Minnetrista, MN – Led by another strong performance rushing the ball and an overpowering defensive front, Mound Westonka scored touchdowns every time they touched the ball in the first half, overwhelming a shorthanded Spectrum squad 42-0 in the White Hawks home opener on Friday night. Ray Beiningen finished with 82 yards on 7 carries, punching it into the end zone two separate times from the 5-yard line.

The defensive line, led by senior Dylan Sloan, held the Sting’s Single Wing attack to minus yards in the first half and just two first downs (one by a roughing the passer penalty and third down and long). Senior defensive linemen John Seemann, Dylan Holappa, and Grayson Van Nelson were pivotal in stopping the Spectrum vaunted rushing game. Most of the runs were stopped at the line of scrimmage or contributed with a tackle-for-loss. Senior linebacker Cole Munsterteiger, who missed last week with an injury, didn’t miss a beat totaling three tackles. The defensive backfield was never tested as the Sting didn’t complete a pass in three attempts. “It was great to have Tiger (Cole Munsterteiger) back in the starting line-up leading the defense. We were really happy with how the defense executed against Spectrum’s unorthodox offense, as they are always in an unbalanced formation and use a lot of shifts and motions,” noted head coach Nick David.

Spectrum’s opening kickoff was squibbed to the Mound Westonka 38-yard line where Dylan Holappa covered the ball giving the offense great field position. On the first play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Cole Drill rolled to his right before taking off downfield for a 19-yard gain. Drill found more daylight on 2nd and 15 from the Spectrum 38 yard-line, scrambling to the 22-yard line, but was injured on the play. Backup QB Cade Newell came in and finished the drive, finding senior Mason Sebasky in the right flat setting up fourth down and long. White Hawks Head Coach Nick David elected to go for the first down and Newell connected with sure handed receiver Max Kraay for 13 yards. On the next play, Beiningen took the handoff off right tackle, and jumped cut to the right and ran over a defender at the goal line for the 5-yard touchdown. Chase Lee’s extra point gave Westonka the early 7-0 lead with 7:19 left in the 1st quarter.

On Spectrum’s next drive, Seeman and Holappa wreaked havoc in the Sting backfield holding them to minus 5 yards on the series and giving the offense good field position following the punt. Drill eventually hit receiver Carter Kleinsasser on a hitch which he took down the left sideline to the 17-yard line. Senior Joe Sluka made a nice grab at the 5-yard line before Beiningen took it the rest of the way on the next play for a 5-yard TD. 

Spectrum would pick up a first down on their next series when they ran up the middle on 4th and 1 to end the quarter. Two penalties and an incompletion set up 3rd and long, but Spectrum would keep the drive alive following the incompletion due to a roughing the passer penalty. However, an open field tackle behind the line of scrimmage by junior linebacker Andrew Hoisington, and a couple of stops up the middle forced another punt, of the 4-yard variety, setting the White Hawks up at the Sting 43-yard line.

It took the White Hawks two plays to conjure up another touchdown when Beiningen stretched to the left after the handoff, turned up field, did a full spin on a Spectrum defender and raced the last 35 yards untouched for a 43-yard touchdown. Lee’s extra point made it 21-0.

An incompletion, a Kleinsasser tackle-for-loss, and then Sloan and Holappa teamed up for another stop for no gain. A high snap to the right of the punter made him run to the left but he was pushed out of bounds by Newell at the Sting 39-yard line. On the next White Hawks possession, Drill would scramble up the middle on 3rd and 12 for a 15-yard run. The very next play, Drill faked a handoff, rolled right, and threw one up for grabs in the right end zone where Kraay jumped over the defender and came down simultaneously with the catch, but Kraay ripped the ball away for the 26-yard touchdown reception and a 28-0 lead.

Following the kickoff, Kleinsasser would come off his right end position for a 6-yard tackle-for-loss, then Sluka stymied the Sting run to the right with a great one-on-one tackle. Two plays later the Sting would have to punt from their 9-yard line, but not before a 20-minute delay due to a Westonka injured player. The officials huddled with both head coaches, and it was determined that with 3:07 left in the 2nd quarter they would take an early halftime break due to the injury. “It is always hard to see players go down with injuries, especially seniors. Eric von Holtz is a great student-athlete and leader on our team and has done some awesome things for us these first couple of weeks. Sports are so unique in that one second you can be on top of the world, and then another second you can have it all taken away. The adversity that athletes continue to face and have to work to overcome is what I love the most about athletics”, said David.

When play resumed, Spectrum’s low line drive punt bounced up at the 33-yard line right to punt returner JT Kimbrough, who raced down the right sideline for the touchdown and an insurmountable 35-0 cushion after Lee’s fifth extra point make.

Sloan would make his presence felt once again, breaking through the line and blocking Spectrum’s punt on their next series ending the first half. Both teams took a normal quarter break before starting the second half, which would include two 10-minute running clock quarters. Westonka coaches inserted a new lineup allowing opportunities for many players, including sophomore Anders Mjelstad, who pounced on a fumble by the Sting offense on the first play of the 3rd quarter. Fellow sophomore Blake Reinbold would take the next two handoffs, eventually going around the right end for a 5-yard TD. Junior Issei Finger would get his first chance to kick an extra point which he drilled right down the middle and a 42-0 lead. Coach David also said, “It is always so fun when we can get our younger players in the game on Friday nights. It is even more fun, when they get into the games, that they execute at a high level, and continue to make plays. That is exactly what our boys did on Friday night.”

Defensively, Kleinsasser had a team-high tying five tackles and two TFL’s. Van Nelson and junior linebacker Emmitt Johnson (team-high 4 solo tackles) both tallied five tackles. Andrew Hoisington had four tackles and a TFL, while Mjelstad contributed three tackles and a fumble recovery. Sloan finished with three tackles and a blocked punt. Evan Holt and Glenn Givens also had three tackles on the night.

Beiningen led the offense with his 82 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while Drill finished with 48 yards rushing. Mjelstad had 36 yards on four carries. Kraay finished with 39 yards receiving and the lone TD.

The White Hawks will load up the buses this Friday as they travel to Big Lake for another non-subdistrict affair. Game time is set for 7:00pm.