Prep football: Whitney comes all the way back to stun No. 13 Antelope

You couldn’t have drawn it up any worse than the Whitney High School football team.

On the Wildcats’ first drive of their season opener Friday, they lost starting quarterback Jacob Smiley to a knee injury. Whitney trailed 21-0 during the second quarter.

Then the Wildcats came to life. Whitney scored 28 unanswered points against 11th-ranked Antelope after the miserable first quarter. Backup senior quarterback Trevor Hargis connected with Lincoln Fifer with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter for a 72-yard touchdown. That sealed the 35-28 comeback victory for No. 13 Whitney.

“Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong,” Whitney coach Zac McNally said. “We play four quarters for a reason. Hargis had been a starter in the SFL too. We are fortunate to have two starters who can come in and win us a ball game. Can’t say enough about Trevor.”

Antelope was the team that ended Whitney’s 2021 campaign. The Titans scored 13 points in the final five minutes to beat Whitney in the second round of the section playoffs.

It’s safe to say the loss was on the minds of the Whitney faithful for nine months.

“Exciting night,” McNally said. “This meant a lot to us because they knocked us out last year. It was special. We had some kids from that team come here.”

Hargis passed for 169 yards and was protected well by an offensive line made up of Ben Counter, Kevin Diaz, Bryce Kilkenny, Jackson Ly and Troy Scanlan.

“Our offensive line was absolutely phenomenal,” Whitney running back Isaiah Bickham said. “They have been putting in work since January knowing they had to protect our quarterback. Our line is putting in work in the weight room. They showed out today.”

Bickham helped start the rally. The senior scored his team’s first touchdown in the second quarter and finished with 108 yards and two touchdowns.

After the game on the visiting sideline, his father Gerald greeted him with their special handshake they made eight years ago. It started when Isaiah played baseball when he was younger.

“It’s my good luck handshake,” Bickham said. “He’s my biggest critic. He always tells me what I’m doing wrong and what I’m doing right.”

Bickham transferred to Whitney after spending his first three years of his prep career at Sheldon High School. His family relocated to Rocklin.

“It was a big change,” Bickham said. “A lot went on. When I moved, they fit me in like a family. I was just another person. He told us the first week how much this game meant to them.”

A young Whitney secondary shined. Hayden Wilder had an interception and Zane Amin had a 97-yard touchdown return to tie the game at 21.

Antelope star running back Curron Borders rushed for 163 of his 205 yards in the first half. He had touchdown runs of 43 and 22 yards. Borders ran for over 2,000 yards and had 33 total touchdowns as a junior.

“That guy is a baller,” McNally said. “Some of our guys came out in their first start bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Then they settled down. I would be lying to say I don’t like starting like that but I’m glad we were able to finish it.”

Returning Titans quarterback Josiah Bateman passed for 252 yards and had touchdown strikes of 23 and 40 yards. Senior receiver Treyvon Watson had 135 yards and a touchdown.

Whitney will host Woodcreek on a short week on Thursday. The game was moved due to the referee shortage in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Antelope will travel to Elk Grove to face the Herd.

This story was originally published August 20, 2022 at 5:02 AM.