Whiteoak Wildcats open season with consecutive wins 

MOWRYSTOWN  — Friday night saw the Whiteoak Wildcats open their 2024-25 season with a convincing 42-point win over conference rival Ripley, and they followed that performance with a second consecutive victory, defeating East Clinton on Saturday night. 

Friday saw the Wildcats dominate the visiting Blue Jays with a 72-30 win to start not only the season, but play in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. 

WHS led 20-13 after the first quarter came to a close with the Wildcats scoring the first points of the game off a jumper by junior Brady Brandenburg, and from there the two teams stayed within three points of each other until the 1:54 mark of the quarter when Brandenburg scored another basket for a Whiteoak lead of 14-9. 

That lead improved to seven points with a basket by senior Zander Roades, and after the two teams exchanged baskets, two free throws by junior Sawyer Blair put the Wildcats ahead by nine points at 20-11. 

Ripley eventually trailed by seven points when the first quarter closed, but Whiteoak responded by outscoring the Blue Jays 14-10 in the second quarter for a Wildcat halftime lead of 34-23. 

WHS began the second with six straight points for a 26-13 lead. They eventually built a 15-point lead with a basket by junior Zach Igo with 1:52 left in the quarter, and once the second ended and halftime arrived, Whiteoak held the 11-point lead. 

“We finally shot the ball like I feel like we're capable of,” WHS head coach Greg Patton said. “We struggled, obviously, all last year, and we struggled at times during scrimmages and everything. Our defensive pressure got some easy baskets. That was huge for us.”

The second frame included six points by Roades, four points by Brandenburg, Igo with two points and Christopher Wessner also scored two points. 

Whiteoak won the third quarter 26-4, starting the quarter with a layup by sophomore Jonah Michael and a put-back basket by Brandenburg. After two points by the Blue Jays, senior Aiden Crowe sank a 3-pointer, starting a 16-0 run from the 6:08 mark to the 2:58 mark of the third, putting WHS ahead by 29 points. 

That 3-pointer was followed with a 3-pointer by Roades and a layup from Crowe. Next was a 3-pointer from Roades and two points by Brandenburg for the 54-25 lead. 

Two points were scored by the Blue Jays to break up the scoring run, but WHS ended the quarter by outsourcing the Blue Jays with six consecutive points, with two from Blair and the final four scored by Michael, including a 3-pointer to end the frame for a 33-point lead. 

The final quarter saw the Wildcats win the frame 12-3. Whiteoak’s points were scored by Igo with five in the quarter (including a 3-pointer), a 3-pointer from sophomore Caden Butler and four points by sophomore Jason Gaskins off two baskets.

“This was a total team win,” Patton said. “Everybody played well. I'm happy that boys came out and kept the intensity from start to finish.”

Final scoring totals for the Wildcats saw Brandenburg lead the team with 16 points (five rebounds, five assists, three steals), followed by Roades with 14 points (two rebounds, one steal) and 10 points from Blair (three rebounds, five assists, one steal), giving WHS three players with double-figure scoring. 

Crowe tallied eight points in the win, Igo totaled seven points, Michael had six total points, Gaskins scored four points, Butler finished with three points, senior Jackson Tedford had two points and Wessner finished with two points for the Wildcats. 

As a team, WHS totaled 23 two-point baskets, seven 3-pointers, and they finished 5-of-10 from the free-throw line. 

Gavin Benjamin led Ripley with eight points, and Blake Fyffe had seven points for the Blue Jays. Other final scoring totals for RHS were: Jayden Bartley (five), Brooklyn Jordan (four), Marcus Huff (four) and Ian Young (two). 

BOX SCORE
RHS    13 10 04 03 — 30
WHS    20 14 26 12 — 72

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On Saturday, the Wildcats won by a 60-44 score over the visiting East Clinton Astros at WHS. 

WHS trailed 16-13 after the first quarter but rebounded with an 18-7 second frame for a 31-23 halftime lead. 

Whiteoak scored 15 points in the third quarter and held ECHS to seven points for a 46-30 lead after three quarters, and in the fourth quarter the Wildcats and Astros each scored 14 points, giving WHS a 16-point win. 

Leading WHS in scoring were Zander Roades and Brady Brandenburg with 15 points each. Roades also totaled three 3-pointers, two rebounds, four assists, six steals and a block. Brandenburg finished with nine rebounds, one assist and two steals. 

Aiden Crowe totaled 11 points and eight rebounds in the win, while Sawyer Blair finished with 10 points and six assists. 

Other scoring totals for WHS included Caden Butler (two), Jonah Michael (three) and Zach Igo (four). Jackson Tedford finished with seven rebounds. 

The two wins move WHS to 1-0 in the SHAC and 2-0 overall. 

Whiteoak is scheduled to play again on Tuesday, Dec. 3 on the road in a non-conference game against Bethel-Tate. 

BOX SCORE
ECHS    16 07 07 14 — 44
WHS    13 18 15 14 — 60

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