What We Saw: White Knoll 16, Lexington 0

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LEXINGTON | </strong>After watching Shrine Bowl linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='911089' first='Jaiden' last='Kimble']</strong> and defensive linemen <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142785' first='Lincoln' last='Ilunga']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142518' first='Demenico' last='Banks']</strong> of White Knoll firsthand Friday, Lexington head coach Dustin Curtis gave this honest assessment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“They have a lot of dudes," he said. “They have a lot of talent. They have a lot of experience with the talent that's fast."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The trio played a prominent role in the Timberwolves' 16-0 victory over Lexington. From holding Lexington to 80 total yards of offense to sacking quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='208887' first='Taiden' last='Mines']</strong> six times and forcing four turnovers, White Knoll's defensive stalwarts insured it left Wildcat Stadium still undefeated and region champions for the first time since 2014.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our defensive line is quick, it's tenacious," White Knoll head coach Nic Pelham said. “We use 22 [player_tooltip player_id='1142518' first='Demenico' last='Banks'] in nickel situations to rush the passer, so I'm really proud of him. How he's grown up. He's a great player, but I don't think he was really into it before and now he is.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Lincoln's a great pass rusher. Jaiden's a great blitzer. (<strong>Jake Sharpe</strong>) stayed in his lane tonight, our nickel nose tackle. It was an amazing job by our defensive front."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game was hard-hitting on both sides of the football. Lexington had a goal line stand on White Knoll's first possession. Linebackers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448988' first='Christian' last='Sexton']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='836316' first='Matthew' last='McAulay']</strong> and <strong>Montrell Bryd </strong>all made key stops on the Timberwolves' opening drive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McAulay led the Wildcats with eight tackles, followed by Byrd with six and <strong>Daniel Bryant</strong> with five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='346199' first='Landon' last='Sharpe']</strong> (pictured left) accounted for both touchdowns for the Timberwolves. After a 31-yard punt return by [player_tooltip player_id='994939' first='CJ' last='Earl'], he found wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448995' first='Austin' last='Cunningham']</strong> down the sidelines for a 20-yard touchdown to open the second quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was Cunningham's second touchdown since returning from a Week 0 leg injury. His team-high six catches for 76 yards was especially valuable with Shrine Bowl tight end Hasan Lee on the sidelines wearing a boot on his right leg from an injury suffered a week earlier against Dutch Fork. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We've been playing together for a while, so when he (Cunningham) came back it was kind of the same thing," Sharpe said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lexington looked to answer and drove the football to the White Knoll 32. White Knoll's Kimble forced the football from Mines and returned it 10 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kimble had 3.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks and punted three times for an average of 30.3 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two teams traded interceptions as Jacob Gepfert picked off Sharpe inside the Lexington 11. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1172353' first='James' last='Smith']</strong> then regained the football for White Knoll with a 32-yard interception return.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A 17-yard reception by Cunningham set up a one-yard keeper by Sharpe to put White Knoll up 13-0 at halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sharpe finished 9-17 passing for 117 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1036740' first='Tiyon' last='Fanning'] (pictured right) led the Timberwolves with 108 rushing yards, dwarfing Lexington's total number of -23 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“The key to high school football is stopping the run and we stopped the run the early part of the game and we forced (Offensive coordinator Adam) Gamble and Coach Curtis to throw a little bit more than what they wanted to do and then we could get our pressures (in),” Pelham said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each team made a fourth down stop to force changes of possession in the second half. A 25-yard field goal by <strong>Jordy Aguilera</strong> was the lone score of the final 24 minutes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Linebacker <strong>Marcus Domenech</strong> sacked Mines twice during Lexington's final two possessions to help preserve White Knoll's third shutout of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mines finished 13-20 passing for 103 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It was really good because last year he got a lot of rushing yards on us, so we really wanted to stop him this year. Stop the outside runs," said Ilunga, who had a team-high six tackles and three sacks, about containing Mines. “That's what we did tonight."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“He'll probably tell you he probably didn't have his best game, but certainly they have a lot of athletes that can create a lot of problems upfront,” Curtis said. “I told the kids after the game I was really proud of how hard they played. It wasn't an effort thing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“That's a really, really experienced well-coached team that also plays hard. You call me crazy, but the three best defenses in 5A (White Knoll, Dutch Fork, and White Knoll) might be in our region and I really mean that."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->