By Kris Freeman
White House Football

There were two things the White House football team hoped for in Friday's long road trip to DeKalb County - to escape injury free and get a third straight win in Region 4-3A.

Doing both with a 25-12 victory over the Tigers, who remain winless in the region, the Blue Devils set up a huge Sumner County matchup at undefeated Station Camp in week nine. The Bison are 8-0 (4-0) and host White House at 5-3 (3-1) and the winner of the game will be the unofficial leader of the pack heading into the final week of the season.

While Station Camp is all but assured a playoff spot and playing for a chance to clinch a home game, the Blue Devils are still not guaranteed a postseason appearance with two games to play, as the middle of the region remains crowded.

But that's one week away, as White House built a 25-0 lead Friday night en route to the 13-point win.

"We couldn't afford to get anyone else banged up after last week (Pearl-Cohn)," said White House coach Jeff Porter. "I thought we had a good trip and the kids had a good week of practice. Sometimes it's hard to come off a game like last week (overtime win) and we have to be thankful for the win and move on.

"The biggest thing," he continued, "is it sets us up to be involved in a great environment next Friday night, and we will be facing a tremendous football team."

White House jumped out quick with a 52-yard strike from Dustin Townsend to DeMarrius Payne on the second series of the first quarter, as the sophomore receiver sprinted untouched down the visitor sideline with Jake Hunter kicking it through the uprights for a 7-0 lead.

Hunter nailed a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter, and then the Blue Devils hit the big play again for its final offensive touchdown of the night, with Chad Neal leaping between two defenders for the catch, and then breaking three tackles on his way to a 72-yard touchdown reception. Hunter's kick made it 17-0 at the half.

White House opened the third quarter with a 12-play drive inside DeKalb territory, but the Blue Devils were stopped on downs at the DeKalb County 16. However, two plays later, the second brother Payne (DeMarqus) got in on the scoring action with the Blue Devils first defensive touchdown of the season, grabbing a Hunter Poteete pass at the DeKalb County 24 and racing through the offense for a 24-yard interception return.

Payne dove into the endzone for the score, but it was Bryce Akers standing all alone in the back of the endzone for a two-point pass from Matthew Parker and 25-0 edge.

DeKalb County added 12 points in the final quarter against the White House reserves, scoring on a 33-yard run by Corey Cripps and a 22-yard pass from Poteete to Josh Howe in the home corner of the endzone. Joseph Jenkins blocked one PAT kick and the second sailed wide right for the 25-12 final.

"DeKalb definitely came out tonight and stacked the run and our quarterback threw the ball well tonight," Porter explained. "(DeMarrius) Payne made a nice catch and then Neal made a nice catch and run and then after we didn't convert the fourth down, (DeMarqus) Payne made a great run with the ball on the interception.

"We had been pretty successful on fourth down this year but we didn't get it done there."

Townsend led the offense with 4-of-7 completions for 157 yards, spreading it out with Parker and Cody Allen also making a catch. Senior tailback Justin West saw limited action with 15 carries for 54 yards, as the Blue Devils rushed for 112 in the game with eight backs carrying the football and three quarterbacks leading the offense. Freshman Bryan Dixon was the second-leading rusher with 17 yards.

"The most positive thing about tonight was a lot of kids got to play," Porter said. "They have worked hard in practice and they deserve a chance to get in there when they can."

White House will head to Gallatin next week for the showdown with the unbeaten Bison, who are coming off an off-week after playing a week zero game earlier this season. The Bison beat Macon County, 16-14, in week seven and the Tigers remain the only team to beat White House in the region with a 24-17 victory in week four.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. This will be the second meeting all-time between the teams with White House winning last year's scoring battle, 39-29, at Dewey H. Whitson Stadium.