Dukes Fall to Grafton in Opener
- Updated: August 21, 2022
Photo Courtesy of Kirk Behrendt
The Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes dropped a tough one to the Grafton Black Hawks, 14-10, in the opening game of the 2022 season at Lubar Stadium on Friday night. It was the first time the two teams have met since 2019, Grafton’s last year as members of the North Shore Conference.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Blue Dukes got on the scoreboard first with the very first play of the second quarter. Facing a 4th-and-8 from the Grafton 33-yard line, Quarterback Ben Volpe hit Tight End Joe Morello up the seam to give both players their first career touchdowns.
After both teams would punt on their next possessions, the Black Hawks tied things up at 7 on a 30-yard pass with 3:09 left in the first half.
Bay would answer, however, with three points of their own. A 10-play drive starting from their own 35-yard line would use up the remainder of the clock and senior Kicker Aleks Sauer-Milli would drill a 34-yard field goal to give the Blue Dukes a 10-7 lead at halftime.
A scoreless third quarter kept the game at 10-7 Blue Dukes going into the final quarter. After a 15-play drive that started with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter, the Black Hawks punched another one into the endzone to take a 14-10 lead with 9:00 minutes left in the game.
The Blue Dukes would come up empty on their last two possessions and suffered their first loss of the 2022 season. Volpe finished the game 7-of-15 for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception, along with 65 yards on the ground on 11 carries. Senior Running Back Sean Callahan was the leading rusher with 77 yards and 15 carries and Wing Back Ben Beckmann lead the Blue Dukes with 43 yards on 5 catches. Defensively, Junior Safety Ryan Scarlett and Junior Linbacker Carter Smith led the Blue Dukes with 8 tackles each.
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Next Up…
The Blue Dukes travel to Raabe Stadium at Wisconsin Lutheran College to take on the Wisconsin Lutheran Vikings. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm on Friday, August 26th.
