UPDATE:
The White Hawks defeated Providence Academy 28-27 in dramatic fashion Tuesday night in the Section 6AAAA Quarterfinals. They face Orono in the Section Semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. at Orono.
Minnetrista, MN – The final regular season game for Westonka football was what you would expect weather wise for October football games in Minnesota. A cold, light mist fell throughout the contest as Hutchinson racked up 421 yards on the ground in a convincing 46-21 win at Haddorff Field in a non-subdistrict game. The Tiger’s sophomore running back, Kyle Bell, rushed for 234 of those yards on 26 carries.
Hutchinson received the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in 9 plays with running back Landon Teetzel going the last 8 yards for the touchdown. Westonka senior defensive lineman, Dawson Leinfelder, tripped up Bell short of the goal line on the 2-pt conversion making it 6-0 with 7:38 left in the first quarter. A short kickoff gave the White Hawks great field position after Emmitt Johnson’s return to the Westonka 39-yard line. However, the offense could not get things going thus forcing a punt.
This time the Tigers used a 28-yard run by Bell off the left side which moved the ball into Westonka territory, and then a 35-yard scoot up the middle by fullback Jack Maiers giving Hutchinson another quick score just 8 minutes into the game. The Tiger’s two-point pass fell incomplete giving them a 12-0 lead. Once again, Johnson caught the short kickoff and returned it to the White Hawks 41-yard line. Hutchinson’s defense forced another punt attempt, but this time Westonka quarterback Cade Newell rolled out to punt but found Blake Reinbold for six yards and a first down. Reinbold made a great leaping catch along the right sideline. Four plays later, Newell would pick up another first down on an 11-yard run. A holding penalty pushed Westonka back, but on 1st-and-20, Newell scrambled to his right and found Brandt Tebbs, who juked to his left and outraced the defenders to the left pylon for a 29-yard score. Newell hit Carter Holappa for the 2-pt try, cutting the deficit to 12-8 with 11:18 to play in the second quarter.
Another nine play touchdown drive (and 2-pt conversion) by the Tigers pushed the lead back to 12 points. But Westonka would respond once again as running back Wyatt Stepanek would escape down the Tiger’s sideline for a 66-yard touchdown. Bruno Pomsel’s extra point cut the lead to 20-15 with 5:09 left in the first half. The White Hawks’ defense stiffened on Hutch’s next possession, however Reinbold was called for a very questionable pass interference along the Tiger’s sideline giving Hutchinson a first down at the Westonka 48-yard line. The White Hawks would force a fourth down, so Hutchinson decided to go for it at the Westonka 43-yard line. Quarterback Graydon Rostberg lofted a pass to TE Luke Ostlie around the 25-yard line, where Tebbs broke up the initial pass, but the Tigers’ Teetzel, who ran the same route as Ostlie, ended up with the deflection and ran the remaining yards for the improbable TD with just over two minutes remaining in the half. Hutchinson led 26-15 at the half. “Our defense was really starting to play well in the 2nd quarter and was matching Hutch’s physicality. It is so frustrating when your players are in perfect position to make a play, and they do, but then something lucky happens for the other team, like on their TD catch”, said Westonka Head Coach Nick David.
On the first play of the second half, Newell tried to find Reinbold down the left seam, but Teetzel stepped in front of the pass and went 25-yards for the pick-six touchdown and a 33-15 advantage. The White Hawks moved the ball inside the Hutchinson 30-yard line, however, Teetzel jumped in front of another pass at the 8-yard line and returned it back to the Westonka 36-yard line. Six plays later, Bell punched it in from the 4-yard line for a 40-15 lead late in the third quarter.
Following a Westonka punt, Hutchinson drove to the White Hawks’ 5-yard line, but Tebbs and Leinfelder stuffed back-to-back runs by Bell forcing a 3rd-and-goal. The ensuing snap was bobbled and dropped by Rostberg allowing Anders Mjelstad to recover the fumble. Eventually, Hutchinson would get the ball back and use a 45-yard touchdown run by Hanley Neumann to increase the lead to 46-15 midway through the final stanza. Newell would end the scoring with a 5-yard run with 2:45 left in the game.
Stepanek led the White Hawks with 102 yards on 11 carries, while Newell (11-19-154 yards) finished with 56 yards on 15 totes. Reinbold caught 6 passes for 86 yards and Tebbs added 43 yards on 3 receptions. Defensively, Tebbs led Westonka with a game-high 16 tackles and a pass defended. Mjelstad tacked on 11 tackles (9 solo), while Reinbold, Max French and Mason Merritt tacked on seven tackles each. Leinfelder finished with six tackles.
The White Hawks (2-6) open the Section 6AAAA Playoffs with a home quarterfinal match-up against Providence Academy (2-6) on Tuesday night at 6pm.
