Kimball/White Lake trio leads team in undefeated season

Who knew such an impressive triple threat of running backs would rise with the cooperative of the Kimball/White Lake football team?

All senior captains, Trevor Reinesch, Jacob Kirsch and Kyle Peters each recorded more than 100 yards rushing in the WiLdKats’ 65-28 victory over Gregory last week.

Reinesch ran 15 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns, Kirsch had 17 carries for 122 yards and one touchdown and Peters ran eight times for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

But that game is just a snippet of what they’ve done in the past year and four games.

Kimball/White Lake coach Dale Taylor, who took over the team when the two towns first joined as a football co-op in 2011, knows how impressive the trio can be.

“They can do about anything you ask them to do,” said Taylor, whose team is 4-0. “It’s nice to have all three of them to move the ball around and it gives everybody a break.”

Reinesch, of Kimball, joined Kirsch and Peters, of White Lake, last season and they all had varsity experience prior to playing together. Reinesch played tight end as a freshman, while Kirsch and Peters saw time on the field as sophomores.

Taylor said the co-op allowed for the communities to come together, and it was an easy adjustment for Reinesch, Kirsch and Peters.

And despite being on the same team, Reinesch said they are still competitive with one another. That doesn’t mean they don’t like seeing their teammate sprint for a long touchdown, though.

“We want each other to do well,” he said. “We don’t care who gets the most yards as long as we get the win at the end of the day.”

“We’re not afraid to take the carries or split them up,” added Peters. “We’ve been successful so far and we don’t mind blocking for the other guy when we’re not running the ball.”

This season, Reinesch leads Kimball/White Lake with 56 carries for 507 yards. Kirsch has 388 yards on 57 rushes, and Peters has 14 carries for 171 yards in four games. They make up for 1,066 of the team’s 1,216 rushing yards this year.

Having one player with numbers that high through four games is noteworthy, let alone three.

Even the team’s quarterback, Jesse Taylor, is impressed with watching the monster backs rack up the yardage.

“It takes a lot of pressure off of me and the passing game,” he said. “It sets up our pass game because our opponents often key on the run game and that leaves the field open.”

Coach Taylor said the WiLdKats wouldn’t have so much success if it wasn’t for the offensive line. The starting linemen for Kimball/White Lake in tonight’s game against Lyman will be Turner Blasius, Eathan Gaulke, Noah Munsen, Willie Norwood and Nathaniel Schroeder. Kimball/White Lake plays at 7 p.m. in Presho.

“Our offensive line has been doing a good job for them and that’s the key,” Taylor said. “If you don’t have a line, these kids wouldn’t be putting up those numbers.”

Reinesch knows the importance of the big guys up front, too.

“The line works hard for us every day and it’s nice to know that we’ve got five guys to protect us,” Reinesch said. “They make our job easy.”

In addition to controlling the ball on the ground, the seniors play a major role in the pass game, which is led by the right arm of Taylor.

Peters leads the group with 198 yards on eight receptions, Kirsch has three catches for 62 yards and Reinesch has 35 yards on five catches.

“We can usually pull the defense in a little bit and pass for a big gain when they’re not ready for it,” Kirsch said. “Our running game is our go-to, so people don’t expect us to pass.”

Because of the prolific run game and the ability to sneak in a big pass play, the WiLdKats have high standards for the rest of the season. The main goal is to make it back to the state championship game. Last year, the WiLdKats lost to Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan 36-24 in the 9AA title game.

“We want to go as far as we did last year,” Peters said. “We’re looking for a little revenge because we were disappointed at the DakotaDome. We want to go back and take what we want.”

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