Whiteford coach Todd Thieken gives the play for Maddox Diesing, who relays it to Whiteford quarterback Tre Eitniear as Austin Bauman leaves the field. The Bobcats are 2-2 after beating North Central 70-22 Friday. Photo by Doug Donnelly 

By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – Whiteford’s 0-2 start to the season forced the Bobcats to take a good long look at itself.

“I think it was good for us,” fourth-year Bobcat quarterback Tre Eitniear said after Whiteford’s 70-22 win over Pioneer (Ohio) North Central Friday. “It showed us a lot about our team and where we were and what we need to do to make it further into the playoffs than we have the last couple of years.”

Whiteford is back to .500 after Friday’s crushing Great Lakes Conference win. Brek Ruddy rushed for 191 yards and five touchdowns, Elijah Vance scored twice, Ryan Thomas added a touchdown and the Bobcats converted their first eight two-point conversion attempts. The Bobcat offense piled up nearly 550 yards of offense and had 26 first downs.

“We’re not there yet,” Whiteford coach Todd Thieken said. “We have to clean up some things, but I’m happy with the win.”

Whiteford lost its first two games to powerhouse Division 7 programs in Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central and Pewamo-Westphalia in what was all likelihood the toughest start to the season in school history in terms of quality opponents. Thieken and the coaching staff went back to the drawing board and made some tweaks.

Caden Stewart shifted from tight end to tackle. Andy Trejo added tight end to his repertoire. A starting offensive lineman was moved to the defensive line.

“Caden is by far our best offensive lineman,” Thieken said. “I spent most of the winter thinking of ways to get him the ball as a tight end, but as a staff we felt shifting him to tackle was something we needed to do. He’s done a great job so far. We don’t throw the ball a lot, so we needed him in that spot because we want to be a running team.”

Trejo came into the season as a starting running back and still figures to get carries in the Bobcat offense, but he’s also a quality tight end. He rushed for five two-point conversions Friday. The other switch was putting Mason Luzier into the other tight end slot. He caught one pass Friday for 56 yards, which gives him the team lead for receiving yards through four games.

North Central started the game on its own 23-yard line but lost yardage on three of their first four plays, including a 13-yard loss on a tackle by Stewart to give the Bobcats a first down on the Pioneer 6-yard line.

Eitniear hit Elijah Vance on a pass for the game’s first touchdown. After forcing a three-and-out, Vance scampered 54 yards for 16-0 Bobcat lead.

The Bobcats drove inside the Eagle 5-yard line on their next possession, but came up short on fourth down. Two plays later, Charlie Bieber intercepted an Eagle pass – his first of two interceptions on the night – which set up Ruddy’s first touchdown.

The Bobcats led 32-8 after the first quarter and 48-16 at halftime. There was briefly a running clock in the second half until Pioneer closed the gap to under 50 points.

After Ruddy’s fifth touchdown, most of the Whiteford starting offense headed to the sideline. On the next possession, Ryan Thomas picked up 62 yards in five carries on his own, including a short touchdown run.

Ruddy is already has 561 rushing yards this season and has scored 11 touchdowns. He’s been banged up a little but is nearing 100 percent.

“I think we are gaining confidence every week,” he said. “We just have to keep working hard and come back every week, be the most physical team out there and trust what we are doing.”

Bieber led the Bobcats with five solo tackles on defense. Trejo recovered a fumble on a kickoff and George Thompson had more than 100 yards on three kickoff returns.

North Central did pile up 135 yards receiving, which Thieken said the Bobcats must work on this week as they prepare to tackle undefeated Montpelier, Ohio, next week.

“They are a spread team and their quarterback does a great job of moving around and making plays,” Thieken said. “They are a good football team. I’m very glad it’s a home game for us.”

North Central 8 8 0 6 – 22

Whiteford 32 16 16 6 – 70

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

W – Elijah Vance 6 pass from Tre Eitniear (Andy Trejo run)

W – Vance 54 run (Eitniear run)

W – Brek Ruddy 9 run (Trejo run)

NC – 41 12 pass from Aiden Meyers (Leam McElroy run)

W – Ruddy 54 run (Trejo run)

Second Quarter

W – Ruddy 4 run (Trejo run)

W – Ruddy 2 run (Trejo run)

NC – Ashaun Dickey 11 run (Meyers 3 run)

Third Quarter

W – Ruddy 39 run (Ruddy run)

W – Vance 6 run (Ruddy run)

Fourth Quarter

W – Ryan Thomas 2 run (run failed)

NC – Davon Andrews 48 pass from Thomas Ghent (run failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – North Central: Jett Reinbolt 1-17, Alex St. John 10-2, Thomas Ghent 1-0, Aiden Meyers 3-(minus)-1, Ashaun Dickey 2-(minus)-2. Totals 17-16. Whiteford: Brek Ruddy 17-191, Elijah Vance 9-136, Ryan Thomas 5-62, Hunter Massingill 6-56, George Thompson 1-13, Tre Eitniear 3-7, Andy Trejo 1-(minus)-1, Charlie Bieber 1-(minus)-12. Team 1-0. Totals 44-452.

PASSING – North Central: Aiden Meyers 7-15-2 82 yards, Thomas Ghent 1-2-0 48 yards, Ashaun Dickey 1-1-0 5 yards. Whiteford: Tre Eitniear 4-11-81, Beckett Emch 0-1-0.

RECEIVING – North Central: Davon Andrews 4-73, Ashaun Dickey 2-34, No. 41 3-28. Whiteford: Mason Luzier 1-56, Elijah Vance 2-14, Hunter Massingill 1-11.