Whiteland’s Gunnar Hicks holds up the sectional championship trophy as the Warriors celebrate Friday’s win over Franklin.
After playing eight quarters of football against Whiteland this season, Franklin coach Chris Coll is sure about one thing.
The Warriors’ defense is pretty darn good.
For the second time in as many meetings, Class 5A No. 2 Whiteland pitched a shutout against its county rival, earning a 24-0 road victory over the eighth-ranked Grizzly Cubs in a sectional championship showdown on Friday night.
The victory gives the Warriors (10-1) double-digit victories for the fourth time in school history and the first time since 2008. It also sets up a regional home game next week against Plainfield.
Franklin (8-3) was trying for its second-ever sectional crown — its only one came in 1984 — but could never get untracked offensively. The Grizzly Cubs totaled just four first downs 92 yards of offense on the night.
“They’re just really, really freaking good defensively,” Coll said. “They’re really pretty special up front. … Whatever they get in, whether it’s their odd look or their even look, they’re just really good up front. They’re very physical, they’re very fast, their down defensive linemen play hard and they’re physically talented. It’s just a really, really good defensive front; it caused us problems all night.”
Both defenses held firm for much of the first half, but Whiteland finally broke through just before halftime. One play after Jonathan Crowley busted loose for a 33-yard sweep to put the ball on Franklin’s 15, Kevin Denham connected with Gunnar Hicks for a touchdown, stretching the visitors’ lead to 10-0 with 14.8 seconds on the clock.
“We didn’t expect to get such a big play the play before to get down there,” Denham said of Crowley’s big run. “But (Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher) looked at me and he asked if I could do it, and I said, ‘Yeah.’ So we got it done.”
With another possession at the outset of the third quarter, the Warriors went for the kill and got it on their second of three successful fourth-down conversions. Denham floated a pass over the middle to tight end Cameron Cooper, who trotted in for a 24-yard touchdown.
Whiteland then turned around and immediately recovered an onside kick. That extra possession didn’t result in any points, but it continued sending the same message.
“You have to play to win,” Fisher said of his team’s frequent gambles. “We talked about being on the attack. We said when the tournament started that we were not going to be conservative; we were going to attack. And that’s in all three phases.”
Whiteland added an insurance score after eating up nearly six minutes with a 12-play, 80-yard drive. The Warriors kept the ball on the ground the entire way, converting another fourth down on a Denham QB keeper midway through, before Peyton Emberton capped the scoring on a 10-yard run with 8:48 left.
That was ample cushion for the Whiteland defense, which was dominant throughout but particularly so in the second half. The Grizzly Cubs picked up just one first down after the intermission and gained a meager 25 yards.
“We’ve talked all year long — this football team has the courage to hit unlike any group that we’ve had in a long, long time,” Fisher said. “They love the physical part of the football game, and they feed on it, and they get stronger as the games go along.”
The Warriors got on the board first, using a 24-yard Maalik Perkins run and a 38-yard pass from Denham to Hicks to set up a David Mathis field goal. The 26-yard boot came with 3:30 to go in the opening quarter.
Franklin, which was outgained 183-67 over the first two quarters, saw its lone first-half threat snuffed out when a Greyson Betts pass was tipped twice and intercepted by Whiteland freshman Jordan Palmer at the 10-yard line with 8:43 left in the second.
The loss ends what had been a special run for the Grizzly Cubs’ seniors, who were part of two of the school’s five eight-win seasons.
“This senior class has been awesome,” Coll said. “Their commitment level, buy-in to what we’re trying to do, their preparation through the winter, spring and summer — it’s a talented class and I’m just very proud of them. Right now it hurts; I’m sure they’re dying. But you get a little time and reflect back on what they’ve been able to accomplish and what they’ve given to the program, they should be proud of what they’ve done.”
As should the Warriors, who now face a Quakers team that it defeated by a 45-14 margin on Oct. 7.
Fisher isn’t taking anything for granted, but he believes his team’s core qualities will continue to carry it forward.
“Physicality and toughness travel,” he said. “This is a physical football team, and it travels anywhere you go. Warm weather, cold weather, home and away, physicality and toughness travel.”
