Dukes Spoil Bulldogs
- Updated: October 16, 2022
The Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes played spoiler Friday night with a big 28-21 win over the Cedarburg Bulldogs, who would have advanced to the WIAA Playoffs with a win. The victory snapped a 4-game losing streak for Bay and ended a tough season on a high note.
Cedarburg struck first with a 12-play drive that ended in a touchdown to give themselves a 7-0 lead with just under 6 minutes left in the opening quarter. They wouldn’t have another lead the rest of the game.
On the ensuing possession, Sophomore running back Harry Bortolotti ripped off a 36-yard run on the Dukes’ second play from scrimmage to put the Dukes O in business. Bortolotti, making his first career start in the backfield, rushed for 63 of his 80 total yards (12 carries) on the opening drive. Facing 4th-and-Goal from the 5-yard line, quarterback Ben Volpe turned a broken play into a score as he scrambled around the right side to tie the game at 7.
Sean Callahan, wearing his Blue Dukes jersey for the last time, would take over from there. With the Bulldogs possessing the ball near midfield, they’d try to take a deep shot down the sideline when Callahan raced over for the interception that he’d return for a touchdown.
Both teams would trade punts on their next possessions before Cedarburg tied the score at 14 with 33 seconds to go before half.
With great starting field position to open the second half, the Dukes would get the ball down to the Cedarburg 29 where they’d be faced with a 4th-and-5. The Dukes would convert, and in a big way. Callahan, split out to left, ran past his defender and reeled in a perfectly placed ball by Volpe in the back of the endzone to give the Blue Dukes a 21-14 lead in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was drawing near when the Bulldogs tried to catch the Dukes sleeping, but they were stuffed on a fake punt in their own territory. Callahan then worked runs of 17, 11, 6, and 5 yards before finding paydirt on a 5-yard toss for his third touchdown of the game that gave Bay a 28-14 lead. The senior finished with 64 yards on 10 carries.
The Bulldogs would answer on their next possession to make it a ballgame with 7 minutes remaining, but a Dukes D that played tough all night got off the field when it mattered most. A deep pass on 4th-and-16 from the Bulldogs on their own 33 was broken up, turning the ball over to Bay who would run the clock out for a much-needed victory.
Box Score
Statistics courtesy of Brandon Rindfleisch
