Vikings
35
(1-0)
Patriots
30
(0-1)
6:30 PM, September 2, 2011
James A. Coles Field, Wootton
High School, Rockville, MD
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T |
|
WHI |
0 |
21 |
7 |
7 |
35 |
|
WOT |
10 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
30 |
Vikes Win Opening Night Barn Burner 35-30
Wayne Hunley
Rockville, MD - -
Late in the fourth quarter of an early season shootout, up five points facing third and 10 deep in Wooton territory, the whole stadium expected another Val Djidotor run. After all, Djidotor had averaged over 10 yards a run to that point and who could argue with trying to keep the clock going and keep Wootton’s brilliant quarterback, Chris Papadopolous, off the field. Coach Jim Kuhn took that opportunity to put the game in Michael Flack’s hands, catching the Pats flatfooted with play action and completing a 15 yard pass to Stephen Werner that put the game away. Whitman fans left the stadium excited and a little relieved to survive a brilliant night by Wootton’s quarterback, whose offensive heroics weren’t enough to overcome a 185 yard rushing effort by Val Djidotor, (not to mention another 150 yards combined from Flack and Arsalan Najad).
Wootton apparently did not read the preseason reports saying they have a depleted squad this year, quickly building a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Papadopolous did a lot of damage in two drives that bracketed a Whitman three and out. After the opening kickoff, he hit Curt Brooks on a 35 yard strike as he was being buried by Kyle Einwachter that set up a TD pass to Brooks three plays later. He hit Miles Green and Brooks later in the quarter setting up short field goal.
The momentum turned Whitman’s way in a furious second quarter that saw 28 combined points scored. The Vikes got the running game going and cut the lead to 10-6 on a 20 yard Djidotor run. Papadopolous then hit Mark Chang for a long gainer, with Josh Biel saving the touchdown with a tackle at the Vikes’ 20. This saved 7 points, as the Pats stalled and missed a field goal. That seemed to give Whitman’s offense a spark, as Flack immediately ran 60 yards. While the drive stalled, it left Wootton in bad field position, so when Zach Morton deflected two passes and forced a punt, the Vikes were in business at midfield. A 30 yard run by Djidotor and a TD run on a sweep by Nejad, followed by a two point conversion, put the Vikes up 14-6. With 3:40 left in the quarter, both teams managed to trade touchdowns, with Wootton quickly striking on a series of passes and Whitman hitting back with a quick scoring drive as the offensive line allowed Djidotor to quickly march them on a 65 yard drive for a crucial score that allowed Whitman to end the half with momentum and a four point lead.
Both teams punters might as well have showered at half time, as the second half was owned by the offenses. The teams basically traded touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters as Djidotor/Flack/Nejad ran at will, and Papadopolous scrambled and passed at will. Highlights included a 51 yard run by Djidotor on the opening drive of the half, and two scrambling fourth down conversion passes by Papadopolous to answer. Whitman finally took over with 6:07 left in the game (with good field position due to an Ian Himelfard return) and the offense decided that the best way to hold the lead was to not give the ball back to Papadopolous. The Vikes effectively ran out the clock with a punishing series of runs by Flack and Djidotor combined with the timely play action pass to Werner.
Whitman comes out of week one with a big win and a lot of confidence in its running game, scoring 35 points on a night where Flack only attempted 4 passes, including the final one to seal the game.