Whitehall’s first home playoff game since 2020 turned into a celebration Friday night, Oct. 30, as the eighth-seeded Rams defeated ninth-seeded Hamilton Township 33-7 in a Division II, Region 7 first-round game to win their ninth straight and advance to a regional quarterfinal at top-seeded Watterson on Friday, Nov. 6.
The Rams (9-2) wasted little time in front of the home crowd. According to The Columbus Dispatch’s live coverage of the game, Malachi Jackson connected with Zhymeer Giles for a 17-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 9:40 left in the first quarter.
Hamilton Township (7-4) answered the way it has played all season, on the ground. The Rangers drove 80 yards on 17 plays, capped by Suge Brown’s 2-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left in the opening quarter, to tie the game at 7, The Dispatch reported.
Whitehall needed just four plays to retake the lead, on Jackson’s 4-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds left in the first quarter. Jackson added a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:17 left in the second quarter, and after allowing the touchdown on the Rangers’ opening possession, the Rams’ defense shut Hamilton Township out for the rest of the first half to take a 20-7 lead into the locker room, according to The Dispatch.
The defense opened the second-half scoring, too. On the first play of the second half, Lathan Western scooped up a Hamilton Township fumble and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown, stretching the lead to 27-7 with 11:35 left in the third quarter, The Dispatch reported.
Jackson closed the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run with 3:56 remaining, his third touchdown run of the night to go with his early touchdown pass, as Whitehall finished off the 33-7 win.
The victory sends the Rams into one of the toughest assignments in Region 7: a trip to top-seeded Watterson on Nov. 6. Hamilton Township, which attempted just one pass in the first half, ends its season at 7-4.
For Whitehall, a program playing at home in the postseason for the first time in six years, Friday’s win was both a milestone and a statement — nine straight wins, and a defense that allowed only one score after the opening drive.
What happens next: Whitehall travels to Watterson for a Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal on Friday, Nov. 6, with kickoff at 7 p.m.