By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The passage of time certainly doesn’t seem to faze the Big Foot football team.
For the Chiefs, the beat just goes on.
Big Foot clinched its sixth straight Rock Valley Conference title Friday night with another dominating effort, this time a 51-0 thrashing of host Whitewater.
The shutout improved the Chiefs to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the RVC with one regular-season game left. Big Foot, ranked second in Division 3, now has won 42 straight conference games.
“This is a great accomplishment, by not only this group of young men, but the guys that started it,” Big Foot coach Rodney Wedig said. “The commitment that it has taken for them to accomplish this is amazing.”
Keeping the streak alive with new players every year says plenty about the tradition Big Foot has built in the community, Wedig added.
“It has been one of those things, where the young kids look at what the varsity is doing, and they realize they are the next in line,” he said. “They work hard, because I tell them every year, ‘You don’t want to be that class that is the one that breaks the streak.’”
Big Foot turned to its usual weapons to take control of the Whippets.
Senior Mason Dixon scored on a 5-yard run, followed by a safety and a 10-yard run by Carter Hehr that put the Chiefs ahead 16-0 after the first quarter.
The game plan was similar as it has been all season, Wedig said.
“I think we were able to control the line of scrimmage early on,” he said. “Whitewater wants to establish the run, and we were able to stuff that and hold them to 1.9 yards per carry.”
Junior defensive tackle Collin Frederick accounted for the safety when he tackled the Whitewater running back in the end zone.
The second quarter was a similar story, as the Chiefs added three more touchdowns to pad their lead.
Gus Wedig caught an 18-yard pass from Hehr, followed by scoring runs of 21 and 56 yards by Dixon that built the advantage to 37-0 at halftime.
Hehr and Dixon continue to give opposing defenses headaches, Wedig said.
“Carter and Mason are a one-two punch that don’t make mistakes and can break one on any play,” he said. “Carter runs the offense to perfection, makes the correct reads and does not make mistakes.
“That is exactly what we need if we are going to make a run in the playoffs.”
Big Foot closed out the scoring with one touchdown in each of the last two quarters. Hehr added a 43-yard run, followed by a 1-yard run by Tim Long.
For the game, Big Foot had 320 yards rushing on 31 carries, while Hehr completed five of seven passes for 103 yards. The Chiefs held Whitewater to just 101 total yards.
Dixon led the rushing attack with 15 carries for 200 yards, followed by Hehr with six carries for 87. Matt Ripkey caught two passes for 30 yards, followed by Brandon Hausner with two catches for 19 yards, Daniel Pearce with one catch for 34 and Wedig with one catch for 19.
With just one game left, Dixon now has rushed 86 times for 1,201 yards and 24 touchdowns, followed by Hehr with 51 attempts for 421 yards.
Defensive leaders for Big Foot included Wedig with 14 tackles, Frederick with seven and Long, Garett Cary and Quin Dixon each with five.
Heading into the finale, Big Foot now has outscored its opponents 142-0 in the first quarter and 107-7 in the second. The Chiefs own a 350-48 overall scoring advantage.
Big Foot closes its regular season Friday night when it hosts Palmyra-Eagle at 7 p.m. The Panthers fell to 1-6 overall and 1-5 in the RVC with a 21-0 loss last week to McFarland.
The playoff seedings will be determined Saturday, and where the Chiefs fall – either Division 3 or 4 – and who their first opponent is will be finalized.
But first up is what’s on tap Friday night, Wedig said.
“(We need to) keep getting better and be the best team, period,” he said. “We are not going to worry about anything except prepping for the next game.”
