Whitehall ran into a buzzsaw Friday night against Division 4 No. 2-ranked Portland, taking a 49-7 defeat.
The
loss is the most lopsided for the Vikings since 2013, coach Tony
Sigmon's first year, when Oakridge defeated Whitehall 62-20.
"This
wasn't our night. That's the best way I'd describe it," Sigmon said.
"They played complementary football in all three phases, and we made
some mistakes."
The Vikings (6-3) were also shorthanded by
injuries. Already down star running back Ryan Goodrich and the team's
top tackler, Parker Mott, with season-ending maladies, Whitehall also
was without two-way player Gavin Craner for a second straight week with
an ankle sprain. Sigmon said the team is hopeful Craner may be able to
return for the playoff opener.
"He's had trouble putting
weight on it, but he's getting better each day," Sigmon said of Craner.
"He was pretty beat up after (the game against) Ludington. Hopefully
he'll be good to go."
Portland built a 21-0 halftime lead and
threw the hammer down to start the second half, scoring within 30
seconds of kickoff. Red Raiders' back Nolan Zbytowski scored five
touchdowns and their team ran for over 400 yards.
"They were an excellent football team," Sigmon said. "They're very well disciplined and they were very fast."
The
Viking offense managed 199 yards and turned the ball over three times,
going 1-of-12 on third down attempts. Camden Thompson passed for 147
yards to lead the way, and Hunter Osborne scored the lone Whitehall
touchdown.
Sigmon said the team had a good week of practice
and hopes the coaches and players can diagnose what went wrong on film
to be ready for a postseason opener.
"It's never as bad as you
think it is or as good as you think it is," Sigmon said. "Hopefully we
can return back to center and have a good first week of the playoffs and
build from there."
