Surrounded by his seniors at the 20-yard line of Whiteland’s football field, Warriors coach Darrin Fisher spoke from the heart.
His team’s spirited comeback had fallen short, which meant it was time to say goodbye.
Whiteland, the fifth-ranked squad in Class 5A, lost to visiting Bloomington South on Friday, 34-24, in a sectional semifinal after falling behind early, 27-0.
The Warriors finish their season with an 8-3 record after sputtering to a 2-8 mark a year ago.
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“There were a lot of things last year that didn’t go our way,” Fisher said. “On January 1, 2018, there was zero momentum in this program. Zero. They had to go from absolutely ground zero. The train was dead stopped.
“(Seniors) got it going again with a lot of speed. They generated all the momentum, all the excitement. Our JV kids were 8-1, our freshman team was 7-2, our eighth-graders had a great record. But again, none of that would’ve happened without the momentum that these seniors generated. They did it for the entire program.”
Bloomington South junior tailback Maveric Thiery carried the ball 38 times for 260 yards. His 47-yard sprint to the end zone with 3:27 left in the fourth quarter put the game away after Whiteland scored 24 unanswered points to pull within three, 27-24.
Warriors senior running back Jake Perry rushed 17 times for 140 yards and a score in his final game.
It’s the second straight year Bloomington South has eliminated Whiteland. The Panthers defended their own field with a 42-37 decision in 2017.
“We felt good about the game. We felt we had a chance to win, obviously, but I never would’ve dreamed we would be up, 27-0,” South coach Mo Moriarty said.
But the Panthers were.
Bloomington South churned out 193 yards rushing in the first half to take a 27-10 lead at the half on three touchdown runs and a recovered fumble in the end zone.
The Panthers marched 78 yards in seven plays on the game’s opening drive with senior quarterback Trent Richardson scoring on a 41-yard yard run. A quick three-and-out by Whiteland set South up at its own 41 to set up a 7-yard Richardson TD with 1:55 remaining in the opening quarter.
Some trickery backfired on Whiteland on its next possession when punter Dalton Spangler threw incomplete to Trevor Larence on fourth down.
It appeared the Warriors later dodged disaster with a goal-line stand at the 3, but a fumble on the ensuing play was smothered by Panthers senior defensive lineman Avery Thompson. Bloomington South made it 27-0 midway through the second period on a 50-yard halfback pass from sophomore Jalen Peck to wideout Sean Azcui.
Whiteland scored the half’s final 10 points to climb back into the game. Quarterback Austin Kirkman’s 21-yard fade pass to Jaylen Dunlap at 5:58 of the second got the Warriors on the board. Spangler drilled a 28-yard field goal with 23.3 seconds showing to account for the score at intermission.
In the third period, quarterback Austin Kirkman’s perfectly thrown 85-yard touchdown pass to senior Max Brock pulled Whiteland closer. A fumble recovery by junior linebacker Jacob Schultz set up the Warriors’ final points, a 2-yard TD run by Perry with a minute left in the third.
