By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
After a 39-6 road defeat in Whitewater High School football’s season-opener, the team hit the road once again, this time to face the Columbus Cardinals. The Cardinals entered the game 1-0, and with an opportunity at home, capitalized on moving to 2-0.
After a couple running touchdowns by Columbus, the Whippets answered back with a four-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Fuller. Because of two failed two-point conversions, Whitewater trailed 12-7 toward the end of the second quarter.
“We knew we had the potential to be right up there with Columbus,” Whitewater head coach Tom Grosinske said. “Even though we were down 18-7 at half, we could tell they were starting to gain that confidence. Unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce our way early in the third quarter and they pulled away. However, our kids kept battling until the final whistle. That is something we build on.”
The third touchdown before the half ended for Columbus was another run, and the ground game never stopped for the Cardinals. In the third quarter, the Cardinals scored again on the ground, and in the fourth, did so once more, leading to an eventual 34-7 loss for the Whippets.
In what turned out to be a rain-filled Friday night, the turnover battle was going to prove to be crucial. Columbus had the advantage in that department, with four takeaways compared to none for Whitewater.
“We [knew] the weather and playing conditions were going to be poor and ball security needed to be at a premium,” Grosinske said. “That field was a quagmire as the rain kept falling. Not only does the weather affect the passing game, it can [affect] the running game as well. Regardless of the weather, we want to work on developing the ground game alongside the pass game.”
Columbus attempted five passes in the game, while running the ball 54 times for 279 yards, in part due to the conditions. For the Whippets, 20 passes were thrown, compared to 27 runs. The Cardinals completed one of its five attempts, while for the Whippets; five-of-20 were successful.
In the second quarter, while the game was still neck-and-neck, Whippets starting tailback and outside linebacker, Jordan Peterson, went down with an ankle injury and was out for the rest of the game. Grosinske said earlier this week the severity of Peterson’s injury wasn’t known, and the team will know more later in the week.
Replacing any starting running back isn’t easy, but Grosinske already has his mind made up of who will fill the gap.
“Jimmy DuVal, a sophomore, will be taking the majority of the snaps at the tailback position this week,” Grosinske said. “He ran hard the first week vs. BCC and is a talented kid. We will be doing some shuffling in the linebacker corps this week as well.”
Despite the Whippets only completing five passes on the night, wide receiver Bryan Parker hauled in four catches for 130 yards and the lone touchdown.
“Flat out, Bryan is a gamer,” Grosinske said. “He pushes himself in practice and in games to be the best he can be. He plays the number four position in our offense which lines him up all over the place and is a very solid receiver. He handles the free safety position on defense as well. Bryan has a high football IQ, allowing us to do a number of things with him, some of which will be coming as we roll into conference play.”
Heading into the Whippets’ first conference game of the season against McFarland, Grosinske said the team has to run the ball more successfully, which deals with getting better results from its zone blocking scheme.
“McFarland has moved from an I-back look to more of a flex bone offense,” Grosinske said. “From watching film, we like our match ups. However, scheme is only part of the equation. Capitalizing on the scheme and deciding we won’t be denied success is the mental capacity piece we want to develop with our kids.”
McFarland will enter the game with a 0-2 record. McFarland lost last week at home to Lakeside Lutheran, 39-0. Last season when Whitewater met McFarland, the Whippets lost 35-13 on the road.
The game this year will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday at Whitewater High School.
