Whiteland’s Slate Valentine finds a hole between the blocks of Zander Hite (84) and Luke Grismer (63) on the way to a touchdown Friday against Greenwood.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
The annual rivalry clash between Greenwood and Whiteland always loses at least a little bit of luster because it falls during a break week for both schools, putting a dent in attendance numbers.
With the Woodmen gutted by key injuries on both sides of the ball, the competitiveness took as big a hit as the gate revenue did.
Whiteland asserted its dominance early and maintained a comfortable edge throughout, finishing out its regular season with a 48-13 home win.
After stopping the Woodmen on downs to begin the game, the Warriors (4-4, 3-4 Mid-State) immediately started knocking on the door when Jordan Palmer ripped off a 35-yard run to the Greenwood 5, steamrolling a defender in the process. Whiteland lost eight yards on a first-and-goal fumble, but salvaged the drive when quarterback Ollie Taylor rolled out on third down and found tight end Zander Hite in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.
Another long run set up Whiteland’s next TD, with Tyree Nolan breaking a 57-yarder to set up first and goal at the 2-yard line. Taylor pushed in on a keeper from the 1 two plays later, with Noah Pope’s second PAT kick making it a 14-0 game with 3:05 left in the opening quarter.
Greenwood (2-7, 1-6) went three and out on its next possession, and after the punt was blocked by the Warriors’ Ayden Shaffer, the home offense embarked on a quick five-play, 28-yard scoring drive. Slate Valentine’s 2-yard run on the first play of the second period stretched the margin to 21 points.
“I think the most important thing was to start fast,” said Warriors coach Darrin Fisher, who made sure to credit sophomore Carnell Baker with making some big tackles on special teams to saddle Greenwood with difficult field position.
The momentum temporarily shifted a few minutes into the second when the Woodmen recovered a Whiteland red-zone fumble and followed up with a 90-yard touchdown march. Sophomore quarterback Parker Jarboe completed third-down passes to Parker Doolin and Malike Berete to move across midfield, and senior Jeremiah Carter pulled in a screen pass and darted 27 yards up the right sideline to the end zone.
Unfortunately for Greenwood, the momentum didn’t stay on its side for long, as Whiteland senior Blake Riddle returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield and Valentine took a handoff 50 yards to the house on the next play, making it 28-6 with 3:59 to go in the half.
The Woodmen tried to make the most of that remaining time, driving into Warrior territory and using long runs by Josh Carroll and Jarboe to get to the 5-yard line with 1:08 left. The Whiteland defense came up with stops on second and third down from the 1, then stood Jarboe up at the goal line on the final play before the break.
“Our defense really stepped up and made some plays when they needed to,” Fisher said. “We practice that scenario quite a bit, and that confidence is going to be important moving forward.”
“I blame myself,” Greenwood coach Justin Boser said. “Should have gone to a different play off tackle.”
That sequence proved to be a back-breaker for the visitors, and Whiteland put things away with a one-side third quarter. After opening with a 32-yard TD pass from Taylor to Peyton Williams, Greenwood turned the ball over on downs at its own 25 and Valentine scored on the next snap to trigger a running clock. A pick-six by junior Jake Klemme stretched it to 48-6 by the end of the period.
Josh Carroll rushed for a 3-yard touchdown on the final play of the game for the Woodmen.
Valentine finished with 105 yards on eight rushes, while Tyree Nolan added 64 yards on three carries. For Greenwood, Carroll had 77 yards on the ground and Leland Morton added 76.
The Warriors will enjoy a week off before traveling to Decatur Central for a Class 5A sectional semifinal on Nov. 1. The Woodmen, meanwhile, get back to work right away with a 4A quarterfinal home game against Shelbyville.
Boser is hopeful that at least some of his injured starters will be back for the postseason.
“We won’t know until about midweek,” he said. “A lot of those guys are just week-to-week guys, so we won’t know until midweek who we’ll have available. … The guys who played tonight have got to be ready to step up and be the guys next week.”
