Whiteleather shines as Rochester defeats Sto-Rox

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 5, 2018 | 11:33 PM

Noah Whiteleather gained 138 yards on 27 carries and scored on runs of 27 and 3 yards as Rochester defeated Sto-Rox, 32-12, in a pivotal Class A Big Seven Conference contest Friday night.

Whiteleather came into Week 6 as the fourth-leading rusher in the WPIAL with nearly 1,200 yards rushing and was able to have success against a Vikings defense that hadn’t surrendered an offensive touchdown in their last four games.

Whiteleather scored the first of his two touchdowns at the 5:42 mark of the first quarter as he slipped off of left tackle to give the Rams their first lead, 6-0.

“We knew what we had to do,” Whiteleather said. “We knew they were going to stack the line and blitz all game. We took care of business.”

The Vikings, who never led in the game, tied the score 6-6 with 8:32 left in the first half when Eric Wilson found Ahmad Pack in the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown. It was fourth-and-11 when Wilson stepped up in the pocket and eluded defenders before finding Pack.

The Rams regained the lead just 3:02 later as Tarique Sherod hauled in a pass from Whiteleather on a fourth-and-7 play from the 37-yard line. The ball was under-thrown and went through two Vikings defenders’ hands, right into the awaiting hands of Sherod who then scored to give the Rams a 12-6 lead.

Sto-Rox tied the game 12-12 with less than three minutes left in the half when Jaiden Berry snagged a 12-yard pass from Wilson.

It looked as if Rochester would regain the lead before halftime, but Whiteleather was stripped of the football inside the Sto-Rox 5-yard line. On the play, Viking end Melvin Allen scooped up the ball and returned it 84 yards to the Rams’ 10-yard line. It was only a hustling play by Rams fullback Darius Goosby that kept Allen from the defensive score.

After a couple of penalties and four incomplete passes, Sto-Rox turned the ball over on downs and the game went to halftime tied 12-12.

After a scoreless third quarter, Rochester got three touchdowns from three different running backs in the final 12 minutes. Whiteleather (3 yards), Goosby (70 yards) and Dah’vell Duke (2 yards) all scored to ensure victory for Rochester.

Wilson, who came into Week 6 leading the WPIAL in touchdown passes with 25 and was second in passing yards with 1,715, finished the night 20 of 41 for 205 yards with two touchdowns and four intereceptions for Sto-Rox.

Sto-Rox also committed 22 penalties which totaled 220 yards.

Steve Nagler is a freelance writer.

Tags: Rochester, Sto-Rox