Elder, Defense Help ‘Cats Rally [VIDEO]
SOUTH WHITLEY – There is still room on the Whitko bandwagon, but seats are filling up fast following the ‘Cats performance on Friday night.
Whitko overcame a 21-6 halftime deficit against Churubusco to capture a 34-27 victory. It was the first meeting between the two Whitley County schools on the gridiron since 1975.
“We knew there was a chance to come back, we all expected it,” remarked Whitko quarterback Garrett Elder. “We had to start getting off the ball better on both the offensive and defensive lines. Once we started to do that in the second half things started to go our way.”
The Wildcats were a completely different team in the second half once they started to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Hunter Reed punched in his second score of the day in the third quarter but a failed two-point try left Whitko trailing 21-12. Churubusco, despite giving up that score, maintained its control of the games tempo and momentum. It was not until Elder finally found his groove that the Eagles would be put on their heels.
The junior quarterback broke off a 75-yard run for his first score of the game. A successful two-point conversion left Whitko down 21-20 with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter. Busco managed to grab some momentum back with a throwing score from Drew Buffenbarger to Chance Gallmeier as time expired in the third. It was the second scoring connection on the day for the duo. However the Eagles gave Whitko a boost of confidence by going for two and failing to find the goal line. Heading into the fourth quarter it was a 27-20 Busco advantage.
“That first half we kind of played on our heels a little bit trying to figure out Churubusco’s offense,” stated Whitko head coach Josh Mohr. “What they (Churubusco) do, they do it very well. They were getting on their blocks and we were waiting a little too long. So, in the second half it was all about attacking the line of scrimmage and closing holes.”
Whitko’s defense was huge in the second half and answered the call when a big stop was needed on more than one occasion. The offense set the defense up for greatness after a 26-yard scoring run by Edler. The junior’s score was followed by a terrific effort by Dylan Stump to lunge for the goal line, securing a 28-27 lead for the Wildcats.
On the ensuing drive for Busco the Eagles found themselves with a fourth and six play deep in Whitko territory. The Wildcats dialed up the blitz and forced a big incompletion, but what happened after that was what truly turned the tide.
The very next play was a keeper by Elder and he made Busco pay for its every mistake in one run. In what seemed like a surreal moment at Ryan Huff Field, Elder found and lane and turned on the afterburners to go 83 yards for the game’s final score of the night. Whitko’s defense would again dial up a heavy blitz the next time Busco faced a fourth and long situation, this time Colin Craig got the sack to essentially end any hope for the Eagles.
“We want to be physical and take those kind of risks,” Mohr said when asked about the decision to go for two and blitz late. “When you run the triple option, it’s tough to stop in a short yardage situation because you don’t know who exactly is going to have it. We went back to some very basic triple option stuff tonight and Elder just took over.”
A few runs and a couple of plays from the victory formation secured Whitko’s win.
Elder, who totaled 249 rushing yards on the night, was asked which play he enjoyed more, the 83-yard scoring run or the victory formation.
“Victory formation,” Elder said laughing. “That’s a always my favorite play.”
Whitko (6-5) will travel to play No. 4 Woodlan (11-0) next Friday. Woodlan defeated Eastside 14-13. This will be Whitko’s first appearance in a sectional title since 2003.