What had been a celebratory day for Young had a somber ending on Saturday.
With the Dolphins leading big and the clock winding down, sophomore Aryan Cabral suffered what appeared to be a serious lower leg injury. Play was halted while an ambulance was summoned and officials eventually called the game, giving Young a 32-0 Public League Red win over host Westinghouse.
Miles Baarsma caught a pair of touchdown passes and had a spectacular interception for the Dolphins (8-0, 6-0), while Luke Yolich ran for two TDs.
“Our goal was never to be 8-0,” Baarsma said. “It was always to be our best selves and play our best game. And this season, I feel like we’ve been doing that.
“We’re 8-0 now so the team’s looking good. But obviously right now the team’s feeling a little sour after the injury.”
Baarsma is a junior but fairly new to football, having joined the team for the first time last season.
“I played a lot of sports in my life,” he said. “But I feel like at the end of the day, football was the one for me. And I’m the happiest playing football.”
Young coach Dan Finger is glad to have another playmaker.
“He’s a great athlete, a lacrosse player,” Finger said of Baarsma. “He’s always had that kind of talent. The mental piece, clicking it together with seeing the game, really came this summer.
“He’s just been running routes with the quarterbacks since the spring, just pushing himself. And it finally clicked.”
Baarsma had touchdown catches of 13 and 25 yards from Von Konrad and finished with five receptions for 70 yards. Konrad was 9 of 17 for 98 yards and two TDs with no interceptions. Yolich had seven carries for 65 yards, including touchdowns of seven and 22 yards.
Baarsma also had a leaping, one-handed interception in the third quarter. “That’s a SportsCenter play,” Finger said.
But Baarsma thought he should have had more picks.
“I feel like I dropped two interceptions I should have had,” he said. “I felt like I had to get this one.”
“He’s beating himself up for not having two interceptions in the first half,” Finger said. “At halftime, I’m like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to celebrate. That’s a [pass breakup]. You’re in great coverage.'”
Up next for Young is a game at Taft on Friday. The winner will get a share of the Public League Red title. Morgan Park and Simeon also will play for a piece of the conference title next Saturday. Lincoln Park also came into Week 8 unbeaten in the Red.
“That’s always a fun one,” Finger said of the Taft matchup. “We got them twice last year. They’d beaten us the two times before, so it’s sort of the rubber match for our seniors.”
Devion Cross had 20 carries for 54 yards for Westinghouse (4-4, 2-4). The Warriors need a win next week vs. Clark (2-6) to become playoff-eligible.
“I thought we played well defensively but we just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Warriors coach Julius Carter said. “But hats off to Whitney Young. They had a good game plan and they played a good game.”