Week 6 preview: After 4 straight Hoosier North losses, Comets hope North White is more their size

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Caston (1-4) at North White (2-1), 7 p.m.

Caston’s start against LaVille last week was ideal

They drove 9:21 after the opening kickoff and scored on Grant Hickle’s 1-yard run on fourth down.

Another Caston possession that stalled on LaVille’s 1-yard-line “changed the tide a little bit,” according to coach Will Porter.

Landon Shafer made his first start of the season at quarterback and threw for 79 yards. Josh Sullivan had 60 yards receiving.

But Caston couldn’t stop LaVille running back Paul DeWitt, who accounted for 203 yards of offense and who caught a touchdown pass in a 49-14 Lancers win.

“They seemed to score on every possession,” Porter said. “It was definitely a rough game for us defensively.”

Caston has lost four straight conference games since a 52-6 nonconference win over West Central in their season opener.

North White, who averages 34 points per game but who is coming off a 28-27 loss to Eastern Greene Saturday, could be a more favorable matchup.

The Vikings are led by sophomore quarterback Eli Quasebarth and senior co-captains Parker Smith and Jeffrey Stevens. Smith is an accomplished running back, and Stevens is North White’s most accomplished lineman whom Porter compares to his own Garrison Hickle.

“We have to get better at stopping the run and pursuing the football, and all these things are things that we’re currently working on and has been a point of emphasis this week,” Porter said. “I don’t know if it’s frustrating. It’s just not what we wanted to do obviously. We’re working hard to try to get better.”

The teams have split their last 18 meetings dating back to 2001. Caston beat North White 36-0 last year.

“The other thing to take away is the level of competition that they’re playing,” Porter said of his players. “But when you’re playing the Pioneers, LaVilles and North Judsons of the world, that’s a high caliber of opponent. … We’re definitely looking at them as being a team that should be a pretty good competitive game for us. From top to bottom, they’re not as strong as Pioneer and LaVille, who we’ve played the last two weeks.”