Zimmerman, MN – Behind Thomas McEachern’s five touchdown runs, Zimmerman knocked off the White Hawks 34-19 in a Skyway Green Subdistrict game on Friday night. Senior Cade Newell led Westonka offensively with a pair of touchdown tosses, both to senior receiver Brandt Tebbs, and also added a rushing TD.

Following a White Hawks punt on the opening possession of the game, the Thunder drove inside Westonka territory, but on 4th and 16 from the White Hawks 42-yard line, Tebbs would be stride-for-stride on a deep ball into the end zone forcing a turnover on downs. Another Newell punt gave the ball back to Zimmerman, and two long runs thereafter set the Thunder up inside the Westonka 35-yard line. But what has been the case all year for the White Hawks defense, they would force another fourth down attempt on their side of midfield. But, this time, McEachern would somehow avoid three White Hawks rushers and roll around the left side escaping for a 31-yard touchdown. The extra-point gave them a 7-0 lead with 1:59 to play in the first quarter.

Tebbs returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards down to the Westonka 44-yard line. A big 28-yard run by Blake Reinbold moved the ball inside the red zone, however the Thunder defense would stuff the first two plays at the line-of-scrimmage. Newell was then pushed out of the pocket on 3rd down and his throw was batted in the air and intercepted by a Zimmerman defensive lineman. Six plays later, the Thunder responded going 74 yards behind a 25-yard screen pass and a 40-yard touchdown run by McEachern (18 carries, 162 yards). On the play, McEachern went off right tackle before bouncing it to the outside and down the sideline before cutting back in at the goal line. With 7:04 remaining in the first half, Zimmerman led 14-0.

The White Hawks took over at the 35-yard line after Zimmerman’s kickoff went out of bounds. On the second play, Newell faked a handoff and then zipped a pass down the left seam to Tebbs who outraced the defenders for the 65-yard touchdown grab. Newell would get stopped on the two-point conversion cutting the lead to 14-6 midway through the 2nd quarter. “Cade and Brandt were really in sync with each other on Friday night. It was really fun to see them connect multiple times for some really big plays”, stated White Hawks head coach Nick David.

Zimmerman (5-2, 4-1) came right back using the ground attack on an 8 play, 65 yard drive culminating in another McEachern rushing touchdown leading to a 21-6 halftime lead.

The Thunder received the second half kickoff and proceeded to march down the field, running the ball on 10 consecutive plays, and once again McEachern would hit paydirt darting in from 31-yards out. The extra point snap was botched, and Westonka stopped the ensuing pass to keep the score at 27-6. After a Westonka punt, Zimmerman used another long, sustained drive going 80 yards on 10 plays with McEachern scampering in from 12 yards out increasing their advantage to 34-6 with 10:44 to play in the 4th quarter. “Zimmerman is a really talented team with several players at key positions that have been starters for the past three years. We were really pleased with how our boys continued to fight all night long”, said David.

The White Hawks got good field position after a short kickoff and was able to pick up a couple of first downs on throws by Newell to junior Eli Klein-Wyman and Wyatt Stepanek, but the drive stalled at the Zimmerman 31-yard line as Newell’s 4th down pass to Tebbs was just out of reach and would fall incomplete at the 6-yard line.

Blake Reinbold made the defensive play of the game for the White Hawks after the turnover on downs, when he hit Thunder backup QB Carter Milless and ripped the ball out along the Zimmerman sideline and then recovered it. Reinbold then broke off a 14-yard run on 2nd down taking the ball inside the Thunder 35-yard line. On 4th and 6 from the 30, Tebbs made a diving grab along the Westonka sideline giving the White Hawks a first down at the 5-yard line. On the next play, Newell went around the right end and plowed in for the score with 3:58 to play. The extra point was blocked leaving the score at 34-12.

Westonka got the ball back, and after a pass interference call on Zimmerman, Newell would throw to Tebbs once more on a pass across the middle for the 12-yard TD. Ole Bettin kicked the extra point for his first ever PAT.

Offensively for the White Hawks, Newell finished with 129 yards passing with two touchdowns and the lone interception. Reinbold led the ground game with 35 yards on six carries. Tebbs picked up 102 yards on three receptions which included the two TD’s.

Linebacker Andrew Hoisington (11 tackles, 2 TFL’s, QB sack) and defensive lineman Dawson Leinfelder (5 tackles) both had an impact on the defensive side of the ball. Phil Pisarchuk tallied six tackles including a tackle-for-loss and a QB sack. Anders Mjelstad finished with 9 tackles and 2 TFL’s, while Newell had 8 tackles from his cornerback position. Reinbold had 6 tackles which included the forced fumble and recovery. Tebbs had a career-high and game-high 15 tackles with one TFL and a pass defended.

Westonka (2-5, 2-3) will conclude the regular season this Wednesday at Haddorff Field taking on Hutchinson at 7pm as they celebrate their seniors. The Senior Night celebration will begin at 6:45pm.