Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher and his coaching staff should head to Las Vegas immediately.
Fisher called for two successful onside kicks and then converted three fourth-down plays in a critical third-quarter drive that led to a Slate Valentine touchdown to give the Warriors a stunning 22-8 senior night win over Class 5A No. 6 Plainfield on Friday night.
“It was the coaching staff and our players,” Fisher said. “We knew we had to control the football. That’s a high-powered offense and we talked all week long about this and we had to shoot our shot. We took some calculated risks and were able to take advantage of it.”
Whiteland (4-4, 3-3 Mid-State) continues its domination over the Quakers, with its seventh straight series win and 13th in the past 14 meetings.
The Warriors’ average winning margin the past four games was 32. They didn’t match that on Friday, but Fisher and the Warriors couldn’t care less.
“It was a good team win,” Fisher said. “We’re so beat up this week. We had six sophomore starters on defense and some on offense. We asked a lot of guys to do a lot, and they did it.”
For a while, it looked to be the second straight week that red-zone woes would plague Whiteland. Twice the Warriors were deep and looking to score, but twice they were turned away. Unlike last week, the Warriors kept their composure and showed their confidence.
“When you fight as one, this is what we can be,” Fisher said while pointing at the scoreboard.
Whiteland’s great gamble started immediately, executing a perfect onside kick on the opening kickoff.
Eight plays later, the roll of the dice really paid dividends as sophomore Dane Kunz plunged in from the 2 for an early 7-0 lead for Whiteland.
The Warriors then stopped the Quakers’ high-octane offense and then drove to the 7, however Plainfield’s defense adjusted well and stopped the Warriors at the 6 on fourth and 2.
Plainfield (6-2, 4-2) ran only six plays in the first quarter but made up for it after the stop when it drove the ball down the field.
Quarterback Hunter Newell hit Western Michigan-bound Caden Vanderbush for a 32-yard touchdown; a conversion gave the Quakers an 8-7 lead. They were driving for more before the half, but this time Whiteland came up with a stop of its own, blocking the Quakers’ 32-yard field goal attempt.
Whiteland scored in the third when Jordan Palmer ran in from the 19, and then Valentine had the clincher from the 6.
Plainfield wasn’t dead yet, getting the ball to the Warriors’ 1, but running back Luke Starnes fumbled and the Warriors’ Clayton Ratliffe recovered in the end zone.
Whiteland then ate up some clock before punting and then gave Newell his first interception of the season when Ian Lewis dove to catch his errant pass.
“(Plainfield) is a pretty good football team,” Fisher said. “Our kids played. We didn’t worry about the scoreboard.”
Valentine gained a game-high 201 yards rushing to easily go over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Overall, Whiteland rushed for more than 370 yards.
Whiteland finishes the regular season next week at Greenwood.
