Whitney football team plows past Franklin, with an assist from the Cretaceous era

Hannibal The Cannibal had to like what he saw Friday night.

Hannibal, a 3-foot long plastic Tyrannosaurus rex, goes everywhere with the Whitney High School football team. Under the care of some injured Wildcats offensive linemen on the sidelines, Hannibal had a front-row seat for Whitney’s 34-14 win over host Franklin on Friday.

Call it a good-luck charm, call it an unofficial mascot, call it weird. Whatever it is, it seems to be working. Hannibal became a thing in 2019, when Whitney went on a run to win a section championship. An offensive lineman found a little dinosaur after practice and it became a good-luck charm.

Coach Zac McNally is all for it.

“We didn’t think we could bring it back during the spring, he was kind of hibernating in his cave,” McNally said. “I’ll do anything, whether it’s a dinosaur or letting them wear their Jordan jerseys next week, it’s all about the kids. It’s a team, player-centered program. I’ll do anything for those kids, whether it’s a huge T-Rex or a turnover belt, anything to get them to play hard and come together.”

That wasn’t an issue in the first half Friday, as Whitney scored every time it touched the ball to take a 27-0 lead over Franklin.

Senior captain Anthony Parker led the charge with 145 rushing yards on eight carries. He also scored three touchdowns. Parker was quick to credit his offensive line, with guys like captain Noah Garcia, Logan Best, Westley Houck and Bryce Kilkenny plowing the way for his running.

“I get credit for what they do, but I’ll make sure to bring ‘em out for dinner or something,” Parker said. “They did me a favor tonight and I’ll pay them back.”

Parker took care of some of the work himself. With Whitney already rolling in the second quarter, Parker sprinted toward the sideline and found a gaggle of Franklin defenders in his way. He threw in a skip-step, then he cut back hard toward the middle and weaved through traffic for his third touchdown of the game.

McNally’s light touch with his team was evident throughout the win. Late in the first half, Whitney was hit with a pass interference call and the Wildcats clearly disagreed with the officiating. In a reference to the TV show “Ted Lasso,” coaches started yelling at players to “be like a goldfish.” The TV show claims goldfish have the shortest memory span in the world. Forget about it. Play on.

The players got it, telling each other to be goldfish.

It’s what Hannibal The Cannibal would want. The dinosaur is part of the team, too, with Garcia bringing Hannibal to school Friday.

“He wouldn’t let anybody touch it,” Parker said. “Wait for the game, wait for the game, he kept telling everybody.”

McNally just smiles. He had a little green dinosaur in his backpack Friday night, too. His name is Greg.

Maybe Greg and Hannibal were what Whitney needed to silence a packed house at Franklin, as the home team jammed the stadium full in the first game open to fans since 2019. The Wildcats fans made a little noise, too, occasionally bellowing “that’s another Wildcats … first down” like an announcer at a home game might.

It’s all about being a team, McNally said. And it’s something players, fans and coaches haven’t had in a while.

“(It’s) being able to have team dinners and just being with each other is the difference,” he said. “Practice and games is part of being a football team, but we’re really excited to go back to Wildcat Stadium and hopefully put on a show for our fans. We’ve got a real tough Chico team coming down that’s opening up their season at our house.”

Hannibal and Greg will be ready for the Panthers. So will the rest of the Whitney team.