Wildcats Put Distractions Aside In Victory At Northfield
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Ryan Villanueva-
WABASH — After a slow start in the first half, the Whitko football team was able to overcome adversity as it rode rushing touchdowns from Tanner Hughes and Garrett Elder to a 27-7 victory at Wilbur Dawes Field Friday night. It was an emotional victory for the Whitko Wildcats in the wake of recent events where several student-athletes faced disciplinary action. “This team fought through a lot of adversity this week,” said Whitko head coach Josh Mohr. “We had a lot of stuff that were big distractions all the way around, and they fought through that. I could not be prouder of them.” The Wildcats improved to 4-2 overall and remain atop the Three Rivers Conference with a perfecto 4-0 record. Northfield fell to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in TRC play. Whitko’s defense had shown some struggles early on, giving up a 41-yard run from Northfield’s Jerred Short. From there, Whitko made some quick adjustments, making a big stop and forcing a turnover on downs on the Norse’s opening possession. There was also some struggle for their offense as they were unable to shift gears, mostly thanks to the Norse defense keeping Hughes and Elder in check. But a few key adjustments before the end of the half proved to be a major turning point for the Wildcats. Whitko was able to march down field and score off a Hughes one-yard run to escape the half without being shut out by the hosts. “All the credit goes to the offensive lineman,” said Mohr. “Zach Baughman, Sam Silor – we ran to their side a lot and put it on those seniors’ shoulders. Everybody was just firing off the ball and we attacked better than in the first half.” The triple-option run game seemed more of the well-oiled machine that it had been the past several weeks going into the third quarter. Hughes would score his second touchdown of the game on a two-yard run, and Elder would score his first points of the game to get Whitko out to a 20-7 after three quarters of action. There was a point of concern in the second half when Elder went down and limped off of the field under his own power after being tackled by several Norse defenders, tending to his right ankle. Mohr subbed in Brady Weeks in Elder’s place as his ankle was being examined. A few plays later, Elder returned and flash some more moves – scoring a long touchdown run of 42 yards with four minutes left in the game to put the game away. Later, Weeks returned to keep Elder off of his tweaked ankle to finish the game. This Friday, the Wildcats will look to continue their impressive TRC run in hopes for their fifth-consecutive win as they host the North Miami Warriors, who are still in search for their first victory of the year, falling 42-27 to Southwood Friday.
WHITKO 27, NORTHFIELD 7 W 0 6 14 7 — 27 W 7 0 0 0 — 7 First Quarter N – Carter Frieden 1 run (kick good) 0:15, 7-0. Second Quarter W – Tanner Hughes 1 run (kick failed) 0:59, 7-6. Third Quarter W – Hughes 2 run (Garrett Elder conversion run) 9:48, 14-6. W – Elder 12 run (kick failed) 2:31, 20-6. Fourth Quarter W – Elder 42 run (kick good) 4:08, 27-7.
