Twelve Bridges upends Whitney in offensive showcase

The Twelve Bridges High School football team made the grueling, treacherous and daunting 1.4-mile drive to Whitney Friday night as the two neighboring schools renewed their budding rivalry on the gridiron. The Raging Rhinos wasted no time setting the tone Friday night, storming out to an early lead and cruising to a 42–27 victory over Whitney behind a balanced attack and a near-flawless night from senior quarterback Caden Frontiera. Frontiera carved up the Wildcats' secondary, completing 16 of 21 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those scores went to senior wideout Will Gant, who turned just three catches into 129 yards and showed his big-play ability with a 66-yard strike down the sideline. The Rhinos' ground game was just as punishing, racking up 252 rushing yards with four different players finding the end zone. Senior running back Chase Wyhlidko led the charge with 93 yards and a touchdown, while junior Josh Chittom added 65 yards, including a 44-yard burst that set up his own score. Senior Matthew Marquez chipped in with 38 yards on six carries, but did most of his damage in the passing game with 86 yards on seven catches. Bradley Kirby had a scoring plunge as well. The Rhinos used a trio of rushing touchdowns in the first half to take a 21-0 lead into halftime. Twelve Bridges started the third quarter right where it left off, as Frontiera found Gant for the first of his two touchdowns. Whitney responded quickly, as quarterback Carson Floyd connected with Easton Tarble for an 80-yard dart to put the Wildcats on the board. Despite trailing 35-7 through three quarters, the Wildcats would not go quietly. Whitney scored 20 points in the fourth, but the rally came far too late to overcome the early hole. Floyd led the charge through the air and was aided by Cash Stevens and Landon Tarble in the backfield. The Rhinos defense swarmed all night. Linebacker Davin Markle added nine tackles, while Whylidko and Chittom each netted seven. Nevada commit Colton Hogge had six tackles and a tackle for loss. Twelve Bridges got after Floyd with 24 total quarterback pressures, 20 of which came from either Hogge or Markle. Twelve Bridges (3-0) improves its regular-season winning streak to 23 with the victory and will face a tough test Friday night on the road at Arroyo Grande (1-2). Whitney (1-2) will be idle this week before wrapping up nonleague play next week against Davis.