Dukes Endanger the Owls
- Updated: October 17, 2021
Photo Courtesy of Rod Brower
The Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes held on against the Slinger Owls, 21-14, at Lubar Stadium on Friday Night to win back-to-back outright conference championships. The Blue Dukes would go on to earn the 2-seed in the Divison 3 Playoffs later in the night.
The Dukes used a balanced rushing attack to take a 21-7 lead into the half. Jack Nau put the home team on the board first by taking a jet sweep around the end for an 11-yard touchdown. Nau’s 4th rushing touchdown of the year capped off a 13-play drive to start the game that took just over five and a half minutes. The Owls, however, would tie it up at 7 on their ensuing drive.
After each team was forced to punt on their next possessions, the Dukes turned to the ground again to go up 14-7. Facing 3rd and 5 from the Slinger 36, the Dukes fed Sean Callahan on the next 4 plays, with the junior running back scoring from 16-yards out with 4:41 left in the first half.
Callahan wasn’t content with a 7-point lead, however, and intercepted a deep Slinger pass on the very first play of their next possession. Five plays later, Nigel Cheeks found a seam and scampered in for a 35-yard touchdown. Aleks Sauer-Milli’s 3rd extra point of the half was good to give the Dukes the 21-7 lead into the break.
With a tough Owl defense keeping the Dukes off the board in the second half, a stingy Dukes D held strong to finish off the game and give Bay a 2nd straight conference title. Mike Strecansky added an interception and a tenacious defensive line led by Reid Jamerson and Joe Brunner wreaked havoc in the backfield. Jamerson added two sacks on the night and Brunner got one. Nick Lewis led the team with 8 tackles, with Callahan and Dom Bartolone adding 7 tackles each. Slinger gained just 196 yards of total offense on the night.
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Next Up…
The 7-seed New Berlin West Vikings come to Lubar Stadium for a Level I Playoff game. Kickoff is set for 7pm on Friday, October 22nd.
