Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WABASH -ÊWhitko head coach Bryan Sprunger was so distraught after the thrashing the WIldcats received from Southwood, all he yelled to a reporter was, "NO COMMENT! You saw it. You write it!"
Southwood handed Whitko their worst loss of the season Friday night, as the Knights rolled to an easy 60-6 victory over the Wildcats.
"Sprunger's got a reason to be upset, but all in all this was a very physical game," Southwood coach Dave Wilhelm said.
The Wildcat's coach has more than one reason to be upset, and it starts with how his team handled the ball.
Whitko fumbled the ball eight times and lost it six, including one from scrimmage by starting quarterback Adam Wendel on the first play. Southwood capitalized by racking up 32 points off the Wildcat turnovers.
"If I were Sprunger, I would have told my team to stay focused (after this game) for next week. Tonight is just one game, and it will always be the reason for us to keep working towards getting better," Wilhelm said.
Last night Wilhelm celebrated more than just a single victory. He was hailed for getting his 100th win during this, his fourteenth season at Southwood. The Knights' fans and players awarded him with the game ball. Sprunger accomplished that feat last year after the first game of the season.
Southwood jumped out to an early lead as senior halfback Clint Marshall took the opening kickoff 86 yards, then kicked the extra point to put the Knights up
7-0, 12 seconds in to the game.
After the Wildcats fumbled on their first play , Tom Wright connected with Marshall for a 35-yard touchdown on Southwood's second play from scrimmage for the Knights' second score of the game, less than 90 seconds in to the contest.
Southwood's quarterback threw three touchdown passes as he completed 11 of 15 passes for 165 yards with no interceptions.
"Wright was a strong offensive threat for us tonight, his
accuracy and agility are to be commended. Our receivers did a great job pulling down the ball too," Wilhelm said.
Whitko did put the heat on once during the game as they drove the ball 89 yards to a first-and-goal on the three yard line. But Brent Goble fumbled the ball at the one yard line and it was ruled a touchback for the Knights.
Goble later redeemed himself as he ran a kickoff return goal line to goal line, for the 100-yard score. This was the lone score of the game for Whitko. The two-point conversion pass failed.
Perhaps this year's most devastating statistic thus far for the Wildcats is that they have been outscored 125-14 through three games.
Whitko (0-3, 0-1 TRC) hosts, Manchester (2-1, 1-0 TRC), in a Three Rivers Conference battle next week
Seen.
Written.
Southwood 60, whitko 6
Southwood 20 14 12 14 60
Whitko 0 6 0 0 6
W S
First downs 10 14
Rushing yards 44-220 44-415
Passing yards 0 165
Comp.-Att.-Int. 0-6-1 11-15-0
Total offense 220 580
Fumbles lost 8-6 3-1
Punts/avg. 3-26.7 1-40
Penalties/yards 3-5 9-52
First Quarter
S -ÊClint Marshall 86 kickoff return (Marshall kick good), 11:48, 7-0
S - Marshall 35 pass from Tom Wright (pass failed), 10:58, 13-0
S - Wright 8 run (kick good), 1:39, 20-0
Second Quarter
S -ÊNick Dawson 16 pass from Wright (kick good), 6:49, 27-0
W - Brent Goble 100 kickoff return (pass failed), 6:33, 27-6
S -ÊDawson 3 pass from Wright (kick good), 19.4, 34-6
Third Quarter
S - Marshall 48 run (kick failed), 4:48, 40-6
S - Zellers 1 run (kick failed), 1:00, 46-6
Fourth Quarter
S -ÊCroft 12 pass to Schoeff (kick good), 8:14, 53-6
S - John Clark 81 run (kick good),1:30, 60-6
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing - Whitko: Seth Slater 14-116, John Wendel 8-34, Southwood: Marshall 11-167, Zellers 17-114, Clark 3-99.
Passing - Southwood: Wright 11-15-0 165, Whitko: Wendel 0-6-1 0
Receiving -ÊSouthwood: Dawson 7-79
