Trojans take out Whitewater, 48-21
By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
Don’t tell the East Troy High School football team that last week’s regular-season finale didn’t mean anything.
Even without a playoff berth on the line, the Trojans still had plenty to play for when they hosted Whitewater Friday night – and four quarters later, they left the 2013 season feeling pretty positive about themselves.
And they hope with a little momentum heading into next year as well.
The Trojans scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to break open a close game en route to a 48-21 victory. East Troy ended the season at 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the Rock Valley Conference, while the Whippets closed the year at 4-5 and 2-5 in conference.
“Going back to 2003, East Troy hasn’t won a senior night,” East Troy coach Eric Sulik said. “That was motivation to get the win. It was a fun win.
“We knew (Whitewater) was improved from last year. … We certainly came to play. The offense played phenomenal and the defense played well enough to win.”
Sulik said it was important to send the senior class out on a high note Friday night.
“All seven of our seniors played probably some of their best football of the season,” he said. “It was nice to see. It’s always a little bit better meeting with those seniors after a big win.”
Clinging to a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Trojans went to work.
Senior quarterback Brandon Matz, who had missed the last two games with a sprained ankle, completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Matt Miller to build the lead to 34-21 with 8:59 left.
East Troy iced the win with two more touchdowns, the first on a 52-yard fumble return by Josh Grenzia, followed by 5-yard run by Zach Lamb.
Each team reached the end zone in the first quarter.
Whitewater struck first on a 57-yard touchdown run, before Matz and Sam Eckert combined on a 15-yard scoring pass late in the period to knot the score at 7-7.
After Whitewater took the lead early in the second quarter, the Trojans answered with two more scores before the intermission.
Matz connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Kutschenreuter, and then hit Cody Studt for a 28-yard score with 4:24 left to send the Trojans to halftime with a 21-14 lead.
But again, the Whippets refused to go away.
Whitewater tied the score late in the third quarter, but Matz struck again, this time on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Zach Zewiske to break the tie heading into the fourth quarter.
For the game, Matz was 30 for 33 with five touchdowns and 524 yards passing. According to wissports.net, his quarterback rating was a blistering 158.3.
“Brandon was unbelievable,” Sulik said. “Out of all the games he’s played, passing-wise, it was his best game ever. He only had three incompletions and they were all drops. He should have been perfect.
“Some of the throws he was making, you just can’t coach. Our receivers were catching the ball, too. He was just unreal.”
Sulik also complimented the play of Lamb, who was key in stopping Whitewater’s blitzes.
“He was picking up blitzes and kind of saving Brandon,” Sulik said. “Brandon was probably only 60 percent (healthy) with that sprained ankle.”
Matz completed passes to six different receivers, including a team-high nine to Studt for 136 yards. Miller had seven receptions for 144 yards, followed by Eckert with seven for 115.
East Troy struggled a bit running the football, as it finished with just 32 yards on 19 attempts. Lamb led the rushing corps with 12 carries for 30 yards.
Sulik said he hopes his returning players can use the win to fuel their off-season workouts as they look toward 2014.
“We wanted to create some momentum for 2014,” Sulik said. “I think that was huge. Some of our young kids played their best football, which was nice to see. As a coach, you want to see your team playing their best football at the end of the season.”
Results of All-RVC voting and a season wrap up will run in a future edition.
