Big Lake, MN – Westonka built a sizable lead going into the fourth quarter but had to hang on in a 32-30 victory at Big Lake on Friday night. Junior Blake Reinbold’s 154 yards from scrimmage and quarterback Cade Newell’s three touchdowns propelled the White Hawks to a 32-6 lead going into the final stanza.
The White Hawks took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards in 10 plays with Newell capping off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The biggest play of the drive had Newell finding Reinbold for a gain of 28 yards across the middle which took the ball to the 10-yard line. Newell then hit senior slot receiver, Brandt Tebbs, for the two-point conversion giving Westonka the 8-0 lead with just under 8 minutes still to play in the first quarter.
The Hornets would come right back down the field going 67 yards in eight plays with speedster Montell Hester going around right end for the 22-yard score. Westonka senior linebacker, Andrew Hoisington, stopped the two-point run holding the lead at 8-6. It would be the only points Big Lake could muster over the next two quarters.
Newell would anchor the next Westonka possession, carrying the ball three times for 22 yards and also finding Reinbold on a quick toss to the right that picked up 10 yards, setting up the White Hawks in plus territory. After a Hornets timeout, Newell would find a wide open Tebbs for his first career touchdown on a 27-yard play down the left sideline. The extra point was missed but extended the lead to 14-6 with four minutes to play in the first quarter. “Brandt had a huge night on offense for us. His role has grown more and more each week on offense and he is playing at a really high level”, said head coach Nick David.
Big Lake would get great field position after a good kickoff return, setting them up near midfield. On the first play, Hester took a handoff on an end around and was able to get to the left sideline before Tebbs made a potential touchdown saving tackle, barely tripping him up from behind at the 31-yard line. The Hornets would drive down to the Westonka 5-yard line using a well designed screen pass and a mix of runs. On first and goal, White Hawks sophomore linebacker Dane Sewell would stop Hester at the 2-yard line. A false start penalty would move the ball back to the 7-yard line, but another run stop up the middle set up 3rd and goal. Big Lake would try to get Hester to the outside again, but Tebbs and Hoisington would combine for the 1-yard tackle-for-loss. On fourth down, Hornets quarterback, Dillon Spaeth, rolled to his left but Tebbs’ tight coverage forced an underthrow and an incompletion.
Westonka had their best offensive output of the season amassing 385 yards and it wasn’t slowed on their next possession, as Newell found Reinbold, Tebbs and junior tight end, Carter Holappa, for big gains in the passing game. However, the drive would stall at the Big Lake 17-yard line allowing Leif Hagen to connect on his first ever field goal, hitting from 34 yards. The Hornets would connect on a 66-yard pass play on the first play after the kickoff as Spaeth found Caleb Martin down the left sideline. A great hustle play from linebacker Anders Mjelstad saved the touchdown. Once again, Big Lake would face a fourth down inside the 10-yard line and this time senior defensive lineman Dawson Leinfelder would stonewall Hester for a tackle-for-loss and a turnover on downs.
Westonka drove 74 yards down to the 14-yard line, but Hagen would miss a 31-yard field goal try with 14 seconds left in the first half. The White Hawks would take the 17-6 advantage into halftime.
On the Hornets’ first possession of the second half, they would get down to the Westonka 35-yard line, but Jack Midas would drop a long Spaeth pass near the goal line on fourth down, turning the ball over once more. Big Lake would force the first punt on the night after stopping Westonka on three plays. The Hornets would move the ball down the field again utilizing the running of Hester (12 carries, 99 yards) and Carter Stromberg (15 carries, 89 yards). But would face another fourth down inside Westonka territory. On the play, Spaeth would find tight coverage on his receivers which forced a scramble allowing senior linebacker Mason Merritt to clean up for the 10-yard sack. It would be the fourth 4th down stop on the night. “We have a lot of things to clean up on defense from last week. We need to be better than a bend but don’t break defense if we are going to compete at a high level”, stated head coach Nick David.
Reinbold would make the offensive play of the night for the White Hawks on the ensuing series, snaring a high pass while turning and avoiding the defender before breaking to the outside and scoring down the right sideline. Hagen’s extra-point made it 24-6 with 7 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. Two plays later, Mjelstad would come up with the defensive play of the game when he picked off Spaeth near the line-of-scrimmage and rumbled into the end zone for the 20-yard interception return. Newell walked in untouched on the 2-pt conversion leaving Westonka with a commanding 32-6 lead in the third quarter.
Big Lake would answer with a 6-yard TD run by Abrahm Koop with ten minutes to play and then get a fourth down stop of their own on the White Hawks next drive holding Newell for no gain at the Hornets 10-yard line with just 4:21 to play in the game. Big Lake would take advantage going 90 yards on 7 plays culminating in a Spaeth to Danny Rotz 29-yard touchdown. Spaeth threw for the two-point try and suddenly it was 32-22 with 2 1/2 minutes left.
The White Hawks fans would have to hold their breaths over those last two plus minutes as Big Lake recovered an onside kick and used three straight completions to march down to the Westonka 5-yard line. Stromberg would score off the left side and a Spaeth-to-Rotz two-point conversion suddenly made it a two point game with 1:36 to play. On the ensuing kickoff, Hoisington would snag the onside kick but in an obscure high school rule, Big Lake was penalized five yards but allowed to re-kick due to being offsides. It is considered a dead ball as soon as the ball is kicked. And on the second attempt, the ball only traveled five yards giving Westonka possession with 1:34 to play. The Hornets were out of timeouts, so Westonka lined up in victory formation for the last three plays, escaping with the 32-20 win.
The 221 yards rushing for the White Hawks was a season-high, while Newell (15 carries, 65 yards) threw for a career-high 187 yards and two touchdowns. Tebbs (4 rushes, 24 yards) and Reinbold (10 carries, 52 yards) both caught five balls for 66 yards and 102 yards, respectively. Sophomore running back Wyatt Stepanek led Westonka with 72 yards on 11 carries.
Leinfelder controlled the line-of-scrimmage on both sides of the ball, but was most effective defensively tallying six tackles, a TFL and a sack. Hoisington had a team-high 12 tackles and three tackles-for-loss. Tebbs finished with 10 tackles, two TFL’s and a pass defended. Reinbold stepped up with 9 tackles and Mjelstad had 8 tackles, a TFL, and the pick-six TD. Sophomore cornerback Max French chipped in with six tackles, while Holappa finished with four tackles. Senior Mason Merritt returned from injury picking up three tackles, a TFL and a QB sack. Will Pioske also had three tackles and a pass defended. Big Phil Pisarchuk had three tackles and two tackles-for-loss.
The White Hawks return to Haddorff Field this Friday night for this year’s Homecoming game. The game is slated for a 7:00pm kickoff while Homecoming festivities will begin with a parade at 5:00pm.
