HUNTER COOKSTON
Writer
The Whitwell Tigers went on the road to face Copper Basin in search of their second consecutive win — and a chance to rewrite their narrative away from home. In their first two road games, the Tigers had only found the end zone two times. That changed in a big way last Friday night, as they rolled to a 49–14 victory.
The Cougars started with the ball, but on just the second play of the game, sophomore Brody Harvey recovered a fumble to set the tone. On fourth and goal, senior Talan Beason connected with senior Adam McDougal to put Whitwell up 7–0. With under two minutes left in the first quarter, Harvey punched it in from four yards out to extend the lead.
In the second quarter, it was déjà vu as Beason hit McDougal again — this time for a 16-yard touchdown — putting the Tigers up by three scores. Charlie French added to the onslaught with a 29-yard touchdown run, making it 28–0. Then, Wesleyan Levan made his presence known on defense, returning a fumble 17 yards for a scoop-and-score touchdown to give Whitwell a 35–0 lead at halftime.
Just over a minute into the second half, Harvey broke free for a 51-yard rushing touchdown — his second straight week with multiple scores on the ground. French added the two-point conversion. Copper Basin finally got on the board with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.
Levan, who had already scored on defense, added a long offensive touchdown in the fourth, racing 68 yards to the end zone. Copper Basin would score once more and convert the two-point try to close out the game.
Whitwell dominated on the ground with 241 rushing yards and 283 total yards of offense. Defensively, the Tigers forced three fumbles. Despite the lopsided score, Copper Basin edged out Whitwell in first downs, 6-7 — the only category the Tigers didn’t lead.
The Tigers return home this Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Photos by Kristie Eggert