SOUTH WHITLEY — Winning their opening-round sectional games in the previous two seasons, the Whitko Wildcats tried to continue that trend Friday night after clinching a share of the Three Rivers Conference championship a week ago. At home on a cold and crisp evening, this year proved to be different. The Wildcats came out flat and were held to 259 yards of total offense as they were defeated 35-13 by the Bellmont Braves in South Whitley. “Their guys up front are big kids and they’re a good football team,“ said Whitko head coach Josh Mohr. “They did a good job against what we were doing offensively and defensively.” The Braves used the first four minutes of the game to orchestrate an 11-play, 77-yard drive capped off by a 26-yard touchdown run by halfback Chase Ellsworth to go up 7-0. Whitko then went three-and-out, leading to a quick 14-0 Bellmont advantage after Jordan Amacker found a wide open John Sefter for a 25-yard score. Wildcats quarterback Ethan Nicodemus had the ball stripped from him on their next trip – which would only dig an even deeper hole for the home team. With the ball back, Amacker connected with Zach Macklin for a 14-yard touchdown. The Braves would open up their playbook, using a halfback pass to go up 28-0 at the half, as Ellsworth hit Sefton from 11 yards out. In the third quarter, the Wildcats finally got on the board with a 5-yard keeper from Nicodemus to cut the Braves’ lead to 28-6. Trace Killian also scored on a 9-yard run late in the game, but it had already been put away after Bellmont’s Trevor Love scored from two yards out in the third quarter. “Our kids didn’t quit fighting the entire game against a very good opponent, and sometimes you come up short,” Mohr said. Sloppy play did not help the Wildcats’ cause, either. Whitko was penalized 10 times for 75 yards, including the ejection of Connor Zwick on a personal foul. The Braves were also penalized seven times for 78 yards, spelling out frustration from both teams. “Emotionally, we got into it more in the second half,” Mohr said. “We had a little more fire and got a couple touchdowns in the second half.” Despite its season coming to an end, Mohr was able to point out their success during the regular season. Whitko earned a TRC champions patch for their lettermen jackets, and he also praised the outgoing seniors for their contributions over the course of their careers. “I know it’s not the way they wanted to go out,” he said. “Nobody wants to go out that way, but I am proud of them and I would not trade them for anybody. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. They fought the whole time.” The Braves advance to host next Friday’s second-round game of the sectional against Fort Wayne Concordia.
BELLMONT 35, WHITKO 13 B 14 14 7 0 — 35 W 0 0 6 7 — 13
B W 1st downs 19 11 Rushing yds 259 178 Passing yds 117 81 Comp-Att-Int 8-10-0 3-10-0 Total yds 376 259 Fumbles/lost 0/0 3/1 Penalties/yds 7/92 10/78 Punts/avg 3/30 4/27.8
First Quarter B – Chase Ellsworth 26 run (Ellsworth kick) 7:47, 7-0 B – Jordan Amacker 25 pass to John Sefton (Ellsworth kick) 4:17, 14-0 Second Quarter B – Amacker 14 pass to Zach Macklin (Ellsworth kick) 11:51, 21-0 B – Ellsworth 11 pass to Sefton (Ellsworth kick) 5:56, 28-0 Third Quarter W – Ethan Nicodemus 5 run (kick failed) 7:02, 28-6 B – Trevor Love 2 run (Ellsworth kick) 3:19, 35-6 Fourth Quarter W – Trace Killian 9 run (Brady Herendeen kick) 4:32, 35-13
