Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊGoing into Friday night's game against North Miami, Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger knew the key would be turnovers and special teams play.
In the end, Sprunger was right. Whitko's defense created those turnovers Sprunger spoke of, and the Wildcat offense capitalized on them to pick up a 41-8 win over the North Miami Warriors. The win also made Whitko a perfect 5-0 in the Three Rivers Conference.
The Wildcats wasted no time, proving why they are the top team in the TRC. On the third play after kicking off to North Miami, Whitko's Tyler Wilkinson intercepted a Warrior pass, giving the Wildcats the ball on the North Miami 14.
Then on a fourth-down-and-eight situation, Whitko's Brad Walpole threw a 12-yard pass to Brett Lukens to put the Wildcats on the board. Once Damon Shepherd split the uprights, Whitko held a 7-0 lead with 10:09 left in the first quarter.
With 4:22 still left in the first frame, Whitko scored again. This time, junior fireball Brandon Waterson broke free and ran the ball 46 yards to paydirt. Again Shepherd converted on the kick, and Whitko went up 14-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, North Miami took the ball on their own 27, but the Warriors did not have the ball for long. On the first play from scrimmage, Wildcat senior defender Drew Lopshire picked off another North Miami pass and returned it to the 2-yard line.
Two plays later, Whitko struck gold again as Alan Robbins punched through North Miami's defensive line for a 1-yard touchdown run. With 3:19 showing on the clock, Shepherd hit his third P.A.T. of the game, giving Whitko a 21-0 advantage.
"Our defense played well, especially in the first quarter," said Sprunger. "Our defense forced some turnovers and allowed our offense to take the ball over with good field position. The defense made some big plays that helped make our offense look good as well."
Whitko increased its lead in the second quarter. With 6:07 left in the first half, Robbins ran for another 1-yard touchdown, and Shepherd split the goalposts, putting Whitko up 28-0.
Later in the second quarter, Walpole connected with Lukens for the second time in the game. This time, it was a 37-yard touchdown pass with 1:08 left in the half. Again, Shepherd hit the kick, and Whitko took a 35-0 lead into the halftime break.
The Wildcats continued their domination in the second half. Whitko took the ball on its own 31 after the opening kickoff. The Wildcats then used their running game to control the clock for 6:48 before Walpole connected with Alex Frantz on a 32-yard touchdown pass. This time the kick failed, but Whitko still owned a 41-0 lead.
That's where the score remained until the 3:01 mark in the fourth quarter when North Miami's Andy Deeds ran six yards for the only Warrior touchdown of the night. The Warriors decided to try to kick the extra point, but a bad snap led to a two-point conversion pass, making the final score 41-8.
In all, Whitko's defense held North Miami to just 158 yards of total offense, 116 yards rushing and 42 yards passing. The Wildcats held TRC leading rusher Kevin Hostetler to 47 yards on 16 carries (2.9 yards per carry), well below his average of 5.7 yards per carry.
All totalled, North Miami turned the ball over four times, twice on interceptions and twice on fumbles. Wilkinson and Lopshire grabbed the interceptions, while Dustin Boardman and Nic Sprunger recovered the fumbles.
Whitko finished the night with 359 yards of total offense, 143 yards passing and 216 yards rushing.
Waterson led the Wildcat ground attack with 97 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown, while Robbins added 69 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. Brett Lukens caught three passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Signal caller Walpole completed 6 of 10 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns.
The win improves Whitko's record to 5-2 on the season and 5-0 in the TRC. North Miami falls to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in TRC play. Whitko travels to Rochester for another conference game Friday.
WHITKO 41,
NORTH MIAMI 8
North Miami 0 0 0 7 - 7
Whitko 21 14 6 0 - 41
W N
First downs 12 9
Rushing yards 50-216 31-116
Passing yards 143 42
Comp.-Att.-Int. 8-13-0 4-14-2
Total offense 359 158
Punts/ave. 0-0 3-28.7
Fumbles/lost 4-0 3-2
Penalties 9-55 4-35
Scoring
First Quarter
W -ÊBrett Lukens 12 pass from Brad Walpole (Damon Shepherd kick), 10:09, 7-0 W
W -ÊBrandon Waterson 46 run (Shepherd kick), 4:22, 14-0 W
W -ÊAlan Robbins 1 run (Shepherd kick), 3:19, 21-0 W
Second Quarter
W - Robbins 1 run (Shepherd kick), 6:07, 28-0 W
W - Lukens 37 pass from Walpole (Shepherd kick), 1:08, 35-0 W
Third Quarter
W - Alex Frantz 32 pass from Walpole (kick failed), 5:12, 41-0 W
Fourth Quarter
N - Andy Deeds 6 run (Bob Smith pass from Travis Fitzpatrick) 41-8 W
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing - Whitko: Brandon Waterson 15-97, Alan Robbins 17-69, Jeremy Coble 4-13, Tyler Wilkinson 4-16, Brad Walpole 1-(-6), Andrew Goble 2-8, Corey Spangle 3-9, Matt Thomas 2-4, Jarad Eberly 1-4, Brent Boardman 1-2; North Miami: Kevin Hostetler 16-47, Cody Robison7-39, Devin McWhorter 1-(-10), Andy Deeds 4-47
Passing - Whitko: Walpole 6-10-121 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, Kevin Feldman 1-1-8 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, Matt Thomas 1-2-14 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT; North Miami: 4-14-42 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
Receiving - Whitko: Brett Lukens 3-70 yards, Coble 1-10, Alex Frantz 2-41, Jarad Eberly 1-14; North Miami: Bob Smith 3-25, Kevin Hostetler 1-18
