Raiders advance to football semifinals with win over Thunderbirds

by David Boyle
News Director
The Whitehorse High School football team earned a decisive 38-20 victory over Utah Military Academy Hill Field in a 8-player quarterfinal game on Halloween.
The win improved the Raiders to 6-2 on the season and earned the team their second trip to the state semifinals in school history. The other time was 1995.
The #4-seeded Raiders dominated the #5 Thunderbirds with Whitehorse showing a balanced offensive attack, gaining 278 yards rushing the ball with 246 yards passing.
Whitehorse scored in the first quarter with senior quarterback Tristan Black passing to junior tight end Adam Joe to give the Raiders their first points. Senior running back Lance Tsinigine also scored a rushing touchdown in the quarter.
Not to be outdone, his sophomore brother Hunter Tsinigine added another rushing touchdown to give Whitehorse a 20-12 halftime lead.
Whitehorse’s opening drive of the third quarter saw another touchdown pass, this one thrown from Black to senior receiver Elam Etsitty making the score 26-12.
Whitehorse added another touchdown run from Lance Tsiniginie in the third quarter to make the score 32-12. The Raiders closed out scoring in the third with a touchdown pass from Black to Joe to make the score 38-12.
The Thunderbirds scored one more touchdown against the Raider underclassman, finishing out the game with the final score of 38-20.
Lance Tsinigine led Whitehorse rushing with 106 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns. Hunter Tsinigine carried the ball nine times for 98 yards and one touchdown. Tristan Black carried the ball nine times for 74 yards.
Whitehorse has averaged 244 yards per game on the ground this season behind the offensive line led by senior center Kelen Dee and guards Nateo Sam, Rylan Hamm, Taylor Black, and others.
Assistant coach Chuck Woodhouse said the offensive line has been key to the Raiders’ success. “When you’re having 200 yard rushing games your line is doing something right,” he explained. “Those boys up front have been tremendous all year long. It’s been fun to watch.”
In the quarterfinal win Tristan Black completed nine passes on 13 attempts for 246 yards throwing for three touchdowns with one interception.
Joe grabbed five passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Etsitty had three catches for 79 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore Caidyn Lansing had one catch for 26 yards.
Defensively Whitehorse was led by senior Aiden Hamm who recorded 12 tackles, including two for loss. Adam Joe had 11 tackles with one for loss while Lance Tsinigine had nine tackles with two for loss.
Hunter Tsinigine and Caidyn Lansing each had nine tackles while Elam Etsitty and Tristan Black also had seven tackles apiece in the game.
Woodhouse said the entire team played tremendously and worked hard. “We had a good game plan and stuck to it and the score is the outcome. We’re really proud of them. I’m lucky they let me be part of the team and I’m proud as heck of them.”
The Raiders are on to the state semifinals where they’ll face the #1 Rich Rebels at Southern Utah University. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. on Friday, November 7 and you can listen to it live on Redrock 92 Radio.