'Busco Tames Whitko Wildcats
August 19, 2017 at 6:12 a.m.
By Ryan Villanueva-
It was a year ago that Churubusco got revenge, eliminating the Wildcats 20-6 in a sectional semifinal.
Friday night marked the first time the two Whitley County schools faced off in a regular season game since 1975.
Busco scored on eight of their nine possessions and put the Whitley County rivalry game away quickly as the Eagles routed the ‘Cats 56-0 Friday night in Churubusco.
“We knew going into this season and into this game, that we're going to be young,” said Whitko head coach Jeff Sprunger. “We've made a lot of switches and we rotated a lot of guys in there."
Sprunger also noted that they only had one two-way player return from last year's team.
The Eagles scored early and often, as Busco got on the board by way of a 22-yard Joey Emenhiser touchdown run just five minutes into the opening quarter.
The Eagles easily entered the Red Zone on their second possession, but the Whitko defense got a tackle-for-loss from Caleb Busz and a sack to force 4th and goal from the 21. It did not pose too much of a problem as Busco converted on a Tom Richards pass to Gage Kelly to make it 14-0.
Whitko accumulated only five yards of offense in the first quarter.
Busco senior running back Garrett Horn started the scoring in the second quarter with a 1-yard run. Kelly helped continue the onslaught with his second score of the game after he ran it in from 15 yards out.
Despite the impressive rushing performance from the Busco offense, the game was overshadowed by a serious lower leg injury to Horn. It was revealed later that he suffered a broken tibia and that his high school football career had ended.
When play resumed, the Busco running game didn’t skip a beat. Junior running back Nathaniel Keener scored twice before the half.
By halftime, the Wildcats had posted just 33 yards of total offense.
Kelly scored his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter and sophomore running back Jake Fulk scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard run in the first play of the fourth quarter.
Whitko drove the ball into Busco territory once, and it came in the fourth quarter. Although junior quarterback Cade Bechtold finished with three interceptions, he settled down on the Cats' last possession, completing 4 out of 4 pass attempts for 31 yards before his last attempt resulted in an interception.
“We're going to grow this year. I felt like Cade got comfortable and our line got better as the game progressed with pass-blocking,” said Sprunger. "We're playing a lot of sophomore and juniors and first-time varsity guys, and those boys were nervous.”
In light of the Week 1 loss, Sprunger insisted that neither he or his team will be deterred by it.
“The scoreboard isn't indicative of what we're capable of,” said Sprunger. “It doesn't show their true passion and grit for the game.”
The 'Cats will play a visit to county rival Columbia City Friday. Last year, the 'Cats defeated the Eagles 20-14 in South Whitley.
“We're excited. It's great to have both county teams on our schedule now,” said Sprunger. “They remember how fun the game was last year and they're ready to play them again."
CHURUBUSCO 56, WHITKO 0
W 0 0 0 0 – 0
C 14 28 7 7 – 56
First Quarter
C – Joey Emenhiser 22 yard TD run (7:03); Emenhiser kick
C – Tom Richards 21 pass to Gage Kelly (2:09); Emenhiser kick
Second Quarter
C – Garrett Horn 1 yard run (10:06); Emenhiser kick
C – Gage Kelly 15 yard run (6:44); Emenhiser kick
C – Nathaniel Keener 3 yard run (3:32); Emenhiser kick
C – Nathaniel Keener 38 yard run (1:48); Emenhiser kick
Third Quarter
C – Gage Kelly 19 yard run (6:06); Emenhiser kick
Fourth Quarter
C – Jake Fulk 10 yard run (11:50); Emenhiser kick
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It was a year ago that Churubusco got revenge, eliminating the Wildcats 20-6 in a sectional semifinal.
Friday night marked the first time the two Whitley County schools faced off in a regular season game since 1975.
Busco scored on eight of their nine possessions and put the Whitley County rivalry game away quickly as the Eagles routed the ‘Cats 56-0 Friday night in Churubusco.
“We knew going into this season and into this game, that we're going to be young,” said Whitko head coach Jeff Sprunger. “We've made a lot of switches and we rotated a lot of guys in there."
Sprunger also noted that they only had one two-way player return from last year's team.
The Eagles scored early and often, as Busco got on the board by way of a 22-yard Joey Emenhiser touchdown run just five minutes into the opening quarter.
The Eagles easily entered the Red Zone on their second possession, but the Whitko defense got a tackle-for-loss from Caleb Busz and a sack to force 4th and goal from the 21. It did not pose too much of a problem as Busco converted on a Tom Richards pass to Gage Kelly to make it 14-0.
Whitko accumulated only five yards of offense in the first quarter.
Busco senior running back Garrett Horn started the scoring in the second quarter with a 1-yard run. Kelly helped continue the onslaught with his second score of the game after he ran it in from 15 yards out.
Despite the impressive rushing performance from the Busco offense, the game was overshadowed by a serious lower leg injury to Horn. It was revealed later that he suffered a broken tibia and that his high school football career had ended.
When play resumed, the Busco running game didn’t skip a beat. Junior running back Nathaniel Keener scored twice before the half.
By halftime, the Wildcats had posted just 33 yards of total offense.
Kelly scored his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter and sophomore running back Jake Fulk scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard run in the first play of the fourth quarter.
Whitko drove the ball into Busco territory once, and it came in the fourth quarter. Although junior quarterback Cade Bechtold finished with three interceptions, he settled down on the Cats' last possession, completing 4 out of 4 pass attempts for 31 yards before his last attempt resulted in an interception.
“We're going to grow this year. I felt like Cade got comfortable and our line got better as the game progressed with pass-blocking,” said Sprunger. "We're playing a lot of sophomore and juniors and first-time varsity guys, and those boys were nervous.”
In light of the Week 1 loss, Sprunger insisted that neither he or his team will be deterred by it.
“The scoreboard isn't indicative of what we're capable of,” said Sprunger. “It doesn't show their true passion and grit for the game.”
The 'Cats will play a visit to county rival Columbia City Friday. Last year, the 'Cats defeated the Eagles 20-14 in South Whitley.
“We're excited. It's great to have both county teams on our schedule now,” said Sprunger. “They remember how fun the game was last year and they're ready to play them again."
CHURUBUSCO 56, WHITKO 0
W 0 0 0 0 – 0
C 14 28 7 7 – 56
First Quarter
C – Joey Emenhiser 22 yard TD run (7:03); Emenhiser kick
C – Tom Richards 21 pass to Gage Kelly (2:09); Emenhiser kick
Second Quarter
C – Garrett Horn 1 yard run (10:06); Emenhiser kick
C – Gage Kelly 15 yard run (6:44); Emenhiser kick
C – Nathaniel Keener 3 yard run (3:32); Emenhiser kick
C – Nathaniel Keener 38 yard run (1:48); Emenhiser kick
Third Quarter
C – Gage Kelly 19 yard run (6:06); Emenhiser kick
Fourth Quarter
C – Jake Fulk 10 yard run (11:50); Emenhiser kick
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