Whitney stuns Twelve Bridges in thriller, snaps 32-game winning streak

For the last few years, the Whitney High School football had been trying to find its footing. The Wildcats had won just two games in each of the previous three seasons and although they entered Friday's matchup against Twelve Bridges in Lincoln at 2-0, there were still plenty of questions about whether their fast start was for real. They answered them emphatically. Whitney rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to stun neighboring Twelve Bridges 35-34, ending the Rhinos' 32-game regular-season winning streak and handing them their first non-playoff loss with seniors on campus. For first-year Whitney coach Brian Brickey, the victory was about far more than one game. "I'm exhausted and excited," Brickey said. "This win means everything for this program and the turnaround and what there is this year for Whitney football." The Wildcats needed just about everything they had to pull it off. Easton Tarble was everywhere on both sides of the field. The junior spent time at quarterback, running back and receiver, scored three touchdowns and made the game-sealing interception in the final minute. "He's earned every accolade that he ever gets," Brickey said or Tarble. "He is one of the hardest workers on the team. I'm so thrilled that he got to have this great game." Tarble said Whitney came into the game with a clear objective. "They have a 32-win streak in the regular season, so we wanted to come here and make a statement, show us who we are," he said. Twelve Bridges looked ready to extend that streak early. The Rhinos scored on the first play from scrimmage thanks to a 50-yard touchdown run by Josh Chittom after starting the game with a surprise onside kick. But Whitney would not go quietly, as the two teams traded scores for most of the first half. Brett Smiley connected with Dylan Amos for a 55-yard touchdown to give the Rhinos a 20-14 lead, but Whitney answered with a long touchdown pass from Brad Duncan to Jason Taormino to take a 21-20 lead into halftime. The Rhinos immediately regained control after halftime. Josh Chittom broke a 56-yard touchdown run with 11:01 left in the third quarter, and after Twelve Bridges forced a fumble on Whitney's next possession, Smiley found BJ Amiwero for another touchdown. Suddenly, the Rhinos led 34-21, but Whitney didn't flinch when faced with a two-score deficit. Tarble broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 3:47 left in the third, cutting the deficit to 34-28. "That was huge," Brickey said. "We knew it was going to be a dogfight." The Wildcats carried the momentum into the fourth quarter. Tarble finished a long drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 11:21 remaining, putting Whitney ahead 35-34. Then came a frantic final 11 minutes. Twelve Bridges forced another fumble to regain possession and later stopped Whitney on fourth down with 2:08 remaining. But the Rhinos couldn't take advantage of either opportunity. Twelve Bridges turned the ball over on downs with 4:13 remaining, and after Whitney was stopped on fourth down, the Rhinos got one final chance before Tarble ended it with a game-winning interception. "I just saw QB's eyes, and I just went for it," Tarble said. The interception sealed a victory that Brickey believes can serve as a measuring stick for the Wildcats going forward. "We're here to show what Whitney football is about," Tarble said. "We want to change it around." Brickey said the Wildcats' offensive success was the product of preparation and adjustments, crediting offensive coordinator Travis Garabedian for identifying opportunities on film and making changes at halftime. "All the credit goes to Travis Garabedian for the game plan this week," Brickey said. "He took a look at all the film and knew where all those weak points were." The Wildcats also got a bounce-back performance from Duncan. The quarterback threw two interceptions and went through a stretch of six consecutive incompletions, but continued to lead Whitney's offense when it mattered. "Brad has matured so much over the year," Brickey said. "His leadership over the past nine months has developed in a way I would have never guessed. I'm so proud of him as well for being the person that he's become and leading this team." For Twelve Bridges, the loss brings them to unfamiliar territory. The Rhinos had not lost a regular-season game since there have been seniors on campus, and head coach Chris Bean acknowledged afterward that his team has not yet developed the trust it needs between players and coaches. "Players aren't trusting us coaches, and I'm not sure why," Bean said. "We keep trying to tell them, like, you're everybody's target." That target was particularly large Friday. Whitney was the latest team to challenge a Twelve Bridges program that has become accustomed to winning, and Bean said his team never treated the Wildcats like the same team it saw other weeks. "That is not the same team that played Lincoln last week, and we knew that," Bean said. "We knew they were going to give us everything and more because of being Twelve Bridges, and you've got this big bullseye on your chest." Bean still credited his defense for keeping the Rhinos in position to win late. Twelve Bridges repeatedly forced turnovers and made stops when it needed them, but ultimately couldn't get the final stop. "I really felt the defense, besides a couple of blown assignments, just silly stuff, played outstanding," Bean said. Bean said that he knows his team will now have to learn how to respond to something it hasn't experienced in a long time. "We're going to find out if people really love the game and are ready to play the game, or if they're just wearing a uniform at this point," Bean said. "We're going to see if guys that have maybe not gotten a ton of playing time ... are going to have to rely on each other." Twelve Bridges will face Franklin of Elk Grove next week. For Whitney, the Wildcats are 3-0 in a season in which expectations have changed dramatically. They had won only six games combined over the previous three seasons and already have surpassed the two victories they managed in each of those years. But Brickey isn't letting his team get carried away. The Wildcats have a bye next week before facing defending D-IV section champion Roseville, giving them some time to enjoy what they accomplished Friday. "One out of 12 people picked us to win, and it was their upset of the week, and we took it," Brickey said. "We're going to celebrate until midnight. I might give them all the way till Monday because we've got a bye week, but then we've got to go 1-0 against Roseville."