In a much-anticipated battle of Northern Lakes League heavyweights, Whitmer's behemoths in the trenches paved the way to a 42-28 knockout of visiting Anthony Wayne on Friday night.
Making their debut in the NLL Buckeye Division, the Panthers sprinted to a 21-0 lead and then had an answer every time the Generals clawed back into the game.
Whitmer rolled up 381 yards of total offense, including 235 yards on the ground. Sophomore running back Joey Morales rushed for a game-high 115 yards and four scores for the Panthers (4-2, 1-0 NLL Buckeye).
Anthony Wayne (4-2, 0-1) closed within seven points at the half with two late touchdowns, but the depleted Generals had trouble mounting much offense and stopping the Whitmer rushing attack.
“It was important for us to get off to a quick start,” Whitmer coach Ken Winters said. “You couldn't plan it any better. We let him back in the game right at the half, but we didn't panic. We just kept doing what we were doing and they just couldn't stop us. Our offensive line had a breakout game, a complete game. I'm just super proud of our sophomore backs.”
Whitmer linemen Carter Lowe (6-6, 316), Landon Brown (6-0, 300), Emmanuel Wilson (6-4, 240), Cooper Bringman (6-2, 250), and Mike O'Brien (6-5, 295) consistently opened up big lanes for Morales, who scored on runs of 2, 9, 6, and 1 yards.
“This was a very big win,” Lowe said. “We were reading the paper and nobody thought we were going to win. We defeat the odds. That's all we do. We ran a lot of heavies. We knew they had good guys. But we got them. We were the more physical team.”
Up 21-14 at the half, Whitmer scored on its first possession as it added three more scores in the third quarter to take a 42-21 lead. The Panthers picked up two fourth-down conversions, first on a 20-yard pass from Brady Ford to Brandon Waddell. Then Morales scored his third TD of the night on a 6-yard run on fourth down to go up 28-14 with 7:41 left in the third quarter.
“This was a beautiful win,” Morales said. “My O-line gave me everything. Without them, it wouldn't be possible. Our O-line killed it tonight. This week, we worked the hardest we've ever worked. We ended up losing an embarrassing game to them last year and all we were thinking about was redemption. We were going to run the ball. This is a really big one.”
AW junior Ben Nieckarz returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-21 with 7:29 left in the third quarter.
“It took us a little bit to get going,” AW coach Andy Brungard said. “This game was going to be won in the trenches. They put Carter Lowe in at tight end and just leaned on us. We had a hard time responding to that physically. We have injuries at linebacker and safety, and we had three guys on the field on defense that haven't played in that spot. I'm proud of our resiliency.”
Whitmer re-established a two-TD lead as Morales scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the night. The Panthers made it 35-21 with 3:53 left in the third quarter after an eight-play, 60-yard drive — all on the ground.
Whitmer sophomore running back Jaden Jones rushed for 66 yards (7.3 per carry).
“We just stayed positive,” Winters said. “We just get back to work, and that's what I love about this team.”
AW was led by Kinnee, who threw for 161 yards and two TDs and rushed for 36. Running back Braden Gardner rushed for 31 yards for the Generals who had 263 total yards.
Morales bulldozed his way up the middle for a 9-yard TD and a 21-0 lead with 3:12 left in the first half. AW came up with a critical response as it picked up a key fourth-down conversion and then scored on a 21-yard TD from Kinnee to Gardner to make it 21-7 with 1:09 left in the first half.
Anthony Wayne's Owen Graf then recovered a fumble by Logan Frank as the Generals took over at the Whitmer 18 with under a minute left in the second quarter as Carter Schaller forced the fumble.
Five plays later, Kinnee hooked up with Schaller for a 5-yard TD as the Generals made it 21-14 with 13 seconds left in the first half.
Late in the third, Whitmer forced a turnover on downs with a stop on 4th-and-2 near midfield. On the next play, Ford aired it out over the middle and connected with Frank (96 receiving yards) on a 39-yard TD strike to put Whitmer up 42-21.
The Generals defeated the Panthers 28-10 at AW last fall.
“Them beating us last year didn't sit well with us and we've had to sit all year and just think about that game,” Winters said. “We couldn't wait until tonight and to get a win like this and in that style, it just feels pretty good. We were the more physical team. But it doesn't get any easier. Now we have to get ready for Perrysburg.”
First Published September 23, 2023, 3:28 a.m.
