CAMBRIDGE CITY – Season-opening wins are special, especially when you share it with your family. Whitko's football team began the Jeff Sprunger era on Friday night with a 32-6 victory at Cambridge City Lincoln. “It's a great feeling to open up a season and win,” the 29-year old Sprunger said. “There's no better feeling than to get that first win. It makes me proud to know that I have my dad (Bryan) on my staff, who won a state championship.” The first-year coach also has his brother, Brad, on the sidelines. The Wildcats took control in the first quarter with a pair of touchdown runs by Garrett Elder, who scored from six yards and one yard. “They physically whipped us at times,” Lincoln head coach Phil Renforth said. “They're aggressive and they play hard to the football.” Both squads scored in the second quarter. Lincoln closed the gap to 12-6 before Elder sprinted 66 yards for his third score of the contest. After a scoreless third stanza, the Wildcats capped off the night in the final frame with touchdowns from Robby Owsley and Elder. Owsley scored on a 49-yard run and Elder's fourth score came on a 9-yard gallop. After the last score, Collin Craig connected on a pass to Zach Hewitt for the two-conversion. “To come out and execute defensively how we wanted, felt pretty good,” Jeff Sprunger said. “Offensively, we have some work to do. That's plain and simple.” Whitko had interceptions by Conner Sherwin and Elder to stop the Golden Eagles. On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats lost three fumbles. “Those are easy things we can address,” Jeff Sprunger said. “The ball was slick. We lost a few games last year because of turnovers.” Elder ended the evening with 175 yards rushing on 10 carries, while Owsley added 114 yards on five attempts. Hunter Reed contributed 93 yards. Craig led Whitko's defense with a dozen tackles, with Sherwin and Owsley adding seven stops each. The Wildcats (1-0) entertain Whitley County rival Columbia City (0-1) Friday. Columbia City lost its opener to Warsaw, 30-7.
WHITKO 32, CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN 6 W 12 6 0 – 14 CCL 0 6 0 – 0
W L First Downs 13 13 Rushing Yards 377 112 Passing Yards 0 139 Comp-Att.-Int. 0-2-0 7-22-2 Total Offense 377 251 Fumbles/lost 5-3 5-0 Punts/ave. 1/24 4/31 Penalties 5-41 5-37
First Quarter W – Garrett Elder 6 run (run failed), 6-0 W – Garrett Elder 1 run (pass failed), 12-0 Second Quarter CCL – Chase Southerland 6 pass from Nick Cupp (pass failed), 12-6 W – Garrett Elder 66 run, (pass failed), 18-6 Fourth Quarter W – Robby Owsley 49 run, (pass failed), 24-6 W – Garrett Elder 9 run, (Zach Hewitt pass from Collin Craig), 32-6
