To start the second game of the season, the football team ran out with the American flag and the student section stood decked out in red, white and blue. This game brought another win at home as Whitman was bested 39-6.
Right off the bat, the score became 2-0. Whitman received the ball and went three and out. WJ was able to turn Whitman’s punt into a safety because they snapped the ball out of the back of the endzone.
The Wildcats were able to score offensively for the first time when junior quarterback Charlie Blessing connected with senior wide receiver Pablo Foley to get inside the 20 yard-line. Blessing then ran into the endzone for the touchdown.
“They were playing the pass. They had three over two of our guys which opened a lot of stuff up. They had six people on our receivers which made it five on seven. When the defense looks like that, chances are running the ball is successful,” Blessing said.
The Wildcats found the endzone again in the first quarter when freshman Dylan Byrd ran back a punt return for a touchdown.
“The reason I ran so successfully was because I was pushing myself at practice to become better and come Friday it paid off. The way I played against Whitman made me feel good about playing Quince Orchard away,” Byrd said.
Byrd continued to run the ball after Whitman quarterback Rohin Dahiya still struggled to find targets. He ran inside the five yard-line to allow senior kicker Kevin Lukash to make a field goal. This added to the Wildcats’ lead making the score 18-0 at the end of the first quarter.
“Against Whitman it felt like we had a lot more fun while still doing what we needed to do,” Lukash said.
To start the second quarter, senior wide receiver Christion Wright found the endzone for the first time this season after coming back from an injury.
“It was a lot of rust to fight off. Knowing that I’m a good player and playing a team that wasn’t as good as some of the ones we face was a lot of pressure to perform. The touchdown felt like any other one, I got that opportunity a couple of other times. I wasn’t as excited because I couldn’t get it done the other times I had a chance,” Wright said.
To end the first half Blessing scored two more rushing touchdowns and sophomore defensive lineman Jonny Fisher was able to get his second interception in as many games. The Vikings were scoreless in the first half as the Wildcats led 39-0.
“I can’t take all the credit for it. My teammate got to the quarterback and hit the ball up, I was lucky enough to get it. I’m glad the defense as a whole was able to show up and force a turnover,” Fisher said.
In the third quarter, WJ was able to bench some of their starters and allow senior quarterback Andrew Plotnick to take over. Towards the end of the third quarter, the Vikings scored their first touchdown of the season. They attempted a two-point conversion but were stopped. This left the final score of the game 39-6.
After a successful second game, the Wildcats look to keep their perfect record alive against the reigning state champion Quince Orchard Cougars (2-0). This will be WJ’s first away game of the season as they meet the Cougars and their “Red Army” at 6:30 pm on Friday, Sept. 16.
“We’re all going to have to come together and prepare for it but it’s nothing new, it’s just another week,” Wright said.
