Whitefish Bay Can't Hold on Against Milwaukee Lutheran

With a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter Friday, Whitefish Bay attempted an onside kick after kicking a field goal to take the lead 23-20. 

However, the attempt was unsuccessful, and two plays later, Milwaukee Lutheran quarterback Jake Nelson threw to wide receiver Kevin Folker in stride for a 41-yard touchdown.

The Blue Dukes were unable to bounce back after the big play and lost their homecoming game, 33-23. 

“It was a smart play,” said Blue Dukes head coach Jim Tietjen about the onside kick. “We needed another possession. I didn’t feel that we had control of the game. Number eleven (James Dills) made a heck of a play catching that ball.

Control was exactly what the Blue Dukes had in the first half. After being down 7-0 early, Tyler Terveer helped the Blue Dukes get back into the game by recovering a fumble on the Red Knights 14-yard line.

Two plays later, Rashadeem Gray took an outside handoff 10 yards away for the score. With the extra point good from Colin Downing, the Blue Dukes tied the game at 7 in the first quarter.

Later in the second quarter, Milwaukee Lutheran committed another turnover, this time fumbling an option pitch that was recovered by the Blue Dukes at the 33-yard line.

The Blue Dukes went with the rushing combination of Gray, Julian Posey and Jordan Johnson to get down to the 15-yard line. Bay scored on the fifth play of the drive with a sneaky play action pass from quarterback Grant Menard that left tight end Jackson Weber all alone in the end zone. After the extra point, Bay led 14-7.

Gray led the way in rushing with 135 yards on 23 carries.

The Blue Dukes added three more points at the close of the half with a 23-yard field goal from Downing.

Downing finished the night perfect in extra point attempts and 3-3 in field goal attempts. Tietjen said Downing is considered one of the top sophomores in the country.

In the second half, the Red Knights used an aerial assault on the Blue Dukes that seemed to wear down a defense that forced three fumbles and two sacks in the first half.

“They were playing with an empty backfield, which made it difficult to get after their quarterback,” said Tietjen.

Midway through the third quarter, the Red Knights took over on their own 49-yard line after an interception from linebacker Brandon McGaffick. Nelson completed passes of 10 and 29 yards to eventually set up a 4th and goal on the Blue Dukes 1-yard line. Nelson scored on a quarterback keeper, which made the score 14-17.

The next possession, the Blue Dukes put together a seven-play drive that saw Downing kick his second field goal.

The Red Knights went right back to the air on the next drive. On the fourth play, Nelson hooked up with Folker for a 20-yard strike. The extra point was blocked and the game was tied at 20 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.

On the next drive, the Blue Dukes took the lead with Downing’s third field goal of the night, this time from 33 yards away. With 9:46 left to play, the Blue Dukes had a three-point lead.

Unfortunately, the lead would not stick as Milwaukee Lutheran scored on their next two possessions, improving to 5-0 overall. The loss drops Bay to 3-2 and 1-2 in the North Shore Conference.

Next week the Blue Dukes will look to snap their losing streak against the Port Washington Pirates.