Wildcats Fall To Bishop Luers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Luers, which finished their regular season with a 2-7 record, came out of the gates with some heavy intensity and appeared to throw the Wildcats off their game.
"We just didn't come out and play with the intensity that Luers did in the first quarter. After that, I believe we started to match them up better," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger.
Whitko received the opening kickoff and immediately got a first down. Two plays later, Adrien Spenser of Luers intercepted a Casey Boggs pass to give Luers the ball at the Wildcat 45-yard line.
Tyquan Hammock punched into the end zone from three yards out. The extra point was no good and the Knights took a 6-0 lead.
After a Wildcat three-and-out drive, Hammock scored his second touchdown of the night, a 27-yard run. Quinn Schafer hit Michael Morrison with a pass for the two-point conversion to give the Knights a 14-0 lead.
Whitko put together a drive late in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-7 with 1:21 to play. Tyler Elder scored from the 1-yard line and Doru Aldea hit the extra-point kick.
On the ensuing kickoff, Luers' Steve Williamson took the kick and ran it 58 yards to the Wildcat 35. On the next play, Tyler Watts ran the ball for a 24-yard gain.
Tony Kebede kicked a 23-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the half to drive the score to 17-7.
The Knights defense continued to dominate the Wildcats in the second half. Boggs was under pressure in the backfield most of the second half. Boggs finished the night with four interceptions on 8-of-24 passing for 84 yards..
"We had some things go wrong for us tonight. There were a couple times on the interceptions made against us tonight the ball bounced off our players and into their hands," said Sprunger.
Sprunger added, "The good thing about playoff football is the fact that everyone will get to play. Unfortunately, only five teams can be champions."
Luers increased its lead to 30-7 in the third quarter. The Knights scored on runs of one and 11 yards.
"The sad part of losing is the fact that we will be saying goodbye to 16 seniors. That is always hard to do," said Sprunger.
Senior Tyler Elder ended his career with the only touchdown for Whitko. He rushed for 43 yards on nine carries and also caught one pass for 27 yards.
Luers ended the scoring for the evening when Kebede kicked a 42-yard field goal with 7:23 left in the game.
When asked to reflect about the season, Sprunger said. "I am proud of our guys. We improved so much over the year. We started out slow and we picked up some football knowledge. They were just great this year."
Whitko finished the season with a much-improved 4-6 record. The Wildcats were in the hunt for the Three River Conference title until the second to last week.
"We have a good nucleus coming back next year. We will keep on improving," said Sprunger.
Luers raised its record to 3-8 and will face Norwell Friday.
BISHOP LUERS 33, WHITKO 7
Luers 14 3 13 3 - 33
Whitko 0 7 0 0 - 7
BL W
First downs 17 11
Rushing yards 240 103
Passing yards 132 99
Comp.-Att.-Int. 12-20-1 9-26-4
Total offense 372 201
Fumbles/lost 3-1 0-0
Punts/avg. 1-38 4-36
Penalties/yards 6-57 4-32
First Quarter
BL -ÊTyquan Hammock 3 run (kick failed) 6-0, 7:00
BL - Hammock 27 run (pass good) 14-0, 2:57
Second Quarter
W - Tyler Elder 1 run (Doru Aldea kick) 7-14, 1:21
BL - Tony Kebede 23 field goal 17-7, :28
Third Quarter
Bl - Schafer 1 run (Kebede kick) 24-7, 6:47
BL - Donte Asher 11 run (kick failed) 30-7, :19
Fourth Quarter
BL -ÊKebede 43 field goal 33-7, 7:23
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Bishop Luers, Tyler Watts 9=86, Donte Asher 10-85, Tyquan Hammock 7-56; Whitko, Matt Strandlund 10-46, Tyler Elder 9-43, Gus Bouse 1-11
Passing - Bishop Luers, Quinn Schafer 12-20-120, 0 TD, 0 INT; Casey Boggs 8-24-84, 0 TD, 4 INT
Receiving - Bishop Luers, Watts 3-58, Ronnie Williams 2-22, Steve Williamson 1-12, Lawrence Burnett 1-11; Whitko, Swender 3-43, Elder 1-27, Paul Bouse 1-15, Randy Wilkinson 2-13, Trent Rowland 2-10 [[In-content Ad]]
Luers, which finished their regular season with a 2-7 record, came out of the gates with some heavy intensity and appeared to throw the Wildcats off their game.
"We just didn't come out and play with the intensity that Luers did in the first quarter. After that, I believe we started to match them up better," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger.
Whitko received the opening kickoff and immediately got a first down. Two plays later, Adrien Spenser of Luers intercepted a Casey Boggs pass to give Luers the ball at the Wildcat 45-yard line.
Tyquan Hammock punched into the end zone from three yards out. The extra point was no good and the Knights took a 6-0 lead.
After a Wildcat three-and-out drive, Hammock scored his second touchdown of the night, a 27-yard run. Quinn Schafer hit Michael Morrison with a pass for the two-point conversion to give the Knights a 14-0 lead.
Whitko put together a drive late in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-7 with 1:21 to play. Tyler Elder scored from the 1-yard line and Doru Aldea hit the extra-point kick.
On the ensuing kickoff, Luers' Steve Williamson took the kick and ran it 58 yards to the Wildcat 35. On the next play, Tyler Watts ran the ball for a 24-yard gain.
Tony Kebede kicked a 23-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the half to drive the score to 17-7.
The Knights defense continued to dominate the Wildcats in the second half. Boggs was under pressure in the backfield most of the second half. Boggs finished the night with four interceptions on 8-of-24 passing for 84 yards..
"We had some things go wrong for us tonight. There were a couple times on the interceptions made against us tonight the ball bounced off our players and into their hands," said Sprunger.
Sprunger added, "The good thing about playoff football is the fact that everyone will get to play. Unfortunately, only five teams can be champions."
Luers increased its lead to 30-7 in the third quarter. The Knights scored on runs of one and 11 yards.
"The sad part of losing is the fact that we will be saying goodbye to 16 seniors. That is always hard to do," said Sprunger.
Senior Tyler Elder ended his career with the only touchdown for Whitko. He rushed for 43 yards on nine carries and also caught one pass for 27 yards.
Luers ended the scoring for the evening when Kebede kicked a 42-yard field goal with 7:23 left in the game.
When asked to reflect about the season, Sprunger said. "I am proud of our guys. We improved so much over the year. We started out slow and we picked up some football knowledge. They were just great this year."
Whitko finished the season with a much-improved 4-6 record. The Wildcats were in the hunt for the Three River Conference title until the second to last week.
"We have a good nucleus coming back next year. We will keep on improving," said Sprunger.
Luers raised its record to 3-8 and will face Norwell Friday.
BISHOP LUERS 33, WHITKO 7
Luers 14 3 13 3 - 33
Whitko 0 7 0 0 - 7
BL W
First downs 17 11
Rushing yards 240 103
Passing yards 132 99
Comp.-Att.-Int. 12-20-1 9-26-4
Total offense 372 201
Fumbles/lost 3-1 0-0
Punts/avg. 1-38 4-36
Penalties/yards 6-57 4-32
First Quarter
BL -ÊTyquan Hammock 3 run (kick failed) 6-0, 7:00
BL - Hammock 27 run (pass good) 14-0, 2:57
Second Quarter
W - Tyler Elder 1 run (Doru Aldea kick) 7-14, 1:21
BL - Tony Kebede 23 field goal 17-7, :28
Third Quarter
Bl - Schafer 1 run (Kebede kick) 24-7, 6:47
BL - Donte Asher 11 run (kick failed) 30-7, :19
Fourth Quarter
BL -ÊKebede 43 field goal 33-7, 7:23
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Bishop Luers, Tyler Watts 9=86, Donte Asher 10-85, Tyquan Hammock 7-56; Whitko, Matt Strandlund 10-46, Tyler Elder 9-43, Gus Bouse 1-11
Passing - Bishop Luers, Quinn Schafer 12-20-120, 0 TD, 0 INT; Casey Boggs 8-24-84, 0 TD, 4 INT
Receiving - Bishop Luers, Watts 3-58, Ronnie Williams 2-22, Steve Williamson 1-12, Lawrence Burnett 1-11; Whitko, Swender 3-43, Elder 1-27, Paul Bouse 1-15, Randy Wilkinson 2-13, Trent Rowland 2-10 [[In-content Ad]]