November has come to its end and the students are looking forward to their winter break coming up right after finals. Just like every month, Whiting has been busy with events in school and throughout the community.
As the United States made its decision in the 2016 election, Whiting also held its own mock election to see who the student body believed should be in charge. After setting up computers in the middle school gym, students were called by class to come choose their ideal president, governor, senator, representative, state superintendent of public instruction, and state attorney general.
At the end of the day the votes were tallied and WHS chose Hillary Clinton for president, John Gregg for governor, Evan Bayh for senator, Glenda Ritz for superintendent of public instruction, Lorenzo Arredondo for state attorney general, and Pete Visclosky as US House Representative. In spirit of the occasion, on November 4th Mr. Harnew’s Indiana history class took a trip down to the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis and toured the State Capital building, even getting a look into the office of future vice president, Mike Pence.
From before election day and all throughout the month, Whiting also held a food drive to collect cans, boxes, bags, and more for the Whiting/Robertsdale Food Pantry. Run by Whiting’s National Honor Society, the food drive was held in the cafeteria and this year included donations of food to be given to the Give Me Shelter for animals. At the end of the drive, Whiting had collected over 800 cans, and as impressive as it sounds alone, Whiting had collected more than half a thousand more cans than their rival from down 119th street, George Rogers Clark High School.
Whiting Football was on a warpath as of their tenth week of the season, starting off the sectional tournament with the second win over Boone Grove this season and fourth win over the Wolves in the last two years, resulting in a 36-6 finish. From there, Whiting took a 21-12 win against North Newton and finished sectionals with a hard fought victory over Knox again, similar to last year’s sectional final, ending 17-14.
The repeat champs continued their path of destruction at home with the regional title game against their cross-region rival, Winamac. After two heartbreaking losses in previous years (the last being in 2014 sectional round 2), Whiting v. Winamac III ended much differently than before. Knocking another item off Coach Cain’s to-do list, the Oilers achieved what teams before could not, beating Winamac 55-14 and earning the Regional championship for the second year in a row.
Throughout the season and championships, Whiting fans could see some major scoring and offensive action from Tom Davenport and Dylan White. To a Whiting fan’s absolute joy, the action doesn’t end here for them as they are only a sophomore and junior, respectively. You can expect big plays, big hits, and big points from these two in the 2017 season. While Whiting gets to see these varsity stars return to the field, the road did sadly inevitably end for the seniors.
On November 18th, seniors Christian Gamino, Caleb Macon, Miguel Rivera, Brent Reel, and several others donned their pads one last time alongside the rest of their second family as they hosted the semi state final against the Eastbrook Panthers. From the first play to the last, the Oilers fought their hardest and held a steady tie until the very last minute. Despite losing 13-20 in their final game, the seniors’ careers were nothing short of ideal.
In an eventful four years, these young men were four-time conference champions, became two-time sectional 33 and regional champions to end the 17 year gap, became the 2A northern semistate champions of 2015, and played on the same grounds as the pros last year at Lucas Oil Stadium. This band of brothers did it all and raised the bar for all future Whiting students dreaming of donning the pads and calling themselves an Oiler. They may not have achieved the ultimate dream last year in the state finals or even this year, but it is as apparent as ever that this is the closest in Whiting’s history that the school has ever been to making the dream a reality. A young boy’s fantasy is now just a small step away thanks to these young men and their countless hours and unrivaled dedication.
Credit is more commonly given to the players carrying the ball and getting the touchdowns, but it is also important to acknowledge the linemen who took the heavy hits day in and day out so that the ones we read about could score and so the other team couldn’t. It is a tough, painful job, but if you ask any one of them, they wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Senior Isaac Sahagun was one of Whiting’s best defensive lineman during his career. Unfortunately, he spent most of the season out with a severe leg injury and couldn’t participate in the action this year, but everyone still remembers each of his hardest hits. He has made his family and community proud through his work on and off the field and will be missed from the halls of Whiting High and especially from the turf he defended so well.
Congratulations seniors on being an important piece of the program’s history. Your hours of work shined through your achievements and your fans will never forget all you did for many years to come. When you entered high school, the sectional title was a dream, and through your leadership and hard work, regional titles and beyond will soon be the norm. Thank you.