Wootton shocks Whitman

Patriots spoil undefeated start for Vikings football

Wootton’s win Thursday was a milestone for the suddenly buoyant program. And a post-game celebration would’ve been understandable. But the Patriots treated it just like any other game, no antics. They’re weren’t going to get caught up in a win this early in the season. And they’re not satisfied yet. They’re hungry for more.

‘‘It wasn’t so much beating Whitman, it was just getting a win in general and trying to put a couple of wins together in a row,” Wootton third-year coach Greg Malling said. ‘‘This is just a second win. We don’t want to settle. This is part of learning how to win, not getting too overexcited when you do. When Quince Orchard conked us last week, it was just one game. This is just one game.”

Nevertheless, Wootton put together a fine effort Thursday. It has the individual talent — Mooney has already thrown for more than 500 yards in three games. It just hasn’t been able to connect on all facets. It did Thursday.

The Patriots could’ve easily folded after the rocky treacherous start. They hadn’t had any recent success against Whitman (2-1). But they didn’t. Led by Mooney, who quickly righted himself to complete 19 of 33 pass attempts for 190 yards and a touchdown, Andrew Rosenblatt, who rushed for 42 yards and caught a 3-yard touchdown pass, and Stephane Ngoumou (5 receptions, 108 yards), the Patriots took a 10-7 lead by halftime. And Brendan Ray extended that lead with two Patriot second-half touchdowns — one a 76-yard fumble recovery and the other an 11-yard rush into the end zone.

‘‘I was happy with the aggressiveness with which the guys played,” Malling said. ‘‘It was fun to watch them do in a game some of the stuff we see in practice. And they were actually playing at full speed. A lot of times they’ll play not to lose. They really showed some resiliency. They were able to make the right adjustments.”

Despite becoming somewhat of a punch line in county football, the Patriots have retained their work ethic, pride and their belief. They’ve accepted building a program is a process. They’ve worked and, internally, have marked their progress. Thursday, they finally got to show the rest of the county.

‘‘This is a good group of players and they’ve put in a lot of work and it just continues,” Malling said. ‘‘They’ve built themselves into being pretty decent players. And that’s the key component. They don’t see Thursday’s win as a big upset. The hard work is starting to show itself on the field. And now we have two wins, can’t be worse than last season.”