By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
The 2015 season came to a close Friday night, as the Whitewater Whippets’ football team made the most of it, defeating the Palmyra-Eagle Panthers, 28-6, on the road. The Whippets finish the season with a 2-7 record under first-year head coach, Tom Grosinske.
“The game was bittersweet for our kids,” Grosinske said. “They were excited to go to Palmyra-Eagle and defeat the Panthers, but they, like our coaching staff, had their minds set on reaching the playoffs this season. We were all excited to play a game against P-E, but really wanted our season to continue into this week.”
The Whippets’ excitement showed, as through one quarter, Jimmy Duval ran in a touchdown to give the team a 6-0 lead. Then in the second, quarterback Daniel Fuller threw two touchdown passes, one to Duval, and the other to the team’s leading receiver throughout the year, Bryan Parker.
Thanks to the three scores, at halftime, the Whippets led the Panthers, 22-0.
“The Whippet locker room was a great place to be at halftime and the kids were jacked, especially having scored our third touchdown with only one second remaining,” Grosinske said. “Being up 22-0 at halftime was great, but the message was to play like it is 0-0 and keep pouring it on. It’s always fun to be up at halftime, but it is equally as important to remind everyone the game of football has two halves and you need to bring it for both.”
The second half didn’t provide as much scoring, but the Whippets added to its lead in the third quarter off a 28-yard touchdown run by Ernie Magana. The Panthers then got on the scoreboard with a touchdown run, which made the score 28-6.
Neither team ended up scoring in the fourth quarter, but the Whippets controlled the game on both sides of the ball. Fuller ended the game 14 of 27 through the air with 213 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
On the ground, three different backs recorded at least 11 carries in the game, totaling 40 for 190 yards and two scores. Defensively, Parker and Henri Kinson tied for the team-lead in tackles with seven a piece.
“We were blessed to have three backs –Magana, Duval and Jordan Peterson – ready to go in hungry to touch the ball,” Grosinske said. “They punished defenders and continuously fell forward gaining big yards. Using all three to run with the ball made our offense very effective. As important was the play of Bryan Parker and Mitchell Ruhl at the receiver position. Bryan played at a different level than the P-E defenders and had an incredible game. Daniel Fuller threw some good balls, getting the ball to his play-makers.”
For many high school seniors throughout the country, not only their season, but their careers ended on Friday night. Grosinske gave a lot of positive words regarding the guys that have been with the program since their first day walking through the doors of their high school.
“There were plenty of tears – good ones – after the game as many of them will never put on pads again or play with their teammates,” Grosinske said. “To finish the season on a big win was a nice way to wrap it up for them. All the way until the final week of the season, they have worked to make our team better. As a staff we wish we had them for another year or two, but that isn’t how it goes. We look forward to assuring our underclassmen are working just as hard or harder in preparation for the seasons to come.
“We are very appreciative of everyone who came out to support the Whippets throughout the season. We had some good moments this year, however, our plan is to have many great moments in the future. We look forward to all of those supporters being with us every step of the way. Go Dogs!”
