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Whittell football trounces Eureka 68-8, continues undefeated start

Anthony Gentile
agentile@tahoedailytribune.com
Whittell senior Kai Mangaracina dives to bring down Eureka quarterback CW Landrey as Warriors senior Pierce Manchester gives chase in a non-league contest Friday, Sept. 9.
Courtesy / Boyd Dangtongdee |

EUREKA, Nev. — The Whittell football team took its first road trip of the season Friday, Sept. 9. And traveling halfway across Nevada did nothing to slow the team’s fast start.

The Warriors routed Eureka (Nev.) 68-8 on Friday, trouncing a bigger Vandals team that made the playoffs a year ago. Whittell scored 42 points in the first quarter to remain unbeaten on the season and win its last contest prior to league play.

“The ground game and speed of our backs overwhelmed their size,” Warriors coach Phil Bryant said.



Whittell (2-0) opened up a 54-0 lead by halftime Friday night, and added a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters. Eureka (1-2) avoided the shutout by scoring late when the Warriors had only seven players on the field, but suffered a second straight loss to 1A West League opposition.

The Warriors totaled 594 yards of offense in the victory, led by a big day from senior quarterback Dismas Womack. Womack finished 4-of-6 passing for 118 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns on six rushes.



“Dismas ran wild and is really grasping the skill set necessary to run our offense,” Bryant said.

In the running game, sophomore Dalton Warswick had 98 yards and a touchdown while junior Corey Huber added 92 yards and a score. Sophomore Gunnar Barnwell ran for two scores and junior Caleb Moretti added a touchdown on the ground — Moretti also caught three passes and for 91 yards and a score.

Whittell did most of its damage on the ground against Eureka, and it started with the line anchored by junior Alex Byer at center between senior Kai Mangiaracina and junior Connor Huber at the guard positions.

“We hope to work more on our passing game this week to get more balance,” Bryant said. “But you can’t throw in games when you are up big — or you shouldn’t.”

Defensively, Moretti finished with a team-high 10 tackles, including seven solo stops. Connor Huber had an interception and a sack while junior Genaro Mena and sophomore Isaiah Womack each picked off a pass.

Whittell returns to action Friday, Sept. 16, when it opens league play against Coleville (3-0, 1-0). Kickoff for the Warriors’ Homecoming game is scheduled for 7 p.m.


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