Wildcats Falter In The Second Half In Loss To N. Miami
Wildcats Falter In The Second Half In Loss To N. Miami
Posted
Alaister McFarren-
Wildcats Falter In The Second Half In Loss To N. MiamiSOUTH WHITLEY – Despite playing a close game through nearly two quarters Friday night, the Whitko Wildcats football team fell to North Miami at home Friday night 53-22 in a Three Rivers Conference matchup.
The Warriors pounded away at the Wildcats with a rushing attack spearheaded by junior Darian Hanley, who scored five touchdowns on the ground.
Sophomore Whitko quarterback Ethan Schuh initiated the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Schuh on the team’s first possession of the game. But the QB struggled the rest of the first half, getting picked off by sophomore Justin McQuinn and senior Braxton Beall.
Despite the miscues, the score was close with a minute to go in the second quarter; North Miami held a 19-14 lead off the strength of 17-, 31- and one-yard rushing touchdowns by junior Darian Hanley.
Whitko played strong defense and forced Miami into a 3rd-and-18, looking primed to force struggling Warrior kicker Carson Rexroad – who missed three extra points in the first half - into a long field goal situation.
North Miami, however, completed a 26-yard pass to senior Braxton Beall, taking the ball to the one-yard line. Hanley punched it in for yet another first-half touchdown, making the score 27-14 after a successful two-point conversion by senior Tristan Working.
With 53 seconds left in the quarter, Whitko received the kickoff but fumbled it on the return, and the ball was returned 40 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-33 after another missed extra point.
Not content with his four-score first half, Hanley made his presence known on the defensive side of the ball as well when he recovered a muffed punt by Whitko and scored his fifth touchdown of the day on his subsequent 43-yard third-quarter run.
North Miami would score twice more in the game, which Whitko responded to with a final rushing score by senior Riley Young.
The game was a continuation of a trend where Whitko keeps the game close until the half but loses control down the stretch. Coming into Friday’s game, the Wildcats had been outscored 69-6 in second halves this season. They were outscored 20-8 in the second half this week, but 34-8 if the last minute of the first half in included.
Whitko faces Tippecanoe Valley (4-1, 4-0 TRC) on Friday.
