Beavers pull away from Norse in DC grid play

A big run had the Whitehall football team within striking distance, but Augusta scored three more touchdowns and the Norse didn’t have an answer.

After Augusta took a 12-0 lead, a 36-yard touchdown run and the ensuing point after made the score 12-7, but the Beavers ended the half with a touchdown then scored two in the second half to pull away.

The loss put Whitehall at 0-4 overall and 0-2 in Dairyland Conference play, falling to the teams that finished atop the conference last year. It won’t get any easier this week as the Norse host Blair-Taylor (2-2, 2-0), which is coming off of a lopsided win over Melrose-Mindoro.

Augusta 36 Whitehall 7

The Norse had life after Devon McCune broke free for a 36-yard touchdown then kicked the extra points, but the Beavers slowly took control of the game.

Augusta scored first on a one-yard touchdown run by Brennan King midway through the first quarter. They added another touchdown with 9:41 left in the second as Jackson Laxson surged in from five yards out. Whitehall’s defense stopped both two-point conversions.

McCune’s touchdown made it a one-score game, but the Beavers went right down the field again as King ran for a two-yard touchdown then hit Joe Schong for the two-point conversion, making the score 20-7 at halftime.

A 27-yard touchdown run by Ben Dickinsen, followed by Laxon’s two-point conversion put the Beavers ahead by three scores. The defending DC champs put the game away with a 40-yard touchdown run by Levi White and a two-point pass to Hunter Breaker.

Whitehall had success on the ground as McCune ran for 165 yards on 30 attempts and the team finished with 239 on 49 rushes. But they also struggled to stop Augusta’s rushing attack as the Beavers ran for 364 yards on 39 rushes with both Laxon (144) and Dickinsen (117) topping 100 yards. Outside of two-point conversions, neither team completed a pass in the game.

Whitehall —

Rushing (att./yds.) — McCune 30/165 Sluga 13/48 Johnston 3/18 Kleinhans 3/8

Passing (comp./att./yds.) — McCune 0/1/0

Tackles (solo/total) — McCune 2/6 Pientok 1/1 Johnston 2/2 Sluga 4/7 Katzman 2/5 Hansche 0/1 Aguilar 0/1 Kleinhans 11/14 Coburn 1/1 Matejka 1/1