Whitnall Overcomes Tosa West in Overtime, 13-10

A gutsy play on fourth down kept Whitnall undefeated in the Woodland Conference and Wauwatosa West searching for answers.  The Falcons scored the winning points in overtime to beat the Trojans, 13-10, Friday.

Travis Karweik bullied his way into the end zone on Whitnall’s first possession in the overtime.  And the senior running back was confident that he would cross the goal line.

“When I was looking at it,” said Karweik, “I saw that it was basically wide open.  I just knew that (Receiver) Mike (Bonin) and (Offensive lineman Alex) Sterling was going to seal it for sure.  There was no doubt.”

The Falcons (3-1 overall, 3-0 conference) needed 10 plays to reach the end zone in the extra session.  It was the confidence in the offensive line and senior quarterback Luke Mentkowski that got the job done.  Now they’re on top of the mountain.

“I got confidence in our offense,” Whitnall coach Rob Leboeuf said.  “Our guys know that that’s how I call the game.  I got confidence in them, and hopefully it helps them play a little bit better.”

Tosa West (1-3, 1-2) won the coin flip to receive the ball first in overtime with the game tied at 7-7 at the end of regulation.  Each team had four downs to score from 25 yards.  The Trojans, who were stopped at the 8-yard line on third down, settled for a 25-yard field goal from junior Mickey Morgan to give the visitors a 10-7 lead.

The Falcons converted on their first fourth down on their possession to keep the drive alive.  On the next play, Bonin’s 9-yard reception from Mentkowski took Whitnall from the 14 to the 5.  The Falcons ran the ball to the 1-inch line.  Unable to move the ball after three tries, a final push from Karweik sent the team into a jubilant celebration on the field.

“I knew that if we did go to overtime, our defense was good enough to stop them,” Mentkowski said.  “Our defense wins us this game today.”

Both teams scored their points in the first half.  Karweik scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for Whitnall with 3 minutes 4 seconds remaining in the first quarter to lead 7-0.  In the second quarter, with 5:38 left, Morgan ran 22 yards to the end zone to tie the game at 7-7. 

The Falcons had a chance to put the game away in the second half.  They got as far as the Tosa West 5-yard line in the third quarter and went for it on fourth down instead of trying a field goal.

“We like our kicker (Manuel Schumann) quite a bit,” Leboeuf said.  “He’s very good with extra points.  He is a backup.  Our starting kicker is out for the season.”

For the Trojans, it was a letdown, but they will bounce back.  “We tell our kids all year that we want to be in there at the end, and we were there at the end,” coach Matt Good said.

Leboeuf would expect nothing less than a dogfight when these two teams play.  “We always have good games,” he said.  “I think the only time that it was lopsided was in 2007 at our place.  But, after that, it’s always been a really hard-fought, tough football game every year.”

Karweik was the game’s leading rusher with 114 yards.  Stephen Pelkofer had 87 receiving yards for Whitnall and Mentkowski was 13-for-21 for 119 yards and an interception.  Greg Lewis led Tosa West with 62 yards on the ground.