During coach Darrin Fisher’s tenure, Whiteland has been known primarily for its lethal ground game on offense. But if this current edition of the Warriors ends up putting together the kind of championship season many believe possible, it’ll likely be the defense that makes it happen.
Holding the top poll position in Class 5A for the first time in its history, the Warriors further established themselves as the top dogs with a 21-0 blanking of the fourth-ranked Grizzly Cubs.
“It’s communication,” Fisher said of his defense, which has yielded just 31 points in four weeks. “We have been really stressing communication, and that’s the big thing. Everybody’s on the same page, everybody gets the call, everybody knows where their help is coming from, all of those things.
“Number two, it’s that courage to hit. When you hit, it’s contagious in football, and starting way back in the summer … what we realized is we had a team with the courage to hit, and I think we’ve developed that.”
The first quarter saw the two sides jockeying back and forth for field position until the Warriors (4-0, 2-0 Mid-State) struck on their second possession, going 91 yards in just four plays. Jonathan Crowley accounted for most of that when he broke free for a 64-yard touchdown run with 1:46 to go in the period.
Whiteland kicker David Mathis appeared to recover his own onside kick coming off of that score, but that was negated and Franklin wound up driving into Warrior territory. But after picking up a first down at the 25-yard line, the Grizzly Cubs (3-1, 1-1) came up empty, turning the ball over on downs after three straight incomplete passes.
After that defensive stop, the Warriors marched 75 yards the other way for another score. Runs of 17 yards by Nyrius Moore-Smith and 28 yards by Peyton Emberton, along with a personal foul against Franklin, moved the ball into the red zone, where quarterback Kevin Denham finished the drive with a 1-yard keeper at the 5:35 mark of the second quarter.
The Warriors had a chance to tack on another touchdown after Brady Stanifer recovered a fumbled handoff at the Grizzly Cubs’ 35 — and appeared to do so when Crowley dashed to the end zone untouched on the very next snap. But a block in the back penalty nullified that run, and the Franklin defense held from there to keep the score at 14-0 going into the half.
Whiteland quickly crossed midfield to start the third but gave the ball away on a fumble, and the Grizzly Cubs came back the other way to set up their best scoring chance of the night when a 31-yard Clay Pinnick pass to John Shepard on fourth down made it first and goal at the 2-yard line. That was as close as Franklin got, however — a false start and a pass for lost yardage quickly pushed the ball back to the 12, and Pinnick’s throws to the end zone on third and fourth down fell incomplete.
That missed opportunity quickly came back to haunt the Grizzly Cubs, as Whiteland put together its second 91-yard TD drive of the night. Denham completed 15-yard passes to Cam Cooper and Emberton and then found Stanifer open in the right flat for a 24-yard score. Mathis’ third PAT of the evening capped the scoring with 9:53 to go in the game, all but ensuring the home team the victory.
“Kevin and I have been playing together since we were in second grade, throwing the ball at recess,” Stanifer said. “It was just great to be out there and have that connection.”
Franklin’s last chance to avert the shutout went up in smoke when Mason Darlington strip-sacked Pinnick and Jordan Palmer recovered the loose ball near midfield. The Warriors ran out the remainder of the clock from there.
Though both teams downplayed the significance of the rivalry all week, getting the Golden Boot back from the Grizzly Cubs clearly meant a lot to everyone on the Whiteland sideline, as well as those in the stands — the student body charged the team just seconds after the postgame huddle broke.
“The Boot comes home,” Stanifer said. “We missed it. Our coaches all week were motivating us, pushing us to go that extra mile, and I think we did that tonight.”
“Bringing that trophy home was important,” Fisher added, “but I think the more important part was that we rose to the challenge again. Our first four weeks of games have been four really good opponents, and there has been no letdown.”
