Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY - After Whitko's football game ended, Bryan Sprunger gathered his players around him on the field. Whitko, which has been businesslike under Sprunger all season, was businesslike in its postgame celebration. The players shouted three simple words - "Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!" - and then they filed off to the locker room.
For a team with only six seniors, Sprunger's players have displayed a levelheadedness throughout the season expected from a veteran team. Blackford coach Dave Janicki had hoped the 14 seniors on his team would at least give his Bruins an edge over Whitko in tournament play.
It didn't, and Whitko's young crew whipped Blackford 43-6 Friday evening in the first round of the sectional.
It was over quicker than a Mike Tyson/Bruce Seldon fight.
Offensively, the Wildcats tallied 511 total yards. Defensively, Whitko recovered three fumbles and intercepted two passes. The Blackford passing attack completed only 7 of 20 passes against a much-improved Whitko secondary. Everything went so well that Whitko even kicked its first extra point of the year.
Wingback Tim Mason rushed five times for 75 yards and caught two passes for 78 yards to finish with 153 yards for the Wildcats.
Blackford fumbled the opening kickoff. Four plays later, Whitko fullback Keith Starkweather scored on a 7-yard run. After Russell Veach caught the two-point conversion pass, Whitko led 8-0 with 10:16 to go in the first quarter.
Janicki said earlier this week that to beat Whitko, you have to contain quarterback Jimmy Linn.
Seven minutes after the Whitko score, the Wildcats took advantage of Blackford's worries about Linn.
Whitko opened its second drive with eight running plays, and then Linn faked the handoff and rolled right on the option play. The bait was set; Blackford bit the hook. The Bruin defense charged pell-mell after Linn. Linn threw downfield to Mason, who caught the pass for a 25-yard touchdown. No Blackford defender was within 15 feet of Mason.
Linn kept the ball on the two-point conversion, and the Wildcats led 16-0 with 3:15 to go in the first quarter.
Whitko took the 22-0 lead with 6:58 to go before halftime. Linn rolled left and pitched the ball to wingback Adam Slater, who ran 75 yards for Whitko's third touchdown.
"We handled the football better tonight than we did last week," Sprunger said. "Last week early in the game we fumbled the football, and Valley got two scores off of it. This week we handled the ball better.
"Jimmy Linn had a nice pitch to Adam Slater for the third touchdown. It's one of those things you don't coach."
Whitko opened the second half with the ball, and the Wildcats opened with a touchdown.
The Wildcats went to the option again. Linn rolled right, Mason got behind all 11 Blackford defenders, and the Wildcats had a 53-yard touchdown. Whitko led 28-0.
"Tim Mason had a nice game," Sprunger said. "They were coming, trying to get us offtackle. We were able to get the ball to him a couple of times sweep right, and his speed did a nice job for us."
After Whitko's Ivan Hathaway intercepted a pass midway through the third quarter, setting up the fourth Whitko score. Russell Veach, filling in at halfback for Bryan Rose (bronchitis), scored on a 1-yard run with 2:19 to go in the third. Mason highlighted the eight-play drive with a 30-yard run. Scott Barker kicked Whitko's first extra point of the season, and Whitko led 35-0.
Sprunger played the second- and third-string reserves in the last quarter, when Blackford scored its only touchdown.
"We caught a couple of breaks early on," Sprunger said. "They fumbled on the first kickoff return, and we start the ball game with a score. They got down a couple of times inside the 20 and turned the ball over to us.
"We'll take it."
Blackford finished the season with a 3-6 record.
Whitko, 7-2, is at Fort Wayne Harding next Friday. Harding hosted and beat Whitko in the sectional championship last year.
