For the fifth consecutive year, the Battle of Hill County belonged to the Whitney Wildcats.
With a capacity crowd filling Wildcat Stadium, Whitney jumped on rival Hillsboro early Friday night and never let up, rolling to a 68-26 victory over the Class 4A Eagles.
The Wildcats improved to 2-1 with a balanced effort that featured big plays from their offense and plenty of pressure from the defense.
Quarterback Kobe Haynes once again was at the center of it all. The playmaker had a hand in Whitney’s first seven touchdowns with four rushing scores and three end zone tosses.
Whitney opened the scoring after Jordan McGill recovered a Hillsboro fumble at the Wildcats’ 43-yard line. Haynes immediately kicked the offense into gear, orchestrating a scoring drive and running 4 yards for a touchdown that gave Whitney a 7-0 lead.
The Wildcats quickly seized the momentum on the ensuing kickoff by jumping on a loose ball that hit off an Eagle. On the next play, Hayes spotted Rex Gatlin in the corner of the end zone to put Whitney ahead 13-0.
Hillsboro answered with a 36-yard touchdown run from Braylon Benson, but Whitney refused to entertain any thought of letting the Eagles in the game.
On the next drive, Haynes threw a 47-yard touchdown bullet to Keegan Estill and pushed the advantage to 20-6.
The teams traded possessions back and forth, and Hillsboro’s Benson barreled to two more Eagle scores in the first half, but Whitney repeatedly had offensive responses both on the ground and in the air. Running backs Edgar Sanchez and Joshua Richters put their heads down, and receivers like KJ O’Hearn, Jaxon Landrum and Jacaiden Overstreet found openings in the Eagles secondary.
Midway through the second quarter Haynes racked up a 19-yard touchdown to make it 27-13, then found Fisher Watson for a 10-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 34-20.
Still hungry, the Wildcats forced a quick punt. Haynes then fired to Watson again to set up another score when Haynes powered into the end zone from 2 yards out.
With a 40-20 lead, Whitney continued to dominate the game in the second half.
There was a brief scoring stall in the third quarter, but Haynes kept at it and added an 11-yard touchdown run to light up the scoreboard.
Hillsboro answered with a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to make it 47-26, but the Wildcats smashed any comeback dreams.
On the next drive, Sanchez scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, then added another rushing touchdown after Estill intercepted a Hillsboro pass and returned it to the Eagles’ 16-yard line.
Richters capped the fourth- quarter scoring frenzy with a 7-yard touchdown run, giving the Wildcats their final 68-26 margin.
The night was another strong showing from Haynes, but it was hardly a one-player performance. Whitney consistently found production from multiple running backs and receivers while the defense created turnovers, delivered big tackles and repeatedly forced Hillsboro into difficult situations.
After a heartbreaking 62-61 loss to Cameron Yoe the previous week, the Wildcats responded with a complete performance against their rival.
Now Whitney gets one final non-district test before district play begins.
The Wildcats travel to Gatesville next Friday to face the larger Class 4A Hornets, who edged China Spring 41-37 last week. It will be another opportunity for Whitney to test itself against a bigger program before turning its full attention to district play.
For now, though, the Battle of Hill County belongs to Whitney.
Player of the Game
This week’s Player of the Game is senior Keegan Estill. The hard-nosed player excelled on both sides of the ball with a standout touchdown reception in the first half, followed by a great interception in the second half against the rival Hillsboro Eagles.
The Lakelander 