Mallmann’s effort leads Falcons
GREENFIELD – The Woodland Conference may have been revamped by realignment, but the league is still as wild and crazy as it has ever.
The league, known for its balance of teams and sometimes explosive offenses, lived up to its hype Friday night when Whitnall scored a 43-33 victory over Milwaukee Lutheran in the East Division opener for both teams.
In fact, it was Lutheran’s first game ever in the league.
In the end, the Red Knights couldn’t stop senior running back Andrew Mallmann, who set a school record with 305 yards in 33 carries. After Lutheran scored back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter to trim a 17-point deficit to 30-27 with 6 minutes 4 seconds to play, Mallmann’s
69-yard touchdown run with 5:45 swung momentum back in his team’s favor.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
BACK-TO-BACK: Mallmann’s play has to have Falcons fans excited. After playing through last season with a foot injury, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound back has gained more than 500 yards in two games. In his breakout sophomore season, he gained 1,142 yards.
His 69-yard run in the fourth quarter was a classic case of how good things can happen if a back keeps his feet moving. On that play, Mallmann feet never stopped and he was able to shake off a couple of potential tacklers on the way to the end zone.
IN THE TRENCHES: After you get a look at Mallmann, you take a look up front see a massive line blocking for him.
NICE DEBUT: Lutheran (0-2, 0-1) didn’t get the victory, but it showed well in its first game in the league.
Senior Josiah Hedrington finished with 113 yards rushing and 246 yards passing to eclipse 100 yards in both categories for the second straight week. The team has plenty of speed and has a couple of intriguing prospects in senior receiver Isaiah Owens and junior running back Ken Daniel Jr.
The 6-6, 205-pounds Owens finished with touchdowns of 5 and 64 yards and had six catches for 127 yards. Daniel had nine carries for 79 yards, but at 6-1, 231 pounds is the kind of guys you don’t want to tackle in the fourth quarter.
KEY MOMENT: The game turned in the third quarter on a 15-play, 94yard drive that Mallmann capped with a 5yard TD run with about 8 minutes left in the third. The key play in that possession was a fourthand-1 play in which it appeared Milwaukee Lutheran stopped Mallmann for no gain. Whitnall was awarded the first down and went on to score to take a 24-13 lead.
SIGNAL CALLING: Jacob Flores shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle of Whitnall’s victory. The 5foot-9, 155-pound senior quarterback is a slippery runner who converted a number of plays and who does a nice job on his ball fakes to Mallmann.