Whitehall romped over Orchard View Friday night, 54-7, to open West Michigan Conference Lakes play in positive fashion.
The win was a good boost to the Vikings after taking a week one defeat at Unity Christian. Whitehall was able to open up the offensive playbook after being more conservative in the opener.
"We were efficient throwing the ball," Whitehall coach Tony Sigmon said. "We had a couple big plays early, which was one thing we were trying to do this week. Last week we were methodical in the first half and didn't really take a shot. We wanted to have opportunities to do that this week, and we did that."
Orchard View briefly led 7-6 after a near-interception instead turned into a Cardinals touchdown in the first quarter, but after that Whitehall took total control of the contest.
The Vikings (1-1, 1-0 WMC Lakes) only threw six passes, but Camden Thompson turned those into 143 yards and a touchdown. Corde Anderson had a 67-yard catch and Abram Stoudt caught a touchdown. Stoudt also recorded a defensive score on an interception.
Whitehall added big chunks on the ground, with Ryan Goodrich piling up 87 yards on six carries. He, Gavin Craner and Nate Betz each ran for a touchdown, and Thompson carried it in twice.
With the week two win past, the Vikings now prepare for another imposing challenge in week three, as 2023 Division 3 regional champ Zeeland West will come to town for Whitehall's home opener.
"We're hoping a tough non-conference schedule gets us ready for conference play and a big push to the end of the season," Sigmon said. "We're two weeks in, and we have a week three that will be a huge football game for us."
