Vikings outslug Norse in grid opener

The Whitehall football team was in position to win its season opener on the road last week, but Colfax closed the door with two scoring drives in the second half. 

Whitehall was within a point, 7-6, at halftime before Colfax scored late in the third and fourth quarters, the second touchdown essentially clinched the win. Whitehall fought back and scored, but with just eight seconds remaining in regulation.

The Norse will play at home this week against an Arcadia team that is coming off of a 32-0 win over Osseo-Fairchild (see story elsewhere in Sports). Next week, Whitehall opens Dairyland Conference play at home against Augusta.

Colfax 19 Whitehall 14

Whitehall’s defense held up for the most part, but the Colfax broke through for two second half touchdowns to take control. 

The Norse scored early in the second quarter to get within a point at 7-6. That’s where the game stood throughout the rest of the second quarter and almost the entire third. There were just 42 seconds left in the third quarter when Colfax broke through with a touchdown to take a 13-6 lead. 

While Whitehall’s defense was holding strong, the team was struggling offensively. The first touchdown drive came on a short field after a long kick return, otherwise the Norse had a difficult time moving the ball.

The Vikings held a seven-point lead for most of the fourth quarter before scoring again with 4:19 remaining. Their point after was no good, but Whitehall was still facing a two-score deficit.

The local team was able to get one of the scores, but it had to use most of the remaining clock time to do so. Mason Przybylla got around the corner on a run to score from about 15 yards out with 8.2 seconds remaining. Brock Sluga then ran in the two-point conversion to bring the Norse within five. 

Colfax recovered the onside kick and took a knee to end the game.

The Vikings took a 7-0 lead with a touchdown and extra point with 2:38 remaining in the first quarter.

Whitehall’s CJ Johnston returned the ensuing kick all the way to the Colfax 21-yard line. Mason Pientok ran for a first down on a third down play before Sluga ended the drive with a two-yard touchdown. The point after kick was missed. 

Both teams featured heavy rushing attacks as Whitehall was led by freshman Bo Killian’s 51 yards on 12 carries. The Norse ran for 125 yards in the game, averaging 3.2 yards per carry. Colfax also had a balanced rushing attack, but was able to get a few more big plays offensively. The home team ran for 179 yards on 5.8 yards per carry, they also had a 60-yard pass completion. 

While Whitehall lacked experience, they had some bright spots from underclassmen. In addition to Killian’s team-best 51 yards, Przybylla — also a freshman — was third on the team with 22 yards and had a touchdown. Pientok, a junior, ran for 40 yards and had a 40-yard punt return. 

Whitehall

Rushing (att./yds.) — Killian 13/51 Pientok 15/40 Przybylla 3/22 Sluga 4/7 Johnston 3/5 Hutsell 1/0

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — Pientok 0/8/0 Johnston 0/2/0

Tackles (solo/total) — Killian 2/3 Pientok 1/2 Herman 1/2 Flores 1/2 Johnston 1/1 Katzman 1/2 Przybylla 4/6 Sluga 5/6 Coburn 1/1 Matejka 1/1 Lisowski 4/6 Smith 1/3 Bautch 3/8 Hutsell 1/1