
Rushing 425-2,093 366-1,332
Passing (comp/att/yds)
53-103-1,076 53-155-624
Intercepted 4 11
Completion percentage 51.5 34.2
Fumbles lost 14 14
Punts/ave. 26-31.8 47-31.5
Penalties 44-264 37-258
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing -Ê(att-yds) - Brandon Waterson 153-905, Alan Robbins 125-717, Jeremy Coble 28-114, Dane Bause 32-104
Passing -Ê(comp.-att.-int. yards, TDs) -ÊBrad Walpole 49-92-4, 967 yards, 15 TD
Receiving -Ê(catches-yards) -ÊBrett Lukens 20-571, Alex Frantz 10-145, Robbins 10-142, Waterson 4-100, Coble 6-76
DEFENSE
Tackles (solo-assists) - no stats reports
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff Returns - Robbins 5-216, Coble 3-50, Waterson 8-97, Lukens 4-92
Punts -Ê Kevin Feldman 26-31.8
Punt Returns - Robbins 21-223, Lukens 3-30 [[In-content Ad]]