Whitehall played an incredible first half Friday night against Zeeland West, then came up clutch to stave off a Dux rally and earn its most impressive victory of the season, 35-28, on the road.
Cole Essebaggers threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Mendoza in stride with a half-minute to play in the game for the winning score, then the Vikings were able to hang on despite a penalty giving the Dux an untimed down on the final play of the game.
The touchdown was similar to the one the same duo connected on last week against Orchard View, with the only difference being Mendoza getting this one in stride as opposed to making a leaping catch in the end zone.
"It was a really good high school football game," Whitehall coach Tony Sigmon said. "You've got to credit them. Zeeland West is an excellent program and they battled back.
"Ayden has stepped up in a big way for us the last two weeks. He's playing with a lot of confidence, and he should be. He's had two really big moments this year."
Whitehall (2-1) overwhelmed Zeeland West in the first half, allowing only 29 total offensive yards and building a 21-0 with its running game. All three Viking scoring drives in the first half, in fact, consisted solely of running plays, most of them from Liam Leeke or Essebaggers. Leeke had two of the scoring runs and Essebaggers added the third.
Leeke rang up a spectacular 241 yards rushing on 34 carries in the game, and Essebaggers ran it 22 times for 90 yards.
"Cole Essebaggers, at quarterback, has done such a wonderful job the first three weeks of the season running our offense and leading our team," Sigmon said. "He's had three really good games in a row. Liam Leeke is getting better and better, and you really saw that tonight."
Of course, no running game is that successful without an offensive line doing the dirty work, and Sigmon commended the unit, consisting of three seniors - including returning all-conference player Jamison Jeffery - and a pair of sophomores.
"They have really grown as a unit," Sigmon said. "We started seeing that in the summer, but those guys are playing really well and starting to jell. A lot of kids should be celebrated for this one."
Before the celebration, though, the Dux attempted to ruin the party with a terrific rally. The Vikes answered Zeeland West's first surge - two touchdowns and two two-pointers - with another all-ground scoring drive, which Essebaggers capped with a short run, but the Dux struck back with two more quick touchdowns, the second a 40-yard touchdown toss on fourth-and-7, to tie it up.
However, the Essebaggers-to-Mendoza connection - only the fifth passing play of the day for Whitehall, and the second completion - proved to be the perfect answer.
"What we're really excited about is what that does for our offense," Sigmon said of the throw. "That gives us a wide receiver threat at every position that's pretty dynamic."
Defensively, Hunter Peterson led with seven tackles, Judd Musk had a fumble recovery, and Kolten Weiler had five takedowns. However, so many more Vikes contributed on that side of the ball, with Sigmon shouting out Jacob Alger, Colton Kyser, Max Krukowski and more.
After such a big win, the challenge can be to not get too excited, but the schedule-makers are helping the Vikes there, with Montague on deck.
"It's easy to fall into the trap of how good we are, but we need the same attention to detail next Friday," Sigmon said. "If we use (this) to its potential, it can be a really big thing for us and catapult us to a really good season. If we don't, we can end up with egg on our face. As good as it feels, it's one game."
