Twelve Bridges overcomes nearby Whitney despite being ‘stuck in 10 feet of mud’

The Twelve Bridges coaches said afterward they were like “a Prius stuck in 10 feet of mud.”

Their first-half lead was gone. The offense was sputtering and penalties were leading to third-and-30s. The Whitney Wildcats’ sophomore play maker Cameron Taylor II had just scored a 27-yard touchdown to give the win-less road underdogs a 27-24 lead midway through the third quarter.

But after a third-and-4 incompletion, the Raging Rhinos needed to gamble — and it paid off. They gave the ball to their best player, but not in his usual circumstance. Senior running back Braeden Ward, who averaged 194 rushing yards per game during the first two weeks, ran up the middle on a fake punt.

Ward plowed through Whitney’s surprised punt coverage team for a 51-year touchdown with 6:47 left in the third. It gave Twelve Bridges a 31-27 lead that changed the game’s momentum en route to a 52-34 victory.

‘Absolutely freakin’ massive’

They improved to 3-0 on the season while the Wildcats fell to 0-3.

“Massive, absolutely freakin’ massive,” said Rhinos head coach Chris Bean. “...The run with it was pretty darn good, too. Braeden Ward, he’s the real deal.”

It was one of Ward’s three touchdowns on the night, giving him seven in the first three weeks. The senior has been improving his vision, Bean said, while his physicality behind a powerful offensive line has been a calling card during the Rhinos’ undefeated start.

“I’ll tell you right now, that was probably the hardest win I’ve ever had in my life,” Bean said. “And this team can take you to the mountain top, or they can leave you waiting at a bus stop. I don’t know what they want to do and who they want to be yet. But, yet, we’re 3-0, so you got to roll with that.”

Senior quarterback Connor Flaherty for a touchdown in the fourth quarter with a slick move on a Whitney defender, and tossed two touchdown passes to Isaiah Rodriguez.

Whitney’s signal caller, junior Carson Floyd, was tasked with leading the Wildcats’ offense while also playing safety. He threw a pair of touchdowns to speedster Gettis Rose, a 53-yard deep shot to Parker Kanan and scored on a quarterback sneak.

‘Third quarter was definitely rough’

Whitney nearly looked like they were going to stun the Rhinos on their home field when they scored a touchdown at the end of the first half. And they racked up the first points in the third quarter on Taylor’s score.

Then came the fake punt to Ward that changed the feeling on the home team’s sideline.

“That third quarter was definitely rough,” Ward said. “We were trying to stay positive, keep our team up, keep our momentum so we could keep going.”

Twelve Bridges are looking to find their footing both this season and as a football program in general. The new school in Lincoln is in its third season coming off a trip to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game last season , a one-point loss to Casa Roble. And Friday night’s game was unique, given the opportunity to play against Whitney, which is just a mile south of the Rhino’s new campus that’s still constructing its new baseball and softball complex.

Despite the undefeated start, Bean said he’s looking for more consistency out of his team before a rematch against Casa Roble next week.

“Everything we say is about ‘win the day,’” Bean said. “And there are times when we absolutely crush the day. And other times (it’s like) we forget we’re playing football. So it’s an interesting balance right now.”

Whitney will look to rebound and get its first win next Friday with a road game at Davis Senior High School.