COLUMBIA CITY – On one side, there was a team carrying momentum from a 49-6 season-opening victory. On the other side, there was another team that was looking to remove the salty taste in its mouth after a 27-3 loss to a longtime rival in its opener. It made for an interesting high school football game Friday night. Both the Whitko Wildcats and Columbia City Eagles needed this game to set the tone for their respective seasons and claim the Eel River Trophy. It was a tough battle for both the ‘Cats and Eagles that tested each other’s defenses, and a late rally for Whitko came up short as Columbia City held off their Whitley County rivals 10-8 at Max Gandy Athletic Field. Neither team was able to accomplish much on offense during their opening drives, or for much of the first quarter. Both sides flashed toughness defensively, which also consequently made turnovers the story of the game. “They dealt with turnovers the same way we did,” said Whitko head coach Josh Mohr. “We had a costly one in the first half down inside the 10. In a game this close, a two-point game, it comes down to one or two possessions all the time.” On the opening play of the second quarter, deep inside Eagles territory, Whitko had its best chance at drawing first blood thwarted when Columbia City’s Ashten Barnes recovered a Conner Sherwin fumble at their own six yard line. With 1:07 remaining the first half, Columbia City scored its only touchdown of the game, and of the season – a nine yard run from senior halfback Adam Reed. At the half, the Eagles had 88 yards of total offense to Whitko’s 87, and throughout the game, both teams were neck-and-neck. “I’m very proud of their effort and I’m very proud of the way they played. We played very well,” said Mohr. “We’re taking on a much bigger school, and they played very well. It just came down to one possession.” Columbia City’s Cory Behm booted a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 10-0 Eagles, but the Wildcats didn’t go away quietly. With under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, on fourth down, Garrett Elder found Garrett Smiley for a 10-yard catch-and-run for a score. A two-point conversion run from Conner Sherwin made it 10-8 with 9:52 left in the game. Pass breakups and pressure from the defensive linemen and linebackers kept the Wildcats in the game until the final moments. But a last-second desperation attempt at completing the rally fell short when Elder was brought down on a run. Overall, Mohr praised his players and is looking forward to TRC play. “We made mistakes, they made mistakes and I made mistakes. There were some things I should have done differently, but we all make mistakes,” said Mohr. “We’ll collect ourselves come Monday and we go back after it starting conference play.” On Friday, the Wildcats will take on new Three Rivers Conference opponent Maconaquah, who have moved over from the Central Indiana Conference. The Braves have started into their conference slate after defeating North Miami 41-7 in Week 1. The Braves remain unbeaten so far after a 13-7 win over Mississinewa.
COLUMBIA CITY 10, WHITKO 8 W 0 0 0 8 — 8 CC 0 7 3 0 — 10 W CC 1st downs 14 10 Rushing yds 134 46 Passing yds 18 100 Comp-Att-Int 4-12-0 8-23-0 Total yds 152 146 Fumbles/lost 2/1 5/2 Penalties/yds 3/43 6/50 Punts/avg. 3/25.3 6/34.2 Second Quarter CC – Carson Reed 9 run (Devan Stoll kick) 7-0 Third Quarter CC – Cory Behm 32 FG 10-0 Fourth Quarter W – Garrett Smiley 9 pass from Garrett Elder (Connor Sherwin run) 10-8 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing — Whitko: Elder 16-31, Sherwin 15-68, Dylan Stump 11-24, Gavin Powell 2-18, Smiley 1-1, Blake Dennis 1-(-8). Columbia City: Reed 18-38, Davin Lawrence 11-33, Ryan Mosher 3-(-25) Passing — Whitko: Elder 4-11-18 yards 1 TD, 0INT, Brady Weeks 0-1-0 yards, 0TD, 0 INT. Columbia City: Mosher 8-23-100 yards 0TD, 0 INT. Receiving — Whitko: Smiley 3-15, Cole Cmar 1-3. Columbia City: Noah Judd 4-22, Trevor Scharpent 2-20, Josh Christen 1-35, Ashten Barnes 1-23
