INDIANAPOLIS
One of the main factors in Class 5A No. 5 Whiteland’s 2-0 start this season was its ability to hang onto the football.
The Warriors found out Friday night what happens when you don’t.
Decatur Central, ranked 10th in 5A, made the most of Whiteland’s generosity with fumbles and interceptions, winning 27-14 in a Mid-State Conference clash at Devere Fair Stadium.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIt was the Hawks’ fifth consecutive victory in the series, one they now lead, 17-8.
“We mishandled the ball a few times. They forced a couple of those turnovers and made some really good plays,” Warriors coach Darrin Fisher said. “We gave them a couple ourselves and, honestly, I lost my composure on the sideline today, and I think that affects your team.
“When I lose my composure on the sideline, the team kind of loses its composure, too. They’re going to do what I do. It’s not about me. It’s about the kids and about the game.”
The schools have now met 15 times since the series was renewed in 2006, the year Decatur Central rejoined the Mid-State after a 10 years as part of Conference Indiana. Whiteland’s previous rivalry with the Hawks was played from 1965-74.
Two turnovers cost the Warriors dearly the final 3:21 of the second quarter, with Decatur Central taking advantage of both to race to a 21-7 halftime lead.
Pinned deep in its own territory, Whiteland tried a pass on second and 10, but it was tipped and intercepted by Hawks senior safety Devin Davis at the Warriors’ 5. The host squad took advantage on the following play with Jaydin Evans scoring on a pass from quarterback Peyton Horsley.
On the ensuing series, Whiteland, aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the DC defense, was at the Hawks’ 25 and looking to tie the game when, again, disaster struck.
Faced with fourth and 2, the Warriors fumbled a one-hopper into the hands of junior defensive back Javon Tracy, who took it 70 yards to paydirt with only 9.6 seconds showing.
The two teams had traded fourth-down touchdowns to open the game.
Horsley’s 20-yard pass to Tracy on fourth and 8 capped a 10-play, 74-yard drive on the game’s opening offensive series. Whiteland evened the score at 10:56 of the second stanza, with junior quarterback Brant Kunz hitting tight end Max Sullivan from 15 yards on fourth and 5.
Despite trailing on the scoreboard at the break, Whiteland held an advantage in total yardage, 149-101.
The squads pretty much played even the final two quarters. Decatur Central took control, 27-7, late in the third quarter when Horsley threw a 7-yard TD pass to Matt Cook. Whiteland countered with 4:04 remaining in the game on Brant Kunz’s 6-yard scoring pass in the right flat to senior back Chase Valentine.
Valentine finished as the game’s leading rusher with 100 yards on 20 carries.
“Like I said, that’s a good football team,” Fisher said of Decatur Central. “They played really good football. We gave them two scores. We took some calculated shots and all of them backfired. That’s partially defense on their part and partially that’s us not handling the ball. I think it’s twofold.”
Whiteland (2-1, 0-1) plays its first home game of the season next Friday when it hosts Franklin.
