*By Juliet Mullins*

Varsity football defeated the Northwest Jaguars 29-16 in it’s season opener, September 4.

At the beginning of the game, the Vikings faked a regular kickoff and recovered a surprise onside kick. With this momentum, the team marched down the field in less than three minutes and ended the drive with a touchdown from running back Kevin Cecala. On the next Viking possession, Cecala broke away from the pack and scored again on a 30-yard run, increasing the lead to 14-0.

Near the end of the first quarter, wide receiver Larry Kline, reinjured his recently healed hamstring, and is expected to miss around two weeks.

In the second half, sophomore Michael Flack returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown, bringing Whitman’s lead to 20-0 after a botched extra point attempt. Cecala then rushed for his third touchdown of the game, and after a failed two point conversion and a field goal by Danny Lee, the third quarter with a 29-0 lead for the boys.

Three minutes into the fourth quarter Whitman’s second stringers were put into the game and let up a meaningless two touchdowns, leading to a final score of 29-16.

Northwest only got one first down against the Viking’s first string defense, and even that was only because of a penalty.

Cecala had a career high 178 rushing yards to go along with his three touchdowns.

Whitman’s win was even more surprising because the Gazette predicted Northwest to win and also ranked them as their number four 4A team in Maryland. Going into the season with this win has put the players all in the mind set they need for the upcoming season

“We were supposed to lose by a lot,” Cecala said. “We wanted to set the tone early that we were not going to roll over, that we were ready to compete.”