Dukes Battle Homestead Down to the Wire
- Updated: September 22, 2019
The Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes added another heartbreak finish to their record for the second week in a row, falling 34-31 to arch rival Homestead at Lubar Stadium on Thursday night.
The Dukes surprised The Highlanders with a first strike, 66 yard touchdown by RB Nigel Cheeks in the 1st quarter. Homestead tied things up only minutes later, but QB Jayden Jackson answered with a hand off to RB Drew Gracia, who burned up 82 yards of turf to bring the Dukes to 14-7.
Homestead QB Ian Sheehy tied things up at the start of the 2nd quarter with a 45 yard TD to WR Luke Konick, and later brought the score to 21-14 on his own 13 yard run. He continued the momentum, handing off to JJ Kovill for a 15 yard TD to make it 28-14. Despite a fumble recovery by DL Israel Blunt, Homestead moved the scoreboard again when kicker Jack Gresham put up a 26 yard field goal with only 24 seconds left on the clock, moving the Highlanders lead to 31-14.
The Dukes, however, didn’t go calmly into the night. RB Drew Garcia, who had 183 yards rushing for the night, began the Dukes’ 3rd quarter rally with a 74 yard TD, bringing the game to 31-21. Then, with only 1:29 left in the quarter, Kicker Michael Kauffman nailed a 33 yard field goal to inch the Dukes forward, 31-24.
Not surprisingly, the 4th quarter was a battle royal. The Dukes D held off Sheehy and the Homestead offense with hard-nosed play until Highlander Kicker Jack Gresham put a 35 yard kick through the uprights on 4th and 8 to give Homestead a 34-24 lead.
Undaunted, the Dukes rallied back. RB Drew Garcia ran in a 14 yard TD to cut The Highlanders lead to 34-31, but, with only 2:43 remaining on the clock, the Dukes just couldn’t narrow the gap any further.
Next Up …
The Dukes return to Lubar Stadium again on Sept. 27, 2019 to face West Bend East at 7:00 p.m.