By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
Overall records sometimes don’t tell the whole story. Take Florida State’s football team from last season for example. The Seminoles won every game they played in during the regular season, and then once the College Football Playoff rolled around, Florida State suffered a 59-20 loss to Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks.
On Friday night in front of its home crowd, the Whitewater Whippets’ football team entered the game with a 1-5 record and faced an Evansville team at 6-0. Again, records may not tell the whole story, but in this game, they led to the final outcome.
In the first quarter, the Blue Devils ran for two touchdowns, each coming from its running back, Nathan Redders. Redders would go on to have 134 yards and three scores in the game, but four more rushing touchdowns from three different players would take place on the ground before the night was over.
“Kids have worked hard stepping up with that ‘one man up’ kind of philosophy,” Whippets head coach Tom Grosinske said. “If you keep on losing some of your older playmakers who have a higher IQ, it starts getting more difficult when you face a team that has multiple weapons like that.”
In the second quarter, Blue Devils quarterback Zach Mielke ran one in from nine yards out, giving the road team a 20-0 lead heading into halftime. Injuries have been an issue all season for the Whippets, and Friday’s game was no different, as the starting center had to leave the game.
Grosinske said the team had to shuffle its offensive line, which led to a tougher time running the ball and giving quarterback Daniel Fuller enough time to find open receivers. Fuller went on to complete four of his 24 passes for 58 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Because sacks count against the quarterback’s rushing total, Fuller technically attempted seven carries for a total of -26 yards. Jamison DuClos and Jimmy Duval, two of the Whippets running backs, combined for 12 carries and 33 yards on the night.
In the third quarter, the Blue Devils blew open its lead, scoring three rushing touchdowns, two from Ryker Brown and one from Redders. After three quarters, the Blue Devils led, 39-0.
Finishing the game, the Blue Devils recorded its seventh rushing score of the night and completed the shutout to go along with it. One reason the running game was so effective was because the Whippets had to account for a 6-foot-5 wide receiver in Kyle Rutkowski. The senior only recorded three catches, but those led to 110 yards.
“They’re a good team that has good size,” Grosinske said. “They brought it and we just weren’t able to match up physically at certain times.”
The Whippets are now 1-6 on the season with two Rock Valley Conference crossover games remaining. The next contest is slated for a 7 p.m. start against Parkview on Friday at Whitewater High School.
Parkview enters at 2-5 on the season and is coming off a 36-26 victory over Palmyra-Eagle. According to wissports.com, Parkview has rushed for over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns compared to its 124 yards and one touchdown through the air so far this year.
“We really want to get our offense going,” Grosinske said. “Whether it be on the ground or through the air, we want our offense to click the way we think it can click. And honestly, we’re looking for our defense to pitch a near-shutout if they can pull it off; just keep the point total low.
“I want the kids to have a good time and enjoy the last couple of games. They have been and a couple wins would make that fun even sweeter. They’re awesome kids.”
