By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

WHITEHALL – When Trannon Aylor moved to Whitehall 10 years ago, the first kid that he met was Kyle Stratton.

Ten years later, the duo are best friends and a lethal passing combination for unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Whitehall, with Aylor hauling in touchdown passes of 31 yards and 57 yards on Friday in a 48-7 rout of visiting West Michigan Conference-Lakes Division rival Oakridge.

“We know each other so well,” explained Aylor, one of a myriad of offensive weapons for the Vikings.

“We have a bond and it definitely translates onto the field. We know what each other is thinking.”

Whitehall quarterback Kyle Stratton. Photo/Leo Valdez

Whitehall, 6-0 and 3-0 in the WMC Lakes, had five different players score touchdowns – Ryan Goodrich (two 15-yard runs), Ca’Mar Ready (35-yard pass), Malcolm Earvin (50-yard pass), Darnell Mack (35-yard run) and Aylor.

The Vikings built a 20-0 lead, before Oakridge got on the scoreboard as time expired in the first half on a 26-yard strike from Evan Miller to Michael Wambaugh, making it 20-7 at the break.

Oakridge (3-3, 2-2) looked like it had a chance to get closer early in the third quarter, forcing the Vikings into a third-and-long situation. But that’s when Stratton connected with Aylor on a 57-yard scoring pass to break the Eagles’ backs.

That score opened the floodgates, as Whitehall held a 28-0 scoring edge in the second half.

“We challenged our offensive linemen at halftime,” said 11th-year Whitehall coach Tony Sigmon. “I was very happy that offensively we were able to get so many players involved – that is a big deal to us.”

Sigmon, himself an offensive lineman back in his prep days at DeWitt, praised the play of his offensive line as a unit, which is made up of senior center Blake Morningstar, junior guards Jack Ambrose and Parker Mott, junior tackle Connor Nash and senior tackle Kadin Waller.

Those leaders up front allowed Stratton to do his thing, which is orchestrating the Vikings’ attack with his arm and legs.

Stratton completed 9-of-14 passes for 210 yards (an average of 23 yards per completion), with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran nine times for 67 yards.

“Kyle has made it a point of emphasis to keep his eyes up downfield and get those guys the ball,” Sigmon said. “There’s different guys to choose from and that’s the luxury that we have right now.”

Photo/Leo Valdez

Those guys that Stratton gets the ball to include tall wideouts Aylor (6-3) and junior Camden Thompson (6-5), who was serving a suspension and missed Friday’s game, speedy slotbacks Earvin and Ready and dependable runners Mack and Goodrich.

Aylor, Earvin and Ready all had three catches, while Mack carried five times for 59 yards and Goodrich four times for 57 yards.

“You never know who’s going to have a great game on any given night,” said Aylor, a standout basketball player who also won the Division 2 400-meter dash state title in June with a time of 48.83 seconds. “Our offense can do so many things. We will come away from a win like this and still feel like we have 10 more things to work on.”

Whitehall was also very solid defensively, nearly getting its third-straight shutout after back-to-back, 35-0 wins over Montague and Manistee.

Waller led the Vikings with 10 tackles and Goodrich had six stops from his linebacker position. Trenton TenBrock, Jamar Hill and Mott each made five tackles and Aylor added an interception.

Trever Jones, the area’s leading rusher who now has 1,016 rushing yards on the season (170 yards per game), had to work for every yard on Friday with 24 carries for 109 yards. Miller finished 4-of-10 for 51 yards, with one TD and one interception.

The Eagles were led defensively by Brayden Peterson, Arnando Raap and Jullian Primmer with four tackles apiece.

Whitehall, which actually landed in Division 5 but is electing to play up in Division 4, plays at Ludington next week, before finishing the regular season with conference home games against Fremont and Orchard View.

Oakridge, which is in Division 5, finishes the season with three straight rivalry games – at home next week against Orchard View, at Ravenna and back at home against Montague.

Photos by Leo Valdez