Norse sunk by Cardinals in DC loss

The Whitehall football team recovered from a wild start, but couldn’t get consistent push at the line of scrimmage in its 28-14 loss to Eleva-Strum last week.

The Cardinals began the game with a kickoff that bounced off of a Whitehall player, and then ran a hook-and-ladder pass play for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Whitehall responded by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown as the two squads combined to score four touchdowns in the first six minutes of the game. Whitehall had a 14-12 lead at that point, but the Cardinals scored to close the first half and again at the start of the second half to get the win.

At 0-2 in Dairyland Conference play, the Norse (1-3 overall) will need to get back on track soon to keep their playoff hopes alive. This week, the Norse are set to host Independence/Gilmanton (0-3). The Indees are coming off of a 47-8 loss to Melrose-Mindoro. 

Whitehall will have another important game next week as it plays at Melrose-Mindoro (3-1). 

E-S 28 Whitehall 14

The Norse recovered from a wild start, but couldn’t move the ball — or get enough stops — the rest of the way.

The Cardinals drove the opening kickoff right up the middle, bouncing the ball off a Whitehall player directly back to E-S for the recovery. The first play from scrimmage was a hook-and-ladder in which quarterback Reede Brown passed to receiver Bryce Knutson. As the Whitehall defense closed on Knutson, he pitched the ball to Luis Kinser. Kinser raced down the sideline untouched for the touchdown. 

But E-S didn’t hold the lead for long.

The ensuing kickoff was short, picked up by Whitehall’s Devin Hutsell off the ground. Hutsell immediately sprinted straight ahead, finding a hole and cruising for a 72-yard touchdown. The extra point by Jonas Arroyo gave Whitehall a 7-6 lead, 25 seconds into the game.

The Cardinals drove down the field on the next possession, which ended when Brock Stendahl burst up the middle for a touchdown. The two-point try was stopped, but E-S was back ahead with about nine minutes left in the first quarter.

Whitehall answered again, this time it was Bo Killian who broke through the line for a 45-yard touchdown run. Arroyo’s point after gave the Norse a 14-12 advantage with more than six minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The scoring slowed considerably from there, for Whitehall it stopped completely. 

The Cardinals got the go-ahead touchdown with 3:44 remaining in the first half. Reede Brown converted a fourth-and-four with a run up the middle then scored on another interior run from three yards out. The two-point conversion gave E-S a 20-14 lead, which they took into halftime.

E-S added another touchdown on its first possession of the second half as Kinser found the end zone and the ensuing two-point conversion put the Cardinals ahead by the final margin.

The Norse struggled to move the ball consistently. Killian ran for 107 yards on 16 carries, but the rest of the team managed just 60 on 26 rushes.

The Cardinals had a more balanced attack, averaging nearly six yards per carry and totaling 229 yards on the ground. Stendahl led the team with 69 yards on 13 attempts, but Elliott Walsh had 56 yards, Luis Kinser finished with 53 and Brown rushed for 38. 

Whitehall

Rushing (att./yds.) — Killian 16/107 Helstad 4/19 Juresh 3/13 Ausderau 10/12 Evans 1/10 Hutsell 8/8

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Ausderau 0/2/0

Tackles — Hutsell 5.5 Herman 5 Przybylla 5 Pratt 4.5 Hansche 3.5 Evans 3 Steig 2 Bautch 1.5 Smith 1.5 Helstad 1.5 Foss 1 Norgaard 1 Kulig 0.5 Stevens 0.5