The ‘refuse to lose’ Whitehall Vikings overcome Forest Hills Eastern, advance in Division 4 playoffs

By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

ADA – With a rash of injuries and then some incredibly bad luck which led to a 14-0 deficit, it would have been easy for Whitehall to quit on Friday night.

But for Camden Thompson and all of his senior teammates (including the injured ones who couldn’t play), giving up was not an option against host Ada Forest Hills Eastern.

“We had a bunch of seniors who didn’t want to be done,” said Thompson, a 6-5, 190-pound senior who put on a performance for the ages.

“That’s the best way I can put it. It was all grit. Everything was going wrong in that first half. We just needed something good to happen.”

Thompson delivered that spark on the final play of the first half, intercepting a pass on the 9-yard line and then bobbing and weaving 91 yards to bring the visiting Vikings back to within 14-7 – and completely swing the game’s momentum.

Whitehall carried that momentum into the final 24 minutes, completely dominating the second half – outscoring the Hawks 21-7 after halftime – to register a thrilling 28-21 win in a Division 4 pre-district game.

The Vikings (7-3) advance to play at Big Rapids (9-1) in a revenge game against the team which knocked them out last year.

“The way we came back is with everyone together,” explained 12th-year Whitehall coach Tony Sigmon. “This is a high school football team that believes in each other. We’ve had our ups and downs this year. We’ve had good things happen and we’ve had some heartache, too. But now we can continue to write our own story.”

The second half was a clinic of offensive line play as the Vikings scored touchdowns on three long scoring drives after halftime – including the game-winning drive which covered 68 yards in 11 plays and featured a pair of huge fourth-down conversions.

The first came from Thompson, who scrambled in Fran Tarkenton fashion, gaining 5.5 yards on fourth-and-5.

The second came with 11 seconds remaining, with the score tied 21-21 and the Vikings facing a fourth-and-2 at the 8-yard line.

Whitehall could have tried a field goal, as freshman kicker Judd Musk was 3-for-3 on extra-point kicks at that point. Or it could have tried a pass play, as Thompson was 3-for-3 through the air, including two connections with 6-4 junior Corde Anderson.

But the Vikings’ offensive line let the coaching staff know what they wanted to do.

“I’m so proud of our offensive line – those kids played their hearts out,” said Sigmon. “They looked us coaches in the eye and said: ‘Don’t you dare throw the ball.’

“When you look at your kids and they look back at you and you know you’re going to do this together; it’s great coaching that kind of group.”

Gavin Craner, a gritty senior state wrestling champion who didn’t even play in Week 9 due to an injury, took the handoff on that fourth-down play and ran straight behind senior left guard Jack Ambrose and senior left tackle Connor Nash, not only picking up the first down, but going the full 8 yards for what proved to be the game-winning score.

The other starters on the offensive line are junior center Jamison Jeffery, junior guard Jacob Alger and senior tackle Payton Ossenfort.

Forest Hills Eastern (7-3) had 11 seconds to try and come back, and actually completed one 11-yard pass play, but Jackson Arnold’s final pass was deflected and intercepted by – who else? – Thompson.

Thompson finished with 14 carries 114 yards and a touchdown, completed all three of his pass attempts, had two interceptions (one a 91-yard, pick-six), made seven tackles and forced a fumble.

“I’m going to tell you right now, Cam had a different look in his eye tonight,” Sigmon said.

Thompson, who has committed to play football and basketball next year at Western Michigan University, said it’s not about him, but about a whole senior class believing in each other – even after a humbling 49-7 loss at Portland last week.

“I love these guys,” Thompson said. “I trust them and they trust me. They know that each game right now could be their last time ever playing football, so they are leaving it all out on the field.”

Whitehall played without senior captains and two-way starters Parker Mott and Ryan Goodrich, as well as senior cornerback Abram Stout, who missed the game due to concussion protocol.

Craner was the workhorse on the ground, finishing with 22 carries for 139 yards and the game-winning score. Nate Betz added a 1-yard scoring run late in the third quarter which gave the visitors their first lead, 21-14.

Whitehall held a 314-268 edge in total yardage.

FHE played without starting senior quarterback Brendan Thompson, who was not dressed for undisclosed reasons. Arnold filled in admirably with 26 rushes for 143 yards and two TDs, but did throw two interceptions.

Drew Ferrick scored the other touchdown for the Hawks, scooping up a fumble by his older brother, Max, and then taking it the final 30 yards to give his team a 14-0 lead.

That wasn’t even the biggest break for the hosts on that drive, after they had a punt blocked by Anderson in the end zone, only to have Arnold pick it up and then complete a 34-yard pass to Noah Bartley for a first down.

Anderson also had six tackles, including two for loss. Junior cornerback Cody Manzo led the Vikings with eight tackles, Craner had five and Ambrose added four stops.