By Greg Gielczyk
Local Sports Journal

MANISTEE – After an early scare, the penalty ridden Whitehall Vikings picked up the pace and soon had the game under control in tamping down Manistee’s fire and coming away with a convincing 35-0 West Michigan Conference Lakes Division victory.

The game was played before a capacity crowd at Mariners Field on Friday night with the attraction of two undefeated and highly ranked teams.

Whitehall came in as the No. 1 team in Division 4, while the Mariners had risen to No. 2 in Division 6, but the game didn’t turn out to be the battle everyone envisioned.

Manistee got the ball first, after Whitehall won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, but couldn’t get its offense in gear and punted.

Recovering from a couple of penalties, something the Vikings became all too familiar with through the course of the game, Whitehall soon cashed in on its first possession when all-everything quarterback Kyle Stratton – 14-for-15 for 219 yards and three touchdowns – got them to the promised land with a 14-yard run at the 8:03 mark of the first quarter.

But the Mariners caught fire after that score and proceeded to march down the field. A facemask penalty on the Vikings gave the Mariners a golden opportunity at the Whitehall 1.

Facing a fourth-and-goal, the Mariners sent tailback Kaden Kott around the right end, but he didn’t even reach the spot needed for a first down and Manistee turned the ball over on downs.

Taking the ball from there the Vikings rolled down the field, and Stratton finished the long drive off with a 48-yard scoring strike to Trannon Aylor to build the Vikings lead to 14-0 in the second quarter.

Whitehall mounted a 21-0 lead later when Stratton hit Ca’Mar Ready, who missed last week’s game against Montague, with a 37-yard scoring strike.

But the Mariners then went on another drive, with this one ending inside the Whitehall 15. The Mariners got the ball into the red zone once more on the night.

Stratton threw yet another touchdown pass, this one to Malcolm Earvin for 37 yards and that gave the Vikings a 28-0 lead by the end of the first half. He added a 4-yard run in the third period.

In addition to his passing, Stratton was the Vikings leading rusher with 66 yards on 11 carries with two TDs. Earvin had 43 yards on three totes, Ryan Goodrich rushed for 33 yards and Ready had 19.

Parker Mott led the defense with 13 tackles, Jason Smith finished with nine tackles with one for a loss, Trenton TenBrock had nine tackles, Jamar Hill had eight tackles and one for loss, Everett Napier had seven tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss, Camden Thompson also had seven tackles.

Kaden Kott led the rushing for Manistee with 15 carries for 73 yards, followed by Nick Hornkohl with 24 yards on 10 carries and Isaiah Davis with 22 yards on six carries.

Defensive leaders were Hornkohl with 10 tackles, Caius Johns and Trevor Haag six each and Davis had a sack.

Whitehall (5-0, 2-0 WMC Lakes) hosts Oakridge next Friday in another conference matchup.

Manistee (4-1, 2-1 WMC Lakes) will host Ludington in another conference battle next Friday.

Photos by Joe Washington