Whitehorse football team suffers season-ending loss to Water Canyon in state quarterfinals

by David Boyle
News Director
Whitehorse ended their season in a quarterfinal loss to Water Canyon on November 1.
Water Canyon jumped to a quick lead when they went on a sustained 9-play drive to score the first points of the game with the two-point conversion giving them an 8-0 lead.
On the following kick-off Water Canyon recovered the ball at the 35-yard line and took advantage of the short field with the drive capped off with a 25-yard touchdown run to take a 16-0 lead.
The Raiders first possession was three and out and a blocked punt set up Water Canyon at the 10 yard line where the Wildcats scored two plays later earning a 22-0 lead after one quarter.
The Raiders offense found some life on their next possession moving the ball from their own 35-yard line to the Wildcat 35-yard line over 30 yards in 7 plays, but a fourth down and three conversion attempt was cut short giving the ball back to Water Canyon.
The Wildcats went on another drive getting down to the 14-yard line. Facing a fourth down with one yard to go the Raiders defense held tough with #12 Kaleb Joe and #52 Tyshaun Begay making a tackle at the line of scrimmage to force a turn-over on downs.
The Raiders offense got to work going on a 9-play 50 yard drive with big plays including a 25-yard pass from Black to Dominic Dance and a 20-yard pass from Black to Adam Joe, but the drive stalled out with a punt setting up Water Canyon at their own 35-yard line.
The Raiders defense once again held strong and forced a punt setting them up at their own 44-yard line with 1:45 remaining in the first half.
The Raiders had 12 yards on the ground from Hamm and 15 on the ground from Adam Joe along with a 15-yard penalty to set them up inside the 20.
A tackle on third down short of the sticks had the Raiders run down the clock with one second left in the half before trying for one shot at the end zone. Black found Dance for 15 of the needed 16 yards but was tackled after grabbing the ball in double coverage at the one yard line as the half came to a close.
The Wildcats added another score early in the second half to take a 30-0 lead over Whitehorse.
The Raiders responded with a scoring drive starting with a 25-yard kick-return by Hamm to the Water Canyon 45-yard line.
The Raiders then went on a five-play scoring drive, after giving up a sack Black earned 10 yards on the ground, Hunter Tsinigine also had an 8-yard run and Hamm had a 10 yard run.
Some penalties on the drive put the next play at the 24-yard line where Black found Elam Etsitty in the endzone for a touchdown. Hamm added the two-point conversion to make the score 30-8.
Water Canyon responded with a kick return for a touchdown to add to their score making it 38-8 in the third quarter.
Set up at the 47-yard line on their next drive the Raiders looked to respond quickly. Black found Adam Joe for a big 22-yard catch and then Kaleb Joe for a 12 yard gain.
The Raiders had momentum inside the twenty-yard line, but two plays later Black was injured and taken out of the game and the Raiders were unable to convert on fourth down. Giving the ball back to Water Canyon.
The Wildcats responded with a quick touchdown to put the running clock into play. Water Canyon added more scores to make the final 60-8.
Whitehorse ends the season with a record of 5-5 and will say goodbye to senior contributors Kaleb Joe, Dominic Dance, Kalin Tohonnie, Danathan Lansing and Ethan Norton.