WHITING | West Central drove an hour and a half Friday to get to Ray P. Gallivan stadium for the Class A Sectional 33 matchup with Whiting.
It spent the next two and a half hours on what seemed like one long drive down the field to beat the state No. 3-ranked Oilers 43-3.
"They run their offense very well; they do what they do very well," Whiting coach Jeff Cain said of the No. 8 Trojans. "They block well and their schemes are good. Obviously, it's a tough offense for us to defend."
West Central (10-1) finished with 468 yards rushing, 327 in the first half when only Chantz Marlatt and Michael Hamilton carried the ball.
"High school momentum, college momentum, professional momentum, you know, momentum can be huge," Cain said.
Hamilton, the quarterback, rushed for 278. He only threw the ball twice, neither time for a completion.
The bulk of the damage came on a 66-yard scoring scamper by Marlatt on the Trojans' second play from scrimmage and Hamilton's 88-yard touchdown run with just over a minute left before halftime.
"Both of those kids are pretty good," Cain said.
But it wasn't just big plays. West Central racked up 14 first-half first downs and controlled possession for long periods of time.
Times No. 5 Whiting (10-1) had it's only score on Rene Calderon's 32-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Oilers appeared to have something cooking on that possession but stalled at the 15-yard line.
Hamilton and Marlatt each added another rushing score in the second half, and Hamilton returned an Oilers fumble 53 yards for a touchdown.
Whiting only managed 100 yards of total offense on 32 plays. West Central snapped the ball 59 times.
"I wouldn't change this group for anything. We had a fun run," Cain said. "Those kids are going to move on and they're going to be great individuals in life. I'm talking about fathers and husbands, and they're going to be successful individuals."
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