ROCHESTER — The Three Rivers Conference clash between two 5-0 teams at Rochester Friday night turned into a game the Whitko Wildcats would like to forget. Instead of the contest being a tight one, the Wildcats (5-3, 5-1 TRC) couldn’t slow down the host Zebras (7-1, 6-0 TRC), falling 56-14. “I think we have the potential to put points on anyone,” Rochester coach Mike Zehner said. “Just watching their defense, they didn’t give up too many points on the film I watched. They get tough in the red zone and had the second-fewest points scored against them in the conference. To put 56 on these guys says a lot about our offense.” Coming into the game, the Whitko defense had only allowed 38 points to five conference opponents, but it hadn’t seen an offensive attack like it did at Barnhart Field. Racking up a total of 450 yards, Rochester got 198 rushing yards and three second-half scores from senior Jacob Howdeshell and 175 passing yards from senior quarterback John Hunting, who connected with junior receiver Gavin Bennett five times for 102 yards and a touchdown. “We knew coming into it that Rochester was a really well-coached, physical team,” Whitko coach Josh Mohr said. “They have some big, big kids up front and they attacked all night.” Also for Rochester, Hunting hit senior J. Heckathorn for a 73-yard score, while he also returned a kickoff 77 yards to the end zone with 7.5 seconds remaining in the opening half. “It was awesome,” Zehner said of the kick return. “I didn’t think anybody would kick to him again after what he’s done this year. He’s electric. He flies down the field and is an ‘X’ factor in the game.” Making the score even worse for Whitko was the fact that it came right after it had cut the Zebras’ lead to 21-6 following a four-yard run by senior running back Tanner Hughes. Instead of going into halftime with momentum, and getting the ball first in the second half, the air was taken out of the Wildcats’ sails. “We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot, and they’re way too good of a team to do that against,” Mohr said. On its opening drive of the second half, Whitko again got a touchdown from Hughes, this one from 37 yards out, but like before, Rochester responded. Instead of a kickoff return touchdown, the Zebras went 66 yards in 2:55, ending with a 23-yard run by Howdeshell and extending the lead to 36-14 with 8:25 left in the third quarter. “It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth,” Mohr said. “The momentum would stay with them no matter what. We’d score, then they’d just continue to drive forward.” Hughes’ touchdown 37 seconds into the second half was Whitko’s last, while Rochester scored touchdowns on all three of its possessions, and even added a 50-yard interception return score by junior Brett Abbott. Heading into the final week of the regular season, only Whitko and Rochester are in contention for the TRC title, the only question is will Rochester split it? “Tonight’s a guaranteed share, but we’re tired of sharing,” Zehner said, referring to Rochester splitting it the last three years, including last season’s share with Whitko. “We’d rather win it outright.” To do that, the Zebras will need to win at North Miami (1-7, 1-5 TRC) Friday, which would make Whitko’s outcome at Tippecanoe Valley (1-7, 1-5 TRC) moot. “The conference isn’t over,” Mohr said. “Rochester, you assume they’re going to take care of their end of it, but after a big emotional game like this, you never know. So, we have to take care of our end. I told the kids, ‘We have to take care of what we can control, and that’s our game against Valley.’ That’s always a very spirited, hard-hitting and emotional game, just because it is a rivalry.” The conference race may not be over, but winning it got a lot tougher, despite the best efforts from Hughes. Whitko’s all-time leading rusher picked up another 193 yards on 21 attempts in the loss, including runs of 44, 37, 29 and 21 yards. “He’s a tough kid,” Zehner said of the bruising back with speed to match. “He’s a great running back and is going to be tough for anyone to stop. I thought we did a decent job, but they did a nice job of getting to the outside on us in the second half.” Although Hughes got his, the rest of the Wildcats struggled to find space, and speedy sophomore quarterback Garrett Elder was relegated to eight on six carries. “There were times when they were doing a very good job of being disciplined on defense and taking away the pitch, then rallying around our quarterback,” Mohr said.
ROCHESTER 56, WHITKO 14 W 0 6 8 0 — 14 R 7 22 7 20 — 56
W R 1st downs 14 17 Rushing yds 272 259 Passing yds 40 191 Comp-Att-Int 3-13-1 7-11-0 Total yds 312 450 Fumbles/lost 6/1 0/0 Penalties/yds 2/20 2/16 Punts/avg 3/33.3 2/33
First Quarter R – John Hunting 10 pass to Gavin Bennett (Wilson Lee kick) 7:30, 7-0. Second Quarter R – Wes Beck 1 run (Lee kick) 5:13, 14-0. R – Hunting 73 pass to J. Heckathorn (Lee kick) 2:50, 21-0. W – Tanner Hughes 4 run (kick failed) 0:19, 21-6. R – Heckathorn 73 kick return (Brett Abbott run) 0:07, 29-6. Third Quarter W – Hughes 37 run (Trace Killian run) 11:23, 29-14. R – Jacob Howdeshell 23 run (Lee kick) 8:25, 36-14. Fourth Quarter R – Howdeshell 10 run (Lee kick) 10:52, 43-14. R – Abbott 50 interception return (kick failed) 9:37, 49-14. R – Howdeshell 6 run (Zane Duff kick) 4:00, 56-14.
