With a fierce wind whipping in from Lake Michigan, Whiting's offense took to the ground Friday night at Ray P. Gallivan Field in a Class 2A regional championship game.

“If you don't have to (pass), don't do it,” Oilers coach Jeff Cain said.

Host Whiting didn't attempt a pass. The Oilers didn't need to.

Whiting rushed for 535 yards as the Oilers routed Winamac 55-14 for their second straight regional title.

“We've carved our niche as a running team,” Cain said as “We Are the Champions” by Queen blared from the speakers. “Our line blocked well, our tight ends blocked well, our fullback blocked well. Those are things that we emphasized a little bit more this week.”

The only possession that didn't end with Whiting (12-1) scoring a touchdown came when the Oilers ran out the clock at the end of the game.

Whiting will host Eastbrook next Friday night for the semistate title.

Junior guard Jake Lytle stressed the significance of the ground game.

“We knew the running game was going to be important because they had some very good defensive backs,” Lytle said.

Running back Dylan White brushed off the conditions.

“We knew it was going to be windy, but I don't think we were worried about it too much,” White said. “We're a run-first team.”

White led with 257 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries, while quarterback Stuart Glascow rushed for 163 yards and three more TDs as part of yet another multifaceted offensive attack for the Oilers.

“There's not really a feature back,” Cain said. “We don't have a kid over 1,000 yards. Our kids share the load and they love blocking for each other.”

The Oilers didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher coming in, but both White (1,081 yards) and Glascow (1,012) moved past that mark against Winamac.

The game didn't start that well for the Oilers, though, as Winamac started its first drive at the 24 and quickly moved into the red zone.

But on a fourth-and-2 from the 7, Whiting's defense held and the Oilers got their first score on the next possession.

“High school football, college football, pro football, it's a game of momentum,” Cain said. “Those are huge plays. We bent but didn't break, and then we got after them a little bit.”

The next two possessions followed a similar script, with the Whiting defense making a fourth-down stand and the Oiler offense responding with a TD.

Nino Barbosa recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to set up the next score and a 21-yard touchdown run by Glascow gave the Oilers a 28-0 lead at the half.

Whiting opened the second half with a five-play, 56-yard scoring drive to extend its lead to 34-0 and maintain its firm grasp on the regional title.

Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.