THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

As advertised, the ninth playing of the annual Quarry Bowl between host Rocklin and visiting Whitney was an exciting game but not necessarily well-played. The Thunder claimed their seventh Quarry Bowl win, 31-21, but had to do so by overcoming myriad penalties and mistakes. “Basically, it was weird; it was ugly,” said Rocklin head coach Greg Benzel after the game. “I told the guys, ‘Hey, we’re not going to talk about the negative stuff. We got the W, but we have a lot of work to do.’” Both clubs have one week to clean things up before playing their second Sierra Foothill League game Friday. The Thunder travel to Oak Ridge (3-1) and then host Folsom (4-1) Sept. 28. The Bulldogs handed the Trojans their first loss last week, 62-6. Whitney will take a short trip to Loomis to take on Del Oro (5-0), who were 42-7 winners over Granite Bay. “We just missed a few opportunities, just two or three key plays. (Rocklin) made them and we didn’t,” said Whitney offensive coordinator Kevin Lupina. “We’re young, so will we make them in the future? I think we will. We just have to learn to make the big play and that’s kind of where we’re at.” The early part of the Quarry Bowl was a touchdown-for-touchdown showdown. The Thunder scored first on a 50-yard Cade Wyant-to-Daniel Roberts pass. Whitney came back in the second quarter and tied things up when Robert Jones snuck in from two yards out. Rocklin came right back to go 69 yards, capped by Wyant’s sneak into the end zone, giving the Thunder a 14-7 halftime lead. The Thunder took the second-half kickoff to the Wildcats’ 46, where they had to punt. But instead, the snap went over Wyant’s head and ended up at Rocklin’s 36-yard line. It took the ‘Cats eight plays, but they tied the game, 14-14, on Nick Miller’s 3-yard run. Rocklin then marched 80 yards and scored on Wyant’s 33-yard pass to Mason Becker heading into the final period. The Thunder pretty much put a stamp on the game when Liam Mays put a 33-yard field goal through the uprights with 5:21 remaining. Cole Douglas helped kill a Whitney drive with an interception. Rocklin moved the ball to midfield and pinned Whitney on their 18 with a punt. Jones then threw three incomplete passes, but the ‘Cats decided to go for it as the clock ticked down. At 2:38-and-counting, Thunder linebacker Douglas Barnes broke through to sack Jones at the 8. On the next play, Sawyer Skerl ran eight yards for the score, but the play was called back. “This is not how we envisioned tonight taking place,” said Benzel. “From that perspective, we’ve got a ways to go. I don’t want to say we took a step backward tonight, but it felt kind of like it.” In spite of the penalty, Wyant found Becker in the end zone for a second score and a 31-14 Rocklin lead. Whitney then took the ball 65 yards, capped by a Jones-to-Bryce Rufin TD pass to put the score at 31-21 as time expired. “I was a player once, and I played on some teams in college that weren’t very good, so I’ve been through it,” Lupina said. “We just have to be positive; like I say, we’re very young. We have 16 juniors and sophomores starting for us, so the future is bright.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

ROCKLIN GETS BY WHITNEY, 31-21, IN QUARRY BOWL

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 9/19/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Whitney High School Athletics