THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

The Whitney High football team got off to a slow start on the season, falling to Placer High in Auburn 42-28 last week. The Wildcats were dominant over the Hillmen through the air, but the Placer ground troops more than made up for the aerial advantage. Whitney quarterback Robert Jones connected on more than 50 percent of his passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns. The senior also threw no interceptions. State champion quarterback Michael Stuck of Placer also avoided interception, but completed only three passes for 43 yards and no TDs. However, the Hillmen ran for 420 yards and six touchdowns behind the strength of senior Marshall Chapman (19 carries, 124 yards) and junior Hans Grassman (19-170). “If you want to be high-level, then you have to play high-level teams,” said Whitney head coach Zac McNally. “The biggest jump for every team is from game one to game two and we’re just looking to see how these boys respond. We’re gonna see what we’re made of this year playing some really tough teams.” Next up for the ‘Cats is Central from Fresno for Whitney’s home debut. If Placer was tough, the Grizzlies may be even tougher. Loaded for bear, Central nearly shut out Edison 35-7 and Thrashed Grant 54-12. The Pacers are also new to the Sierra Foothill League this season. With the score 14-6 at the half, Grant appeared a good match for the Grizzlies. However, Central caught fire for 27 points in the third quarter and another 13 to close out the game. Grizzles’ quarterback Trent Tompkins may not be the hottest college recruit, but he is efficient. He has only one interception against nine touchdowns and has accounted for 282 of Centrals yards so far. Giving him a good target is junior Jeremiah Hunter, who has accounted for all but 100 of Tompkins yards. Hunter also has five TDs. The Grizzlies are gaining 220 yards a game on the ground. They have three good backs, including Tompkins. His favorite running mate is junior Quali Conley, who has been averaging almost 95 yards after two games. Tre Maxwell also gives Tompkins someone to hand the ball to and averages almost 8 yards per carry. Central has only coughed the ball up once in the early going. The team’s takeaway ratio is 4:1. Defense may be the toughest nut to crack when playing Central. The Grizz have 10 sacks so far and seven players have at least a half sack to their credit. Senior outside linebacker Dominic Mendez leads the club with 4 ½ sacks. For obvious reasons, Central has not have a field goal attempt this season, but kicker Juan Cuevas is 11-for-11 in point-after attempts. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday; after the JV game, set for 4:30.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WILDCATS OPEN WITH LOSS AT PLACER

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 8/29/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Linsdau