Resilience keys Whitehall to victory over talented Unity Christian

By Brendan Samuels
LocalSportJournal.com

WHITEHALL – The heat and humidity were definitely a factor on Thursday when Whitehall football took down Unity Christian, 34-28.

With temperatures hovering in the 70s around kickoff, the humid air weighed heavily, making conditions feel a bit warmer than usual. That reared its ugly head several times as multiple Vikings found themselves on the sideline with the trainer, missing key situations on the field.

The biggest loss for the Vikings was that of senior quarterback Kyle Stratton. Stratton played a solid first half of football, scoring through the air on a 39-yard pass to junior Camden Thompson and again on a 15-yard run. That had Whitehall owning a 20-7 lead heading into the break.

Stratton started the second half off on fire still, hitting senior Malcolm Earvin for a 39-yard passing touchdown. With all momentum on their side, it seemed nothing other than disaster could derail Whitehall head coach Tony Sigmon’s squad.

Then, in the third quarter a bit of disaster struck as Stratton came off the field clutching his calf. Stratton spent time with the trainer, forcing Thompson to move from wide receiver to quarterback.

Photo/Brendan Samuels

“The conditioning piece is something that we really have to work on. You’re sitting there and it’s 28-14, we’re getting momentum but then bam, bam, bam all those cramps hit,” Sigmon said. “We were lucky enough to be able to have depth because that really would’ve been a determining factor had we not had guys step up in a big way. I’m proud of our team, that was a total team win and we needed a lot of guys to play. To tell you the truth, we needed to have a great look on film and in practice. Our guys got ourselves very much ready for that well before we kicked off tonight.”

Unity Christian took advantage of several key Vikings being treated on the sidelines, riding their run game to the tune of 220 yards on the ground. The Crusaders’ bruising back Issac Steinstra looked like a bowling ball running through Whitehall’s defense, leading his team to a bit of a comeback.

Stratton’s cramping didn’t seem to bother him on the offensive side of the ball. In fact, after battling through the nagging injuries, he delivered a beautiful pass to senior Trannon Aylor in the back of the end zone to put Whitehall on top by two scores.

Then, with their backs against the wall in the red zone, Stratton tried to keep pace with a Crusader receiver near the goal line. Clutching his calf, Stratton fell to the ground in coverage, allowing Unity Christian to bring the score to within six.

Photo/Brendan Samuels

“(Stratton) cramping up over there obviously led to a touchdown,” Sigmon said. “That’s some of that stuff that we can’t control in the moment, we can control that in our preparation. That’s going to be a point of emphasis for us this week, we’re going to have a bus trip and who knows what the temperature is going to be then.”

The Vikings didn’t panic, riding their run game to several key first downs that helped salt away the clock, putting them at 1-0 to start the year. Unlike last season, the Vikings got a quick look at how they handle adversity in a close game early on, something they hope builds confidence moving forward.

“We’re capable of winning close games,” Sigmon said. “With the ebbs and flows of a football game, momentum changed several times back and forth especially in the fourth quarter when it mattered most. Our kids were able to maintain that ability to stay focused and poised.”

The Vikings turn their attention to week two where they’ll travel to Tecumseh next Thursday.