Dukes Steamroll Vikings
- Updated: August 28, 2023
Photo Courtesy of NZ Gorham
The Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes made a statement on Friday night with a 44-7 thrashing of the Wisconsin Lutheran Vikings at Lubar Stadium. The win brings the Dukes’ record to 1-1 ahead of North Shore Conference play.
It was all Dukes from the start as they marched down the field on the opening drive of the game to take an early 6-0 behind a Ben Volpe 7-yard rushing touchdown. Volpe would tack on a second rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter from 11 yards out to push the lead to 14.
The Dukes Offense wasn’t done there as they would find the endzone two more times before the half. Ben Beckmann took a shovel pass from Volpe 26-yards through the Vikings defense for a 22-0 lead.
The Vikings would finally get on the board with just over 2 minutes left in the first half, but their celebrations would be short lived as Volpe found Axl Woods deep down the sideline for a 76-yard bomb to take a 30-7 into the break. Woods had 2 catches for 107 yards in the game.
Two more touchdowns for the Dukes in the third quarter would bring the beatdown to an end. Volpe would find Beckmann in the endzone from 7-yards out for their second connection of the game. Volpe finished the game 9 of 10 for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns for a perfect passer rating. Junior back Harry Bortolotti capped off the night with a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Bortolotti had 95 yards on 13 carries to lead a Bay rushing attack that saw 8 guys carry the ball for a combined 296 yards on the ground.
A relentless Dukes D held a lethal option rushing attack to 121 yards on 31 carries. Linebacker Carter Smith led the way with 9 tackles and safety Quinn “Gator” McCarthy added 7. Smith, Jack Sievert, and Reggie Hart each recovered a fumble.
Box Score Ι Photo Gallery
Statistics courtesy of Brandon Rindfleisch
Photo Gallery courtesy of NZ Gorham
Next Up…
The Blue Dukes travel to Washington County to begin North Shore Conference play against the Hartford Orioles on Friday, September 1st at 7pm.
