What looked to be a rout turned out to be a tough contest for unbeaten and Class 5A No. 1 Whiteland against Mid-State Conference rival Perry Meridian Friday night.
After jumping out to a 33-8 lead, the Falcons took advantage of some Warrior errors and closed the gap to 10 points before the Warriors salvaged a 40-23 homecoming win.
The Falcons (1-4, 0-3) have not been the yardstick to compare your team to in recent years, but don’t tell that to Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher.
“Give them the credit,” Fisher said. “Their kids competed and fought for making it extremely difficult. Thankfully, we came through.”
Perry Meridian stunned the Warriors early with a 13-play, 71-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard run by Zach Huckaby.
It took a quarter, but Whiteland finally got itself kick-started with a drive of its own that was keyed by two passes from quarterback Kevin Denham to tight end Cameron Cooper for 27 and 20 yards.
Sophomore Nyrius Moore-Smith appeared to score from 8, but an illegal shift nullified that. No problem, as Moore-Smith got the call again and raced in for a 13-yard score. A blocked point after blunted the Warriors’ effort — but only momentarily, as one play later Zeke Ramey intercepted a pass at the Falcon 21. Two plays after that, Peyton Emberton scored from the 4, and after a two-point conversion, the Warriors were on their way.
But the big play shortly before halftime was Fisher’s gutsy call number one, as the Warriors faced a fourth down at their own 37. Emberton took the handoff and had the first down, but he squirted free and outraced the Falcon secondary to score a dazzling 63-yard touchdown run to make the score 20-7.
Whiteland scored once more in its 26-point half, with Denham hitting Maalik Perkins from the 11.
“We needed some momentum,” Fisher said. “We didn’t start fast enough, but the kids responded and played well the rest of the quarter.”
Whiteland (5-0, 3-0) continued to roll, as Jonathan Crowley ran in from the 15 in the third quarter, and it appeared as if it was becoming one of the Warriors’ easier wins. Not so fast.
The Falcons scored twice late in the third — once on a 5-yard Isaiah Hunter run and, after an ill-advised throw and interception augmented by an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Warriors, Huckaby hit Jaylen Young and suddenly it was a game again.
Enter Fisher’s gutsy call number two.
Another fourth down, this time with four yards to go, and Denham rolled out to his left and lofted a pass to a wide-open Moore-Smith, who ran in for a 30-yard touchdown with 7:12 remaining, effectively putting the game away.
A final score from Denham on a 1-yard sneak also came on a fourth down, making the Warriors 3 for 3 with three touchdowns.
“You have to take what the defense gives you,” Fisher said. “We didn’t really have our ‘A’ game, but we came through in the passing game when we needed it.”
Whiteland’s balanced attack kept the Falcons guessing all night.
Emberton led the rushing phase with 117 yards and two touchdowns while Denham threw for 168 yards, two TDs and two picks. Cooper led all receivers with three catches for 86 yards.
The road gets harder for Whiteland next week, when it travels to Mid-State foe Martinsville.
