By Troy Sparks
Correspondent
The Whippets knew they were going into a hostile environment on the road at Beloit Turner, and the Trojans didn’t roll out the welcome mat for the visitors.
The Whippets were short on energy with their starters playing both ways and the mental side of the game was magnified in the 10 penalties that they racked up.
“We just got to keep working on things,” Whitewater coach Jim Pease said. “We were a little short on linemen. We had a couple of them hurt, three of them injured. Those guys were getting a little bit gassed and tired. They were going both offense and defense. Some of the mental mistakes came out as well.”
Beloit Turner (2-0) exploited the Whippets’ (0-2) special teams coverage seconds into the game. Senior receiver Sereno Ferone returned the opening kickoff 80 yards to the Whitewater 15-yard line. Two plays later, junior running back Emiliano Reyes scored on a 12-yard run and senior Juan Reyes’ kick gave the Trojans a 7-0 lead 55 seconds into the first quarter.
Whitewater went three-and-out on their first possession and had to punt. The Whippets played strong defense on Beloit Turner’s next possession, which began at their own 34. They forced two offensive penalties on the Trojans during their six-play drive and stopped the home team on a key fourth down play at the Whitewater 31, turning the ball over on downs.
The Whippets couldn’t move the ball on their second possession of the game and punted again. The Trojans returned the punt down to the Whitewater 25 and needed one play to score their second TD of the quarter. Sophomore quarterback Kenny Draeving threw a 25-yarder to Ferone with 3:13 left and the extra kick made it 14-0.
Whitewater got excellent field position at their 40-yard line on the ensuing kickoff that got them on the scoreboard. They went 60 yards on 10 plays in 5:24 on a drive that began with 3:05 left in the first quarter and ended with 9:41 in the second quarter.
The key plays during their scoring drive was a 28-yard run from the Beloit Turner 49 by sophomore running back Aldo Soto and a 12-yard run by Daniel Fuller. The senior quarterback was sacked for eight yards on a first-and-goal at the Beloit Turner 6 but responded with a 14-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone to senior Jimmy DuVal. The 6-foot-1 receiver caught the ball in the air over Beloit Turner’s 5-8 defensive back Treveon Bivens. The extra kick cut the Trojans’ lead to 14-7.
“We have great chemistry,” DuVal said of the connection between himself and Fuller on the field. “That was an excellent ball. He put it right where it needed to be. That was a beautiful throw.”
Unfortunately, the celebration by the Whippets didn’t last long. Beloit Turner scored 22 unanswered points in the second quarter. Their first score of the quarter took only 1:47 and five plays, which ended on a 1-yard run by junior running back Kyle Hanaman with 7:47 left. They added two more TDs in the last two minutes of the half.
Beloit-Turner later increased its lead to 29-7
Whitewater gave the ball back to the Trojans on a fumble and Ferone’s 19-yard run for his second touchdown with 42 seconds left gave the home team a commanding 36-7 advantage at intermission.
“They ran it down us,” Pease said. “We knew that they were probably going to run the power (run) at us with some big strong guys and we didn’t stand up to it.”
The Whippets got the ball to start the second half and wasted no time marching down the field. They went seven plays and 73 yards, taking 2:44 off the clock in the third quarter. Fuller and DuVal hooked up again for a 10-yard TD pass with 9:40 left. The drive was set up by a 21-yard run by senior receiver Tyler Sheffield and receptions of 19 and 17 yards from DuVal and Tyler Lippens, respectfully. The missed PAT made it 36-13, Beloit Turner.
The Trojans got the final points of the game on a 1-yard TD by Emiliano Reyes, his second of the game, and a 5-yard run by junior Joey Yuhas. There was no scoring in the fourth quarter, and Beloit Turner held on for the 49-13 win..
“The kids were fresh,” Pease said of the halftime break. “We made a few adjustments at halftime. “We just got to shore up our defense. If we give up (a lot of) points, it will be tough to win any games.”
Whitewater will play McFarland (1-1) on Friday at home at 7:00 p.m.
Whitewater 0 7 6 0 – 13
B.Turner 14 22 13 0 – 49
Scoring
First quarter: BT Emiliano Reyes 22 run (Juan Reyes kick). BT Kenny Draeving 25 pass to Sereno Ferone (Juan Reyes kick).
Second quarter: WW Daniel Fuller 14 pass to Jimmy DuVal (Tyler Sheffield kick). BT Kyle Hanaman 1 run (Juan Reyes kick). BT Kenny Draeving 12 pass to Juan Reyes (Juan Reyes pass to Drew Ries). BT Sereno Ferone 19 run (Juan Reyes kick).
Third quarter: WW Daniel Fuller 10 pass to Jimmy DuVal (kick failed). BT Emiliano Reyes 1 run (kick failed). BT Joey Yuhas 5 run (Juan Reyes kick).
Statistics (attempts-yards-touchdowns)
Leading rushers: BT Emiliano Reyes 13-86-2 Kyle Hanaman 9-64-1 Joey Yuhas 6-40-1. WW Aldo Soto 8-58. Passing: BT Kenny Draeving 4-5-98-2. WW Daniel Fuller 7-16-89-2. Leading receivers: WW Jimmy DuVal 4-39-2 Tyler Lippens 2-36. BT Sereno Ferone 2-60-1. Total plays: WW 53 BT 41. Total yards: BT 286 WW 204. Penalties: WW 10-57 BT 3-20.
