WHITEHALL – It was an emotional night in Whitehall, with what felt like most of the town and then some in attendance. The city of Whitehall makes sure to fill the stands for every home game. When they heard the Vikings were coming home after two playoff games on the road, they made sure to pack the bleachers and bring energy.
Both Whitehall and South Christian have a bit of history when they go head-to-head. Just two seasons ago, these schools met in the exact same round. South Christian came away with a 28-21 win and set the stage for the start of a mini-dynasty in Division 4.
This game was no different; in fact, it was almost identical.
South Christian opened the game with a 6-yard pass, followed by an 8-yard pass, which pretty much foreshadowed how the Sailors’ offense was going to function for the rest of the game. Finally, after a long and demoralizing 8-minute drive, senior QB Carson Vis, on 4th and 4, escaped the pocket to the left, then to the right, and found Chuck Dehaan in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
The pass from Vis to Dehaan completed a 75-yard opening drive and ignited the Sailor faithful, giving them a few ticks on the momentum meter.
Whitehall’s first drive, however, went the complete opposite. The Vikings finished with negative yards and were forced to punt.
South Christian had the ball in its own territory late in the first quarter and had all the momentum on its side. The Vikings, however, would not go down that easy. The defensive line stood tall on fourth down and got the ball back into Thompson’s hands.
On the final drive of the first quarter, Thompson, on second down, kept a midline read option and dazzled his way across the goal line from 23 yards out. Thompson’s run knotted the game up at 7 apiece heading into the second quarter.
Fast forward to late in the second quarter, still tied at seven. South Christian had yet another red-zone opportunity to take the lead heading into the half. Vis, after taking a sack on second down, would extrude the pocket to the right and find his tight end Tyler Brinks near the pylon for a touchdown with time expiring in the first half.
Coming out of the half, South Christian would lead 14-7.
A strong drive led by senior Gavin Craner early in the second half resulted in a touchdown by Craner from a yard out.
With the game tied at 14 heading into the fourth quarter, South Christian’s Kasjen Vansolekema powered his way up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown run, putting the Sailors up 21-14.
Then, disaster struck. On a designed QB run, Thompson had the ball stripped from him and taken to the house by Rowan Dekam. South Christian would go up two scores on Whitehall with just over eight minutes to play.
Whitehall, like they have all season long, would not give up, however. From 29 yards out, Thompson dropped back in the pocket, went through his progressions, and pulled it down to run. Thompson then juked several Sailor defenders, going coast-to-coast from west to east all the way to the end zone, keeping the Vikings in the game with six minutes left.
Whitehall’s defense would then get a season-saving stop and get the ball back into its offense’s hands. Unfortunately, the season would end there after the Vikings offense failed to keep the chains moving. South Christian would get the ball back on downs, pick up a first down, and seal the deal. The Sailors would hold on to win 28-21.
The celebration began for the Sailors as Athletic Director David Kool presented them with their third straight regional championship.
Vis finished 16-27 for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
Thompson completed four of nine passes for 54 yards. Craner ran wild for 119 yards on 19 rushes and a touchdown.
Stay tuned for a season review article on Whitehall’s historic season early next week!
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