Greyhounds ‘physically rip’ Karns City in win
Wilmington (55) vs. Karns City (9)
Written: Nov 06, 2009
By TODD KRISE
t_krise@ncnewsonline.com
KARNS CITY — Sutton Whiting wants a Division I baseball scholarship next year.
The Wilmington High junior better hope college scouts didn’t see his throw to fellow running back Derrick Burns last night.
Whiting’s wounded duck was the only mistake Wilmington made in a 55-9 trouncing of Karns City in nonregion action.
Well, if you consider a 28-yard completion a failure.
“I didn’t take off my gloves,” Whiting joked, “so I guess I’ll use that as an excuse.”
The halfback pass was one of the Greyhounds’ first 10 plays of the game — four of which were converted into scores.
Wilmington (9-1), which tied Sharon but won the District 10, Region 3-AA title because of its win over the Tigers, will begin the playoffs next week. Matchups will be announced tomorrow.
“We worked hard all week because we need to step up for the playoffs,” said senior Sean Christofferson, who corralled a third-quarter sack. “We looked at this as a playoff game.”
Last season, Karns City ruined the ’Hounds’ perfect season with a 22-21 win at Wilmington. Last night, the ’Hounds handed the Gremlins (8-2) just their third loss in the regular season since 2005.
“We wanted to come out and smack them,” said Whiting, who collected 114 yards and two touchdowns on five carries. He also caught another 55-yard touchdown. “They beat us on our Senior Night, so we were out to get them.”
Wilmington’s 5-foot-8, 155-pound sparkplug ignited the ’Hounds’ rout with a 77-yard score on the team’s second play from scrimmage.
Not to be outdone, Burns galloped 55 yards for Wilmington’s second score on its next possession.
Whiting and Burns added one more score each in the second quarter for a 28-3 halftime lead.
“They came to play,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said of his team. “There’s no doubt about that. They were hitting tonight and that’s the mode you got to get into going into the playoffs.”
Wilmington opened up the passing game in the third quarter thanks to two long completions by quarterback Jake DeMedal. The first was his 55-yard touchdown to Whiting, followed by a 33-yard connection with Burns that set up a Josh Phillian 1-yard score.
Junior running back Jake DeVido added a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth, and Ethan Kaufman notched Wilmington’s eighth score of the game with a 40-yard interception return.
“We got physically ripped tonight,” Karns City coach Ed Conto said. “They took advantage of everything we did wrong. They just kicked our butts. They were a lot better than us tonight, that’s for sure.
“I expected them to give us a hell of a game. But I didn’t expect that.”
Christofferson and Whiting both agreed that Wilmington will need to raise the intensity level at practice next week if the ’Hounds want to successfully defend their PIAA Class AA championship.
“It has to be more intense for them,” Verrelli said. “It’s mentally where they’ve got to step it up.”
WILMINGTON KARNS CITY
11 First downs 8
310 Yards Rushing 98
2 Yards Lost 30
308 Net Rushing 68
5 Passes Attempted 9
4 Passes Completed 6
0 Passes Intercepted 2
119 Yards Passing 87
427 Total Yards 155
2-0 Fumbles-Lost 3-2
3-27 Punts-Average 3-27
6-45 Penalties-Yards 1-10
WILMINGTON 14 14 14 13 —55
KARNS CITY 3 0 0 6— 9
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON — Sutton Whiting, 77-yard run (Bryce Wilson kick)
KARNS CITY — Zach Kepple, 30-yard field goal
WILMINGTON — Derrick Burns, 55-yard run (Wilson kick)
WILMINGTON — Whiting, 20-yard run (Wilson kick)
WILMINGTON — Burns, 4-yard run (Wilson kick)
WILMINGTON — Whiting, 55-yard pass from Jake DeMedal (Wilson kick)
WILMINGTON — Josh Phillian, 1-yard run (Wilson kick)
WILMINGTON — Jake DeVido, 3-yard run (Brandon Ryder kick)
WILMINGTON — Ethan Kaufman, 40-yard interception return (kick failed)
KARNS CITY — Jesse Garing, 75-yard kickoff return (kick failed)
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