A Greenwood defender tries to make a diving tackle on Whiteland’s Malik Perkins during Friday’s game.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher views the key to his football team’s success is always starting fast.
“We had a blown coverage (on a touchdown pass) and didn’t start as fast as we would have liked, down 6-0,” Fisher said.
The Class 5A No. 3 Warriors followed with 42 unanswered points en route to Friday night’s 42-14 rout of visiting Greenwood in Mid-State Conference action. The Warriors (8-1, 6-1) captured the conference, their first outright title since 2015. The Warriors last shared the title in 2020.
“Greenwood had a good game plan,” Fisher said. “We executed well. We played with a lot of passion. Emotion goes up and down, but passion is a continuous climb. I think that might have been the best football we played all year long. Those first two and a half quarters, other than the one mistake defensively, was the best in all three phases. Obviously, that’s what we want to do — peak at the right time.”
“We always know we have to get our assignment and communicate, and drive everybody back,” Warriors center Josh Merriman said. “We just have to keep doing it every night. We trust the guys behind us to take the ball and do what they do. We run the ball, we’ve been doing it all year and proving we can do it the best.”
Greenwood (1-8, 0-7) scored on a 48-yard pass from junior quarterback Brock Riddle to senior Ethan Pringle. The two-point conversion failed and Whiteland scored the next 35 points to take a 35-6 halftime lead.
Senior Jonathan Crowley started the Warriors’ onslaught with a TD run of 7 yards, followed by a 14-yard TD run by sophomore Slate Valentine that pushed the lead to 14-6 with 1:47 left in the first quarter.
Senior running back Peyton Emberton scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to give Whiteland a 21-6 lead with 9:12 left in the second quarter. The Warriors went to the air for their next score, a 22-yard TD pass from Kevin Denham to Cameron Cooper with 5:13 left. Whiteland made it 35-6 with Crowley’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:55 remaining.
Whiteland scored in the first minute of the second half with a 35-yard TD run by Nyrius Moore Smith that made it 42-6. That started a running clock with the 35-point mercy rule.
Emberton led the Warriors with 114 yards on 10 carries. Crowley finished with 85 yards on eight carries.
“We’ve got some really good running backs, but our offensive line, along with our tight ends, take a lot of pride in physical football,” Fisher said. “I thought it showed tonight. We’ve been as physical up front as we’ve been all year.”
Woodmen running back Marcus Stokes scored on a 4-yard TD run and added a two-point conversion run in the fourth quarter for the Woodmen.
Fisher said his team was focused all week in practice, which is often tough after the sectional draw has been announced.
The Warriors open a sectional play Oct. 28 against visiting Terre Haute North.
“They were better than us tonight,” said Greenwood coach Mike Campbell, who is retiring after the season. “They were more physical. They’re as good as advertised. We knew that coming in. We had some breakdowns and there are things we need to do better. We’re going to get back and get ready for Martinsville. It’s a new season.
“Credit to Whiteland, they’re big and physical. They’re a fast team and athletic. They did what they needed to do to control the tempo and pace of the game. Coach Fisher does a fantastic job.”
Greenwood will host Martinsville Friday in a Class 4A sectional game. Martinsville topped host Greenwood 28-14 Sept. 2.
Woodmen linebacker Scotty Raker went out with an ankle injury early, but Campbell said he’s a tough kid and is hopeful he can play.
“Losing him early in the game certainly hurt the interior of our defense,” Campbell said.
