Whitney gets second chance, rallies past Jesuit in wild 35-33 finish

Whitney quarterback Brad Duncan thought he had thrown away the Wildcats' chance to win its first Sierra Foothill League game since 2024. With 42 seconds remaining in Friday night's homecoming game against Jesuit, Duncan's interception gave the Marauders possession and a chance to run out the clock with a 33-32 lead. Instead, Jesuit fumbled near midfield and suddenly, Duncan and the Wildcats had another chance. "I was so down in the dumps after I threw the pick," Duncan said. "Once I got that fumble, I feel like something just flipped in my mind. I just locked straight back in." Duncan took advantage of the second opportunity, driving into position for Gavyn Dulaney, who drilled a 29-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a stunning 35-33 victory over Jesuit in a chaotic SFL opener. The victory moved Whitney to 5-0 and punctuated a start that has already marked a dramatic change for a program that has spent the past several seasons trying to establish itself. "The feeling's unreal," Duncan said. "I feel like everyone doubts us. Everyone has doubted us for the past years, and I feel like this win just puts us on the map." But getting there was anything but easy. Whitney trailed 14-7 at halftime and fell behind 27-13 early in the fourth quarter before mounting a furious comeback that saw the Wildcats score 19 unanswered points, surrender the lead with 1:06 remaining, then somehow get the ball back after Duncan's interception appeared to end their hopes. It was the kind of game where every break mattered and Whitney got one of its biggest when Dulaney's kickoff after Jason Taormino's fourth-down touchdown went awry. Dulaney was trying to drive the ball deep, but instead hit a hard line drive that bounced off a Jesuit player. Whitney recovered at the Jesuit 33-yard line. "I was not trying to do that," Dulaney said. "That did not go to plan." Whitney made sure to take advantage of it, as Cash Stevens scored on a 19-yard touchdown run, although Jesuit blocked the extra point to preserve a 27-26 lead with 8:52 remaining. Less than a minute later, Whitney recovered another Jesuit fumble at the Marauders' 29. This time, the Wildcats took the lead. Tarble scored on a 12-yard touchdown run with 5:47 remaining, putting Whitney ahead 32-27 after the Wildcats had trailed by two touchdowns less than six minutes earlier. "We play fast, we play physical, and ultimately we've been playing a defense that bends and doesn't break," Whitney coach Brian Brickey said. "And then when you get a break, and you actually are the one who was on the better side of it, Travis Garabedian in that offense and its ability to score in a lightning manner never keeps you out of the game." But Jesuit wasn't finished. With 1:06 remaining, Jeremiah Brannon connected with Colton Dewar for a 39-yard touchdown, putting the Marauders back in front 33-32. Whitney still had a chance, but Rosales intercepted Duncan with 42 seconds left. Jesuit needed only a first down to all but seal the game. Instead, the Marauders fumbled near midfield and Whitney recovered with 33 seconds remaining. Duncan, who had just walked off the field believing his interception had cost Whitney the game, suddenly had another opportunity to make up for it. "I was like, 'We can do this,'" Duncan said. "We have the amount of timeouts. We can drive down the field, kick a field goal, go win this game." Whitney did exactly that and Dulaney came onto the field with two seconds remaining and calmly drilled the winning kick. For Dulaney, the key was treating the moment like any other kick. "I'm standing on the sideline, preparing myself, visualizing just by myself, no holder, no snapper," Dulaney said. "I'm envisioning going through the uprights." He was told the kick would come from the left hash. "Banged it right through the middle," Dulaney said. "It's basically just preparation. Each time you've got to go through your mind, go through your process. Same thing I do in baseball. You've got to go through the process, do your job." Dulaney did his job, and Whitney secured one of the biggest wins in recent program history. The Wildcats had already shown they were capable of playing from behind this season, but Friday provided their biggest test yet. Duncan credited offensive coordinator Travis Garabedian with helping transform the Whitney offense. "I feel like he's just brought this whole offense together and just taught our team how to play like a real team," Duncan said. "He doesn't get mad at anything. If we're messing up, we stay in the zone." That composure helped Whitney navigate a fourth-quarter rally that put the Wildcats in position to win and Brickey said the victory was a reflection of his team's willingness to stay aggressive. "I can't appreciate the players more for their grit and attitude," he said. At 5-0, Whitney has already matched its best start in nearly two decades and now has an SFL victory to validate its unbeaten run. "I feel like this win just puts us on the map," Duncan said. "People are going to be scared playing us because this shows how good of a team we actually are." Dulaney put it even more simply after the final kick. "Look what happened," he said. "Now we're putting that SFL on notice." Whitney (5-0, 1-0 SFL) will face Folsom next week.