The Whitney Wildcats came out swinging against the Little River Academy Bumblebees Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.
It was the Wildcats’ final non-district contest, and the eye-opening 76-30 victory showcased why Whitney will be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the season.
The Wildcats will have an off-week before kicking off the District 5-3A schedule in Grandview on October 11. A constant threat to make a playoff run, Grandview has stumbled out of the gates with a 2-3 record against a stacked schedule of opponents.
Whitney, winner of three straight, currently sits at 4-1 and is averaging an impressive 46 points per game. Joining the Wildcats and Zebras in the newly aligned district is Groesbeck (4-1), West (3-2), Maypearl (3-2) and Mexia (2-3).
Against Academy, Whitney swarmed the Bumblebees with a fast and furious first-quarter effort that featured five touchdowns.
The whirlwind kicked off on the game’s first possession with Whitney’s Jaxon Landrum returning an interception for a 40-yard score. However, Academy charged right back on the shoulders of running back Brian Grisson. Grisson found the end zone for the first of his three scores, and the junior ended up with more than 200 yards.
He was one of the few bright spots for the Bumblebees as they failed to find a way to keep up with the Wildcats. It also didn’t hurt that Whitney could rely on a dynamite running-back attack of its own.
Jontae Johnson once again starred for the Wildcats with three touchdowns in the first frame. Johnson zig-zagged around the field with a lethal combination of speed and power. His scores were complemented by an onside kick recovery and a scoring bomb from Mason Seely to Kobe Haynes. The Bumblebees fought for two additional touchdowns, but when the dust settled, Whitney took a 34-21 lead into the second quarter.
Whitney’s defense then stepped up the intensity, applying pressure and producing several momentum-stopping sacks that stalled Academy. The Bumblebees mustered a lone field goal before the half, while Whitney’s Delvion Walker collected two rushing touchdowns.
Up 47-24 at the half, the Wildcats came out the locker room minus Johnson, who was injured near the end of the second quarter and unable to return.
Still, Whitney kept on trucking in the third quarter and punishing Academy with the run game. From the quarterback slot, Seely danced around the field and led the team, scoring twice to stretch the lead to 61-24.
Academy found the end zone to close the quarter, but it was too little too late.
Seely was in the zone and the defense was still hungry. Seely connected with KJ O’hearn for an 18-yard score, and then a sack from Whitney’s Javonte Cook was followed by a fumble recovery from Jordan McGill on the door step of Academy’s end zone. Seely then trotted into the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown and then closed out the game with a two-point completion to Kaden Tanner.
Player of the Game
This week’s player of the game is junior Delvion Walker. The junior stepped up in the second quarter with two rushing touchdowns and anchored the Wildcats’ ground game in the second half against Little River Academy.
The Lakelander 