Pioneers cruise in 'Battle of 119th St.'

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HAMMOND -- Looking across 119th Street, the dividing line between nearby high schools, two teams stared across a wide gulf which was the distance between their performances on the field Friday night.

Clark pounded Whiting 38-8 at Fort Pioneer behind the strength of an offense led by junior quarterback Micah Rooke.

Rooke passed for two touchdowns, completing 9-of-17 passes for 120 yards with no interceptions. His numbers could have been more sterling had his team not jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead. For much of the second half, the Pioneers (5-3, 1-1) switched to the ground game, handing the ball to Cameron Copeland, who ran for two touchdowns. The sophomore running back racked up 99 yards on the night.

Senior Erik Martinez led Clark with five receptions for 62 yards.

The Pioneers said that their game plan had not changed as they prepared to face the Oilers in the "Battle of 119th Street." Whiting was looking for a second straight win in that series, but Clark enthusiastically turned them away by playing their game.

"We just came out here pumped," Rooke said. "We ran the same plays, and we just executed good.

"Our line did a hell of a job… giving me time to throw. My receivers caught the ball."

Whiting could not gain traction offensively; the Oilers (5-3, 4-2) generated no first downs in the first half and managed 10 yards rushing for the game. They turned the ball over six times.

Coming off a one-point loss to Calumet, the Oilers' effort was not on par with anything Whiting coach Jeff Cain had seen in a long time.

"We're not very good right now -- we got outplayed," he said. "There's not a whole lot (we coaches) can do. This is something (our players) have to do.

"This is not the group that has been practicing or playing this season."

Whiting quarterback Dan Macon, threw for 206 yards, but was picked off three times. With 9:35 left in the fourth quarter he had a 3-yard TD run to put the his team on the board. Sophomore wide receiver Juwan Simmons grabbed five catches for 66 yards.

For the Pioneers, the lopsided victory could be a momentum builder as the team looks to make a run for a Sectional 17 title in 3A.

"This senior group does not want this program to go back downhill on their clock," Clark coach Dave Verta said.

"They just had a great week in practice, and came out and set-up the tempo early."