By Daniel Schoettler
Sports Correspondent
The youthful Whitewater Whippets football team took a step in the right direction Friday night at Perkins Stadium in a 56-20 loss to Beloit Turner. The running game doomed the Whippets for the second week in a row as both Beloit Turner’s Ethan Burns and Sam Behm were a thorn in the Whippets side in the loss.
Sam Behm was the leading rusher for Beloit Turner as he rushed for 177 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns. Ethan Burns ran for 175 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown.
“We’re going to keep on working on scheme and keep on working on the fundamentals,” head coach Tom Grosinske said. “When those guys are starting to understand that those schemes being put into play are effective and they are starting to see some of the merits of what they are working on… each week we are going to try to develop that.”
The Whippets were led by junior quarterback Daniel Fuller as he threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. Jimmy DuVal was his big target as DuVal had seven receptions for 179 yards and ran the ball for 26 yards on seven carries.
Beloit Turner got on the board first as quarterback James Snyder hit wide receiver Nick Frank for a 29-yard touchdown to make it 7-0. Later in the first quarter, Behm ran his first score in from five yards out to make it 14-0 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Beloit Turner burned the Whippets in the special teams game as Juan Reyes took a punt 63 yards for a score to make 21-0. The Whippets got on the scoreboard as Fuller hit DuVal for a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-6.
The Trojans would add on in the second as Burns ran one in from 31 yards out to make it 28-6. Later in the quarter, Snyder added on with one yard touchdown run to make it 35-6 at the half.
“At halftime, we asked them to check themselves and make sure they kept on battling and get a good second half going,” Grosinske said. “They came out and started battling again. It’s a growth process, a lot of young fellas and they aren’t backing down.”
Beloit Turner would put the only score of the third quarter on the board as Snyder ran one in from 16 yards out to make it 42-6.
Whitewater would get on the board twice in the fourth as Fuller hit DuVal again on a 19-yard touchdown pass to make it 42-12. Beloit Turner scored again on another Behm touchdown from five yards out to make it 49-12.
The Whippets would get their second score of the fourth quarter on another Fuller to DuVal touchdown pass on a 42-yard score. Behm capped the scoring off as he added his third touchdown late in the fourth from 52 yards out.
The Whippets go to 0-2 on the season. They will travel to McFarland Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
