By: Hanna Duenkel and Rikki Pepino
The Huskies braved the frigid cold on Friday, November 14 and defeated the Eagles of Thomas Edison High School 54-6. The Huskies will advance in the VHSL 5A playoffs and have increased their win streak to 11-0.
The Huskies kicked off to Edison to start the first half of the game. The undefeated team began their attack with a strong offense led by senior running back Noah Reimers who scored a 32-yard touchdown after a quiet start with Edison holding decent defense. Reimers then charged, making for another rushing touchdown, this time with 22-yards following up with an 11-yard touchdown with 1:24 left in the quarter. With 3 good PATs from junior Finley Underhill, the Huskies ended the first quarter 21-0 on Edison’s 22 yard line.
“[Senior] Jason Chubbuck got hurt [during the first quarter], but he played his heart out like he has been all season. Our defensive players are great; they are doing awesome as well.These are the playoffs so we can’t mess around,” said senior Matt Turner.
The second quarter ensued with the Huskies on Edison’s 38-yard line. Junior quarterback Daniel Smith completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Duron Norris, increasing the Huskies’ lead 27-0. The following PAT was blocked by Edison’s senior wide receiver Damien Jones Jr. After numerous penalties from the Huskies in the middle of the first half, Reimers broke free from Edison’s 20-yard line for an 11-yard touchdown ending the half 34-0.
“We just came out of here and took care of business, let the younger guys go in, and just shut [Edison] down,” said Norris.
Edison kicked off to Tuscarora at the start of the 2nd half. The momentum of the game quickly intensified for the Huskies as junior Jonathan Roebuck ran an 80-yard kick return for a touchdown increasing their lead 41-0.
“We had scrimmaged [Edison] in the preseason, so we were a bit familiar with the team,” said Head Coach Michael Burnett. “They have a lot of young players and they played very hard against us.”
The Eagles began to get busy at the 4th managing a touchdown. A missed PAT lead Eagles to trail the Huskies 6-41. The situation took a turn for the worst for the Eagles as Tuscarora sophomore Nick Kallivokas completed a touchdown pass to increase the lead to 47-6. Junior Mateo Taylor followed up with a 10-yard rushing touchdown to end the game 54-6.
“I expected to play a little bit,” said Kallivokas, who threw his first varsity touchdown pass. “Coach told me to be ready and we went out and formed the line. We played well and did everything right.”
“I think that our record, being 11-0 now, really represents how much we want to work hard this year, especially for Coach Fortune,” said senior Elizabeth Ohmer who led the Terror that night along with Turner. “When our winning streak started, we really wanted to keep at it and keep the spirit going as well.”
Huskies advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs, eliminating Edison. The Huskies play Wakefield High School at Fortune Field on Friday, November 21.
“It’s a good team boost for next week. We gotta get on and get back in the weight room to get prepared for next week,” said Kallivokas. “This [victory over Edison] was one more step; we need four more.”
“Continuing to have fun with a great bunch of kids and see the excitement in the entire school as we move forward,” said Burnett when asked what he most looked forward to in the playoffs.
“Most of the guys in the team are really pumped going to states,” said Ohmer. “During the senior assembly, I was with some of the football players; I asked them about getting class rings and [senior] Noah Klemm said, ‘No, I’d already be getting a ring for winning states, why would I want to get another one?’”
Reimers ended the game with 188 yards on 12 attempts, followed by senior Ish Williams with 27 yards on 5 attempts. Reimers is currently ranked #1 on rushing yards in the league totaling 2221 yards after the game. The Harvard-bound senior also added 4 more touchdowns under his belt after the game; he leads the league in rushing touchdowns.
