Oakridge grinds out late comeback, spoils Whitehall football homecoming in 14-13 defeat

WHITEHALL — After three years of Whitehall dominating the usually hypercompetitive Oakridge series, the Eagles gained some revenge with a dramatic comeback Friday night to spoil the Vikings' homecoming game.

Two long second-half drives by Oakridge ate up over 13 minutes of clock, and Whitehall's last gasp just missed in a 14-13 Vikings' defeat.

"They made a lot of great plays," Whitehall coach Tony Sigmon said. "They took it all the way down to where they took it.  That's a credit to them. It's a physical game, and they had a little bit more in the tank than we did tonight."

There was little sign at halftime that the Eagles would be the team with more in the tank. Whitehall (4-2, 3-1 West Michigan Conference Lakes) had largely controlled the first half and led 13-0 at the break after quarterback Cole Essebaggers made some excellent plays to spearhead touchdown drives. The Vikings' first scoring drive, late in the second quarter, saw Essebaggers use his mobility to pull off two spectacular plays - first converting a 3rd-and-18 situation by scrambling for the first down, then a couple of plays later escaping a sack multiple times and finding Ayden Mendoza with a deep pass to the 1-yard line. Liam Leeke then cashed in with a short touchdown run.

After Whitehall got a quick three-and-out to get the ball back before halftime, Essebaggers was able to use his emerging strength as a deep ball passer to find Corde Anderson for a 37-yard score to get his team a two-score lead. The Vikings missed the point after, which would ultimately loom large but seemed a minor setback at the time.

Essebaggers threw for 121 yards and ran for 63 more in the game.

"I think Cole's doing a great job, and he continued to do a great job tonight," Sigmon said.

Even after Oakridge's long scoring drives - and an interception when a miscommunication with his receivers saw Essebaggers lob a deep ball that the Eagles' Tremaine Stevenson chased down for a pick - Whitehall still had one final chance with under 30 seconds to go. After a scramble and a penalty moved the Vikes within deep-ball touchdown range for the final play, Essebaggers ran to his right and threw a pass that unfortunately took Anderson a few yards out of the end zone, though the senior did catch the ball.

"They're a great football team," Sigmon said of Oakridge. "I would expect nothing less from them. Tim Parker is an excellent coach, a very proud tradition. How many years have they not missed the playoffs? I can't even remember, so that's exactly what I expected to see from them.

"I really feel like our kids battled to the end. It was just a physical, hard-nosed football game that I expect any time we play these guys. Anybody that doesn't expect that is crazy."

Oakridge's offense, so dormant most of the night against Whitehall, was able to grind out a scoring drive that took 5:29 off the clock in the third quarter, ending in a 26-yard scoring run by Jordan Guerrero-McGrady. Then, after forcing a Whitehall punt, the Eagles took 7:33 off the clock with another long drive. Cody Manzo made a good defensive play to make a tackle on a screen pass and force a 3rd-and-12 at the 15-yard line, but after a timeout, Oakridge perfectly executed a pass on which Jayden Dailey leaked out of the backfield and caught an open 15-yard scoring toss from Logen Huston.

The Viking offense struggled to move the ball in the second half, being denied on fourth down at the Eagles' 15-yard line on their first drive of the third quarter and never getting that close again.

It was a disheartening loss for Whitehall, but one it has no choice but to rebound from. A huge clash with a Ludington team that's routed four straight league opponents awaits next week, but the Vikings could still move back into a first-place tie in the WMC Lakes with a win.

"We regroup," Sigmon said of the Vikings' next step. "We have the best Monday practice you can possibly have."

Liam Leeke ran for 69 yards for Whitehall, and Corde Anderson had 70 yards receiving on four catches. Hunter Peterson posted 11 tackles defensively, and Colten Kyser and Anderson had eight each, with Anderson adding two pass breakups.