Minnestrista, MN – In a game that featured just four combined scores, it was two 2-point conversions that played a major role in Westonka’s 15-13 Senior Day win in a Section 6AAAA win over Zimmerman at Haddorff Field on Friday evening. The win improved the White Hawks record to 4-3 overall, while Zimmerman dropped to 4-3 on the season.

Both teams exchanged punts on their first possessions before Westonka was able to drive 63 yards in eight plays, which included a 32-yard connection from senior QB Cole Drill to senior wideout JT Kimbrough. A questionable holding penalty pushed the ball back to the Zimmerman 20-yard line and the White Hawks had to settle for a Chase Lee field goal attempt. However, Westonka came up empty as Lee’s 25-yard kick went wide left.

On Zimmerman’s next possession, senior John Seemann sacked Thunder quarterback Thomas McEachern on third down for a 5-yard loss forcing another punt. The White Hawks Blake Reinbold would break off a10-yard run on the first play of the next series, and then Drill would find fellow senior Max Kraay for two completions before Drill would rumble 12 yards on 4th-and-3 from the Thunder 31-yard line. Westonka would face another fourth down from the 17 and Drill would hit Kimbrough right at the first down marker, but the line judge marked him just short of the line-to-gain. “We felt like JT got enough for the first down with that catch, but we didn’t get the call. We were happy to see how the boys responded with that possession change though as they just went right back to work on defense,” said White Hawks Head Coach Nick David.

Westonka senior linebacker Cole Munsterteiger, who finished with a game high 11 tackles, would step up on the next Thunder possession stopping do-it-all running back Mason Spence just a yard short of the first down. The short punt gave the White Hawks great field position at the Zimmerman 41-yard line. After completions to Kraay and Andrew Hoisington, Drill would find Kimbrough on a post-corner route in the back of the right end zone for a 32-yard score. Lee’s extra point made it 7-0 with 4:27 to play in the first half.

The Westonka defense held Zimmerman to just 11 yards on their first three drives, but the Thunder would come up big on third down on their next series, as McEachern connected with Noah Schmit on a 43-yard pass taking the ball inside the red zone. Five plays later, Spence would take it in from 2-yards out tying the game 7-7 with just 24 seconds remaining in the half. “We were really proud of the way the boys executed on Friday night. Defensively, we put together one of our best games of the season. On offense, though the scoreboard didn’t show it, we moved the ball very consistently and controlled the clock throughout the game,” noted David.

Zimmerman opened the second half with good field position after Lee’s kickoff went out-of-bounds. On first down, McEachern had a wide-open receiver down the right sideline, but he overthrew him. Then, senior defensive lineman Dylan Holappa and senior linebacker Carter Kleinsasser would stuff Spence for a three-yard loss with Seemann finishing it on third down with a big tackle of his own.

Kimbrough, who already has one punt return TD on the year, almost had another on the ensuing punt. He took the kick at the Westonka 38-yard line, right in front of a defender, escaped three tacklers and sprinted down the Westonka sideline stepping out at the Thunder 8-yard line. On first down Drill would fight for six yards before Reinbold found a wide-open hole off left tackle for the 2-yard touchdown. The White Hawks lined up for the two-point try and converted when Drill hit senior Joe Sluka in the swinging gate formation. Sluka was hit at the one-yard line, but he barreled through tacklers falling just inside the goal line giving Westonka the 15-7 lead early in the third quarter.

The White Hawks defense imposed three-and-outs on the Thunder’s first three possessions of the second half holding them to two total yards. Yet, Zimmerman was only down one score with the third quarter winding down. That’s when McEachern found Spence coming out of the backfield hitting him for a 27-yard gain down to the Westonka 12-yard line. McEachern would eventually push his way across the goal line from two yards out. The Thunder lined up for the two-point conversion but were flagged for a false start penalty putting the ball at the 8-yard line. On the ensuing try, McEachern rolled out to his right looking for wide receiver Torren Johnson but he was blanketed by senior Mason Sebasky, who was starting his first game at cornerback, and junior Brandt Tebbs. McEachern was then forced to scramble backwards by seniors Roman Larsen, Dylan Sloan, and Holappa who forced a throw that went out of bounds. “Our defensive effort and execution at all levels was fantastic on Friday night and our ability to hold Zimmerman on the 2 point conversion attempt to tie the game really showed the resilience and grit of our guys,” said defensive coordinator Kyle Ague.

The Zimmerman offense would have one more opportunity as they drove down to the Westonka 35-yard line with 4:24 left in the game. But, on 4th-and-5, Larsen blitzed up the middle, with Kleinsasser also closing in, forcing McEachern to rush his throw and miss behind his receiver with Munsterteiger in coverage. Drill was able to pick up critical third downs rushing up the middle to help the White Hawks run out the clock.

The White Hawks offense bounced back this week, and more importantly, Drill, who completed 15 passes in 29 attempts for 167 yards and the lone TD. Kraay finished with 71 yards on six catches, but it was Kimbrough leading the way with four catches and 96 yards, both of which were career-highs. Reinbold led the rushing attack with 49 yards, while Drill had 45 tough yards on the ground.

Defensively, Munsterteiger continued where he left off last week versus Delano. The 11 tackles tied a career-high which he set last game. Holappa finished with 9 tackles with four of them tackles-for-loss. Tebbs also tallied 9 tackles with two TFL’s. Larsen had five tackles with numerous quarterback pressures, while Hoisington finished with four tackles and a TFL. Kleinsasser and Seemann both had four tackles, with the latter credited with a sack. As a team, the White Hawks had 11 TFL’s and two sacks, holding Spence to just 24 yards on 17 carries. The 1.4 yards per rush was his lowest output on the season. McEachern (9 carries, 29 yards) was held under 100 yards for only the third time this year.

Westonka will play this Wednesday due to MEA week. The White Hawks travel to Benilde-St. Margaret’s (3-4) to take on the Red Knights at 7:00pm at the McQuinn Athletic Complex.