Hopkins, MN – The thunder rolled, and the lightning struck just like the Mound Westonka offense on Thursday night during the opening week of high school football. The gametime might have been delayed, however Mound Westonka showed no hesitation as they began their quest for a Skyway Bronze Subdistrict football title by defeating non-subdistrict foe, SMB (a co-op between St. Paul Academy, Minnehaha Academy, and The Blake School), 51-13, on the campus of The Blake School.

Mound Westonka punted on their first possession, but that was just another hindrance in the overall game plan. After holding the Wolfpack to a three-and-out, the White Hawks found their groove as senior quarterback Cole Drill hit senior JT Kimbrough, in the right flat, who then scampered 30 yards down the right sideline before being pushed out of bounds at the 50-yard line. Two plays later, Drill found a wide-open George Eberhart on a post route for a 39-yard TD. It was Eberhart’s first varsity touchdown. Drill ran for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

The White Hawks defense forced another three-and-out on the next series when senior linebacker Carter Kleinsasser and senior defensive lineman Dylan Sloan forced SMB QB Nick Russeth out of the pocket causing an incompletion and another Wolfpack punt. Westonka took over with good field position at the 50. On 4th and 3, the White Hawks decided to go for it and Drill ran around the left side for 24 yards and put Westonka in the red zone. On the next play, Drill hit another wide-open receiver, finding senior Mason Sebasky at the 8-yard line before he turned it up field and ran it in for a 19-yard touchdown. Drill hit senior Joe Sluka on the two-point try, increasing the lead to 16-0 with 2:12 left in the first quarter. “We really came out firing on all cylinders from the get go on Friday night,” said head coach Nick David.

On the ensuing SMB drive, junior Dawson Leinfelder put pressure on Russeth on 2nd down and Sluka had a nice one-on-one tackle in the right flat to impose another punt. Senior Ray Beiningen, last year’s 4A rushing leader, took a handoff around the right end for a 21-yard gain, running over a Wolfpack defender along the way. On 3rd and 6 from the SMB 40-yard line, Drill rolled to his right and hit junior tight end Andrew Hoisington for a big first down. Beiningen then broke free right up the middle for 19 yards down to the SMB 13-yard line. Two plays later, Drill threw left to Kimbrough where he caught the pass in the air, hit the spin button on the Playstation remote, and ran it in from the 10-yard line for the TD. Drill ran it in for the conversion and Westonka led 24-0 with 6:32 left in the second quarter.

Junior Brandt Tebbs came up from his safety position with two big hits on the next Wolfpack drive, but a White Hawks penalty gave SMB their first 1st down of the game. On 3rd-and -5, senior DL Dylan Holappa fought off a block and wrestled SMB running back Jeffrey Ratliff to the turf. The Wolfpack lined up to go for the first down on 4th-and-2 but Russeth fumbled the snap allowing Westonka to take over at the 50-yard line. On the first play, Drill hit Sluka down the right seam for 20 yards. A penalty pushed the White Hawks back and eventually they had to punt, but Drill pinned SMB at the 3-yard line after a fortuitous bounce and roll.

Great coverage by junior cornerback Cade Newell and Tebbs forced an incomplete pass on the first play from scrimmage. Another tackle by Tebbs, and then a great push by the entire defensive line made Ratliff fall just short of the first down. Then, Holappa’s pressure on the SMB punter caused a low line drive that resulted in a 10-yard punt. “We were really proud of the way we executed tonight. Any time you can play clean football, limit penalties, and execute at a high level this early in the season is a testament to the work the boys put in over the summer and fall camp,” stated David.

A Hoisington reception and a Beiningen run put the White Hawks at the SMB 10-yard line. On the next play, Drill faked the handoff, rolled left and threw it up for senior wide receiver Max Kraay who out jumped the Wolfpack defender for a 10-yard touchdown. Sophomore kicker Chase Lee got his opportunity and nailed his very first varsity extra-point giving Westonka a 31-0 lead with just over a minute to play in the first half. The Wolfpack finally got on the board when Ratliff raced right through the middle of the Westonka defense for a 71-yard touchdown with just six seconds left in the half cutting the lead to 31-6.

Mound Westonka forced another punt to open the third quarter, and then Drill found senior Henry Slater for a 30-yard gain down to the SMB 5-yard line. Beiningen ran around the right side on the next play for the five-yard TD. Lee made it 38-6 with 5 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. Another three-and-out by SMB gave the White Hawks the ball at the SMB 40-yard line. An 18-yard reception by Slater, and then a 22-yard scamper down the right sideline set Westonka at the Wolfpack 20-yard line. Once again, Drill threw it up for Kraay and he came down with it in the right end zone for a 15-yard score and a 44-6 advantage.

SMB’s Ratliff would rip off another long touchdown run, this time from 69 yards. Ratliff hit the left side, bounced out to the left sideline, and then outraced the White Hawks to the end zone.

Following the kickoff, sophomore running back Blake Reinbold got his first varsity action and took his first handoff 40 yards down to the SMB 25. Two plays later, Reinbold went up the middle, juked a defender at the 7-yard line, and scooted to the right for a 21-yard score. Lee’s third extra-point made it 51-13 with just over 11 minutes to play.

Drill led the Westonka offense throwing for 238 yards (hitting seven different receivers) and five touchdowns on 14-21 passing. Reinbold led the White Hawks in rushing with 110 yards on just seven carries. Beiningen finished with 90 yards on 10 carries, while Slater brought in three catches for 55 yards. The receiving corps averaged 17.0 yards per catch. David noted that “We did a great job spreading the ball around tonight. It was so fun to see so many players get touches, and have the success that they did when they had the ball in their hands.”

Defensively, Tebbs led the White Hawks with 11 tackles (6 solo) and two tackles-for-loss. Sebasky had eight tackles from his linebacker position, while Erik von Holtz finished with seven tackles (4 solo). Kleinsasser and Sloan each had five tackles and a TFL, while Holappa had three tackles. All three were instrumental in harassing the SMB quarterbacks on every pass play.

The rain held off long enough for the post-game speech and offensive line coach Brandon Brakstad’s team dance, but the heavens opened up as the players just left the field, not dampening this first road test one bit.

The White Hawks come home to Haddorff Field this Friday night when they face Spectrum in their home opener at 7:00pm.