Norse shut out by Pirates in DC opener
Whitehall’s Devin Hutsell deflected a pass intended for Steve Meyer of Cochrane-Fountain City. While Hutsell impacted the flight of the ball, it wasn’t Whitehall’s night as Meyer was able to catch it and gain 20 yards on the play. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Cochrane-Fountain City showed why it was widely considered among the favorites in the Dairyland Conference by controlling the line of scrimmage in a 33-0 win over Whitehall on Friday.
The Norse had a couple of good drives early in the game, but came up empty. C-FC also capitalized on a couple of fumbles to build a 26-0 lead by halftime.
The loss put Whitehall at 1-2 on the season and 0-1 to start Dairyland Conference play. The team heads to Eleva-Strum for what could be an important game in terms of conference standings and playoff qualifying. E-S is 2-1 on the season, coming off of a 37-14 win over Melrose-Mindoro.
Next week Whitehall returns home to take on Independence/Gilmanton.
C-FC 33 Whitehall 0
Whitehall’s first drive was going toward midfield before a fumble that set the Pirates up in position to take the lead.
The Norse had a first down run negated by a holding penalty, but got that yardage back on an outside run by Kivin Juresh before the ball popped free and the Pirates recovered at the Whitehall 41-yard line.
Whitehall had a couple chances to stop C-FC’s first drive, but a fourth-and-two was converted thanks to a 23-yard pass to Tucker Bambenek. C-FC later faced a fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line before Ethan Smith powered up the middle for the touchdown. The point after made the score 7-0.
After the teams exchanged punts, Whitehall had another strong drive going. A 17-yard punt return by Aiden Evans set Whitehall up at the C-FC 35. Devin Hutsell had a 10-yard run on the first play and Bo Killian set the team up with another first down at the 13. Whitehall faced a fourth-and-two at the 5, but Hutsell was tackled in the backfield.
C-FC established control with a 90-yard touchdown drive that included a 20-yard pass to Steve Meyer and a 34-yard run by Ty Popp. Smith finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run. The point after made the score 14-0 with about eight minutes remaining in the first half.
The Pirates got the ball back after Hutsell fumbled the ensuing kickoff. It took C-FC just one play, a 38-yard run by Aidan Lisowski to add to its lead.
Another special teams error directly led to another score as Popp returned a Whitehall punt 75 yards for a touchdown that put C-FC ahead 26-0.
Lisowski added another touchdown run in the third quarter as C-FC cruised in the second half.
The Pirates ran for 126 yards in the game, averaging 5.5 per carry. Lisowski led the team with 57 yards. Quarterback Parker Kujak was efficient and explosive, completing seven-of-nine passes for 119 yards.
Whitehall quarterback Karston Ausderau didn’t attempt a pass in the game, but he led the team with 62 rushing yards.
Whitehall
Rushing (att./yds.) — Ausderau 4/62 Killian 13/26 Hutsell 11/19 Juresh 12/17 Evans 1/8 Helstad 2/3
Defense (tackles) — Foss 5.5 Przybylla 4.5 Herman 4.5 Hansche 4 Evans 3.5 Hutsell 3 Pratt 1.5 Steig 1 Peterson 1 Eaton 1 Helstad 1 Kulig 0.5 Bautch 0.5 Killian 0.5
