Whitehall running back Codie Pider, above, is swallowed up by Ravenna defender Tyler Chopp (#10) during the second half of Friday’s contest between the two West Michigan Conference teams.
WHITEHALL — If week one, a 32-21 win over Fremont, was the Whitehall Vikings’ coming out party, and last week’s narrow loss to state-title defending Oakridge — a game in which Whitehall led 12-0 — was a sure sign the Vikings were on the right track, what does Friday night’s 36-0 loss to Ravenna mean?
For first-year Viking head coach Dan Holden, the loss means his team has a lot of work ahead of them.
“I knew (Ravenna) would be an excellent football team,” said Holden, following the defeat. “And I knew that we couldn’t come out slow against them or there would be trouble.”
There certainly was a lot of that, right from the get-go, as the Bulldogs needed just seven plays, and three minutes, to cover 60 yards, capped by a one-yard TD blast by Ravenna standout Jamohn Martin to put his team up 7-0.
Whitehall fumbled the ensuing first-down snap, which the Bulldogs recovered on the Vikings’ 11. Fortunately for the Vikings, Ravenna receiver Matt VanderWagen, on his way toward the end zone, fumble near the goal line. Whitehall’s senior Sam Pladies recovered on the Vikes’ two-yard line.
But Ravenna earned the score on its next possession. Following a short Viking punt, the ‘Dogs traversed the remaining 35 yards in seven plays, with Martin banging it in from three yards away to make the score 14-0.
Minutes into the second quarter, Martin scored again from one yard away, capping an eight-play drive that covered 60 yards. Big Bulldog tight end #87 caught the ensuing two-point conversion pass to make it 22-0.
Ravenna made it 29-straight points, and was able to get someone else in the end zone besides Martin, as Tyler Chopp finished off a 12-play drive that saw the ‘Dogs travel 48 yards while chewing up nearly six minutes of the second half. Chopped blasted in from a yard out to make the score 29-0, where it a stayed until the fourth quarter.
Martin capped the scoring with a five-yard run, following a 48-yard, 13-play drive the consumed nearly half of the third and fourth quarters.
It was obvious the game was won in the trenches, as Martin, though a spectacularly shifty back, benefited from his linemen teammates opening holes anyone could run through. Likewise, the Bulldogs’ defensive line owned the line of scrimmage, holding the Vikings to just 43 total yards, while piling up 351 total yards themselves.
Holden said the large discrepancy is related to Ravenna’s strength program.
“They’re the strongest team we’ve seen so far,” said Holden. “Our lines did their best to handle them, but there was only so much they could do.”
Martin led all rushers with 162 yards on 33 carries, while Codie Pider led Whitehall with seven carries for 17 yards. ‘Dogs’ QB Ryan Hogen was perfect on the night, going 4-for-4 for 46 yards. Hogan’s counterpart Christian Subdon went 2-for-9 for 13 yards with two picks.
Whitehall’s Pladies led all defenders with 13 tackles, with teammate Subdon adding 10 more. Chopp led Ravenna with seven stops, and Martin had five in the victory.
Montague torches Hart
MONTAGUE – All-State quarterback Cody Kater ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more in the first half in a 62-12 Wildcat romp past the overmatched Hart Pirates Friday night.
The win kept Montague’s record perfect at 3-0 heading into the long-awaited matchup with unbeaten Division 5 state champion Muskegon Oakridge (3-0) at home this coming Friday. The Wildcats and Eagles are in a three-way tie with Ravenna for the top spot in the West Michigan Conference with 2-0 records.
It didn’t take Montague long to get on top in Friday’s game. Less than a minute into the contest, Kater ran 22-yards for a touchdown followed by the first of seven PAT kicks by Matt DeJong.
In the next six minutes the defending Division 6 state champions added four more TDS on a 40-yard run by Drew Pineda, passes of 20 and 52 yards from Kater to Anthony Guerra and a 55-yard pass interception return by Julian Smith.
The home team extended the 35-0 lead to 56-0 at halftime on three second-quarter touchdowns - a 44-yard run by Kater, a 9-yard run by Jake Freeland and a 5-yard run by Jake Blackmer.
Hart (1-2, 0-2) finally got on the scoreboard against the Montague reserves with 5:30 in the third quarter .
Montague added its final TD with 10:50 left in the contest on a 6-yard run by Spencer Root. Montague took a knee on the conversion.
In a short night of work, Kater, who is headed to Division I Central Michigan University next fall, ran twice for 66 yards and 2 TDs, and completed 2-5 passes for 82 yards and 2 TDs. Both TD passes were caught by Guerra for 82 yards.
Montague’s leading rusher was Pineda with 84 yards on 4 attempts and a TD.
As a team, Montague rolled up 427 yards, 336 on the ground and 91 in the air.
Hart was held to 162 yards in total offense.
Seven Montague players led in tackles with three each.
EGR tops R-P
EAST GRAND RAPIDS – Winless Reeths-Puffer (0-3) Friday night found out why East Grand Rapids are unbeaten and three-time defending state champions.
The host Pioneers overwhelmed the Rockets in the first half, taking a 42-0 lead to trigger a running clock in the second half. The final was 49-7.
Back Kirk Spencer had four first-half touchdowns on runs of 14, 25 and 29 yards and a punt return for 52 yards.
QB Ryan Elbe ran for a 39-yard TD and passed 55-yards to A.J. McEwen for another score.
Reeths-Puffer’s only TD came in the third-quarter on a 21-yard run by Clayton Turner. Cameron Rogers added the PAT.
EGR had 420 yards in offense with 238 rushing a 192 passing. R-P ran for 86 yards, passed for 46 and lost 2 fumbles. Turner ran 11 times for 43 yards. QB John McCleve was 11-46 on the ground and completed 3-15 passes for 46 yards and an interception.
Turner was also the Rockets’ top defender with 6 tackles. Ricky Keller had 4 tackles and an interception.
