CALEDONIA, Mich. — The Davenport football team provided some late-game drama on Saturday afternoon to remain undefeated (6-0) with a 47-43 win over Wayne State in GLIAC action.
The game was back-and-forth in the first half and tied at 21 going into halftime. The teams traded touchdowns going into the third quarter when Davenport scored to make it 28-27 but then missed the extra point with 3:02 left in the quarter. Wayne State had success running the ball all game but the Davenport defense made a game-changing stand after the missed extra point. The Warriors went on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 at their own 34-yard line, but Kendall Williams was stopped for no gain twice to turn the ball over on downs.
Davenport then went on to score the next 13 points to build a 40-28 lead with 11:05 left in the game. Wayne State got a 62-yard run by Williams to the DU 8-yard line on the first play after trailing by 12. Josh Kulka kept the ball on a quarterback run from two yards out to make it 40-35. The Panthers on their next drive fumbled on 3rd-and-7 at their own 14-yard line and the Warriors took advantage. On 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line, Karmi Mackey just got across the goal line and Kulka kept for a two-point conversion to give Wayne State a 43-40 lead. Davenport was forced to punt on a three-and-out series, but Kyle Wojahn nailed it at the two-yard line out of bounds on a 54-yard punt. The Warriors gained one first down but was stopped and had to punt for their own 24-yard line. They had just a 27-yard punt and Roy Livingstone returned it eight yards to the WSU 43-yard line with 46 seconds to play. On 4th-and-11 at the WSU 44-yard line, Whittaker found Preston Smith for 16 yards to the WSU 28-yard line and spiked the ball with 13 seconds left. The next play was a pass interference by the Warriors and DU moved to the 13-yard line. Whittaker then found Alonzell Henderson for a 13-yard touchdown over the middle with nine seconds left for the 47-43 margin.
Whittaker broke his own school record with six passing touchdowns. He went 30-for-49 for 348 yards and was picked off twice both coming in the first quarter. He set school records for completions and attempts which were set six years ago by Hunter Krause against Taylor. He also set a single-season record with 20 passing touchdowns. Brendan Sherrod had a career-high 11 receptions for 143 yards and a score in the fourth quarter. He was one reception shy of the school record. Smith caught nine passes for 112 yards and tied the school record with three touchdowns. He and Sherrod became the first duo to have 100-plus receiving yards in a game since October 2019. The team ran 81 plays for 431 yards, just one play shy of the school record. Wayne State had six rushing touchdowns and 272 yards on the ground.
Payton Mitchell led the defense with 13 tackles and a forced fumble on the game's final play. Jalen Robinson added 10 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Austin Alward recorded eight tackles including two tackles for loss.
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