Walt Whitman's football team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to the Blake Bengals 25-13 on Sept. 13 in a game defined by turnovers and dueling kickoff-return touchdowns, The Black and White reported.

Blake housed the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Whitman junior Shaun Miller answered on the very next play, sprinting down the sideline for a return score to tie it at 6.

Junior Caleb Merenstein recovered a fumble on Blake's next drive, giving the Vikings a chance to seize control.

They couldn't capitalize.

Whitman's first two running plays stalled, and junior quarterback Lucas Manatos threw a pick-six that put Blake ahead for good. A botched punt on the Vikings' next possession gave Blake the ball at the Whitman 30-yard line. The Bengals punched it in on an inside run to take a 19-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Manatos and the offense responded with a nearly 90-yard scoring drive, capped by a touchdown pass to senior Jack Wills. That cut the deficit to 19-13.

The turnovers weren't done. With 20 seconds left before halftime, Manatos threw another interception that Blake returned to Whitman's 5-yard line. Junior Owen Greszler made a touchdown-saving tackle on a bubble screen on the half's final play, keeping the score at 19-13.

Whitman got the ball to start the second half and drove to midfield but was stuffed on a fourth-and-one attempt. Blake capitalized with a touchdown drive to extend the lead to 25-13. A tipped interception late in the game sealed the result.

Greszler and senior Malik Shraim anchored the defense, each recording nine tackles.

Both teams now sit at 1-1. Whitman opened the season with a 46-0 rout of Kennedy on Sept. 5 but struggled with turnovers and field position against Blake.

The Vikings travel to Wootton (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 18, with kickoff listed at 6:30 p.m. on the Whitman athletics schedule. Wootton is coming off a 42-7 loss to Damascus.