The Kosciusko Whippets (1-6, 0-2) traveled to Houston (7-1, 2-0) last Friday night in search of their second win of the season and first in Region 4-4A play but came away with a 32-15 loss after giving up just 166 yards of total offense to the Houston Hilltoppers. The Whippets turned the ball over three times and allowed the Hilltoppers to score on drives of 12, 29 and seven yards. Kosciusko amassed 236 total yards of offense with 237 on the ground and -1 through the air.
The Hilltoppers got the scoring started with 6:20 left in the second quarter when Bobby Townsend found the end zone on a three-yard run giving Houston a 7-0 lead after a three-play, 12-yard drive. The Whippets scored five minutes later when Stefan Harmon found the end zone on an 11-yard run after an 8-play, 55-yard drive and both teams went into the half tied at 7-7.
With just 2:05 left in the third quarter, Hilltopper quarterback Uriah Shephard found Charles Spencer with a 19-yard touchdown throw, kick failed, giving Houston a 13-7 lead after another short drive that consisted of 29 yards on four plays. After another Whippet turnover, Houston found the end zone once again after a four-play, seven-yard drive to push the lead to 20-7.
Just over a minute after the fourth quarter began, Houston Hilltopper defender Taylor Baskin returned an interception 81 yards, kick failed, pushing the lead to 26-7 with 10:39 remaining in the contest. Shephard would cap the Hilltopper scoring at 32 when he ran one in from 18 yards out after a six-play, 61-yard drive with 3:13 remaining in the contest.
The Whippets found pay dirt for the last time with 1:41 left in the contest when Harmon ran one in from 26 yards, two-point pass from Clark Dean to Ashton Greer good, to push the final margin to 32-15. This score capped a six-play, 68-yard drive for the Whippets.
The offensive leaders for the Whippets were Harmon with 80 yards on seven carries with two touchdowns; Kedarius Banks with 106 yards on 19 carries; Kenwon Riley with 41 yards on nine carries and Bobo Miller with 29 yards on eight carries.
The defensive leaders for the Whippets were Walker Yuille with four tackles; Ariyan Love with eight tackles; Devin Foster with six tackles; Michael Brown with four tackles; Ben Johnson with four tackles; Jaquan Williams with three tackles and a pass break-up and Ashton Greer with four tackles and a sack.
The Whippets will be back at home on Friday night when the take on Region 4-4A foe Caledonia (3-4, 0-2) at 7 p.m.
