When Whitman quarterback Henry Kuhn crossed the goal line in Friday’s fourth quarter, recent history suggested the Vikings were on their way to a victory.

Kuhn’s run for a two-point conversion, which followed his 24-yard touchdown pass to Michael Flack on fourth-and-16, gave Whitman an 8-7 lead over Springbrook with 8:08 remaining in the game. The Vikings defense, which limited its previous two opponents to a combined seven points, had held Springbrook to 140 yards. The Blue Devils’ only score came after a turnover gave them possession deep in Whitman territory.

Springbrook started its ensuing possession on its own 29-yard line. If the Vikings defense continued its dominant play, a one-point lead would be more than enough.

But on this night — and this key possession — Whitman ran out of stops.
The Blue Devils responded with a nine-play, 71-yard drive, ending with a 3-yard touchdown run by Devon Pestano, and held on for a 13-8 victory at WHS.
The 71 yards Springbrook gained on its go-ahead drive accounted for 1/3 of its total yards to that point.

"We just got a little tired on our defense," Whitman head coach Jim Kuhn said. "After we got up 8-7, we just didn’t have an answer for [Springbrook]. … [The] defense did play great. When we needed a big stop, they just didn’t quite come up with it tonight. We’ve been outstanding defensively all year and we just kind of let things slide a little bit on that … drive."

While Whitman fell short Friday, the Vikings are 6-2 and in the playoff hunt. One of the main reasons for Whitman’s success this season is the team’s defense. Led by senior outside linebacker Sassan Nejad, the Vikings have held opponents to 20 points for less in seven of eight games, and 13 points of less in five contests.
Whitman defeated Wootton, 6-0, on Oct. 9, and Gaithersburg, 12-7, on Oct. 16, but couldn’t pull out another low scoring victory Friday.

"We just couldn’t capitalize on our key moments," said Nejad, who also plays fullback for the offense. "The other [close] games, if we would get down, there would always be one play where we would just get back on with offense. It just didn’t happen tonight."

Kuhn said Nejad is one of the team’s hardest workers.

"He reads very well, he works incredibly hard, he studies film every day, he’s the first one in the weight room and the last one to leave — I have to kick him out of there," Kuhn said. "His work ethic is amazing. He’s one of those kids that’s a joy to work with — does everything to be successful."

Whitman defensive coordinator said Nejad is the leader of the team’s 4-3 scheme.

"I call him a human wrecking ball. He’ll take on anybody — any one, any time, no matter how big," Lee said. "That guy will give you everything he’s got."

The Vikings are allowing 11.5 points per game, and the defense will need to continue playing well against its final two regular season opponents — Seneca Valley (5-3), Churchill (7-1) — to improve Whitman’s chances of making the playoffs.

"Our defense is playing tremendously," Lee said. "They’ve responded to every challenge that I’ve put them up to. Our big thing on defense is we get 11 hats to the ball — 11 guys flying to the ball and being great tacklers. … All year long our defense has kept us in ball games."

Kuhn also mentioned middle linebacker Tony Atkinson and linemen Danny Lee, Jeff Gruen and Jeff Schaeffer as standouts.

Offensively, Henry Kuhn completed 12 of 26 passes for 143 yards. Kevin Cecala led Whitman in rushing with 57 yards. Flack caught five passes for 60 yards.

Whitman travels to face Seneca Valley on Friday.