Experienced linemen paving way for Wildcats' running game
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
SOUTH WHITLEY – A quick glance at a boxscore for Whitko High School’s football team and the name Garrett Elder jumps out at you as quick as he eludes a would-be tackler. Last week’s sectional semifinal win over Churubusco is a perfect example. All the 5-foot-10, 175-pound quarterback did was rush for 249 yards and three touchdowns – with two of the scores coming in the pivotal fourth quarter – on 13 carries. In 11 games this year, Elder has rushed for a school-record 1,582 yards and 21 scores on 166 attempts. He averages an eye-popping 9.5 yards per carry. Elder uses a combination of speed, power and natural ability. What is often overlooked, however, is the play of his offensive line. Without Walker Hobbs, Garrett Cokl, Garett Titus, Gavin Howard and Jared Smith winning the battle in the trenches, Elder and Whitko's triple-option offense wouldn't be nearly as successful as it has been. “The guys up front have gotten better every week,” said third-year head coach Josh Mohr, a 1996 Whitko graduate and former offensive linemen for the Wildcats. “They've gelled very well together over the last four or five weeks. Those guys work their butts off and they grind every day to get ready for Friday nights.” Elder's name appears in the sports section of area newspapers each week. He knows, however, his success is a product of his line’s success. “You gotta give most of the credit to the line,” said the humble Elder. “I know I can trust them no matter what the play is, whether it’s pass or run. They’re all great guys who work hard. We’re all really close, not just the line but the whole team. We’re all really close. We all hang out together, go out to eat.” Hobbs, a three-year starter on Whitko's offensive line, isn't worried about whose name is in the newspaper. The important thing is winning football games. “We're out here every day to get that end goal, and that's a win,” said Hobbs. “Garrett getting all his touchdowns and his yards, we're a big part of that. It doesn't bother me (whose name is in the paper), in the end, we're still a part of the wins. At the end of the day, when he comes back to you and tells you thank you for all the work you’re doing and all the yards you’re getting for him ... that's kind of how we get credited.” Elder, his offensive line and the entire Whitko team will have to be on top of their game Friday, as the Wildcats travel to Woodburn to play the fourth-ranked Woodland Warriors in the Class 2A Sectional 35 final. Whitko, 6-5 on the season, is looking for its first sectional title since 1986, the year coach Bryan Sprunger guided the team to a state championship. Woodlan is 11-0 this year and is looking for its first sectional championship since 1988. The Warriors score an average of 36 points per game, while giving up just 10. “We just need to do what we do,” said Cokl when asked what it would take to beat Woodlan Friday. “Just basics ... we can’t over-think it. We don’t have to do anything special, just do our thing as best as we can.” Whitko’s “thing” is running the football. Through 11 games this season, the Wildcats have racked up 3,459 yards of offense on the ground, as well as 36 rushing touchdowns. As a team they’ve attempted just 62 passes all season, throwing for 133 yards and two scores. “It’s part of our culture,” Mohr said when asked about Whitko being a running team year in and year out. “I played for Coach Sprunger, and I came back and coached for him, and I coached for Coach (Wayne) Swender, and I changed the offense from Wing-T to option, but running the football is what we know. I believe in sticking to what you know and just getting better and better. We want to do the simple things and do them well.” To go with Elder’s 1,582 yards and 21 scores, sophomore fullback Hunter Reed has rushed for 719 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Garrett Smiley and junior Conner Sherwin have both rushed for more than 300 yards this season. Each have scored touchdowns. “We’ve gotta go hard, it’s in the trenches,” Titus said of the mentality of an offensive linemen. “We gotta go hard until the game is won. We play a really big part.” Woodlan’s defense has given up more than 13 points just twice this season. Offensively, the Warriors are led by 6-foot-2, 242 pound senior running back Mitchell Vanbrocklin, who has 1,590 yards and 21 touchdowns on 243 carries. Sophomore Jack Rhoades has rushed for 916 yards and two scores on 139 carries. Sophomore quarterback Justin Durkes has completed 80 of 139 passes for Woodlan this season for 1,125 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.
