Whitney High’s varsity football team will put its undefeated record on the line against Mesa Verde at San Juan High this weekend.

The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Wildcats (6-0 overall, 2-0 in the Pioneer Valley League) are on a roll while the Mavericks (1-5, 0-3) have lost five consecutive games. Mesa Verde has been blown out in PVL games against Placer (49-20), Lincoln (34-7) and Colfax (35-7) so far. The Mavericks beat Mira Loma 21-6 to open their season but they also lost non-league games to Oakmont (13-12) and Bella Vista (20-0). They trailed 28-0 at halftime in Friday’s loss to Colfax.

Mesa Verde is led by running back Sir Johnson as the junior has rushed 93 times for 600 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Star running back Zack Graves alone wasn’t enough for the Wildcats in a physical PVL battle at Bear River Friday.

Charlie Hetland and his strong right arm came to the rescue.

The Wildcats’ senior quarterback threw three touchdown passes and the Whitney defense held Bear River to just three first downs in the second half in a 25-13 victory. Taylor Irwin caught two touchdown passes from Hetland as the Wildcats outscored the Bruins 18-6 in the second half.

“Zack’s leading the (Sac-Joaquin Section) in rushing so they’re going to pay a lot of attention to him,” Hetland said of Graves, who finished with 183 yards on 34 carries.

“If they’re going to leave our receivers open, we’re going to hit them. Everyone talks about Zack Graves, but football’s a team game.”

A pair of early turnovers kept Bear River from taking control of the game in the first half. Whitney’s Dominic Pasquale jumped on a Bruin fumble on their second play from scrimmage. Bear River’s second miscue – a poor snap to punter Jason Varni – led to Whitney’s first touchdown.

Graves rolled out and hit senior Nick Law with a four-yard touchdown pass to wrap up a quick 19-yard drive late in the first quarter.

Bear River answered with a 15-play, 80-yard scoring march capped off by Jason Varni’s one-yard touchdown plunge. Varni rushed for 83 of his team-high 137 yards in the first half.

Whitney’s defense was the story in the second half. The Bruins gained a first down on the first play of the third quarter, but didn’t move the chains again until the final minute of the game.

Graves’ 56-yard run set up Whitney’s go-ahead touchdown – a 10-yard strike from Hetland to Irwin.

The Bear River defense stopped Graves on fourth down and one at the Bruins’ 38-yard line later in the third quarter. But another three-and-out series by the Bruins and a poor punt set up Hetland’s 36-yard bomb to Irwin to all but seal the win.

“They had the ball the whole half,” Bear River coach Terry Logue said. “We weren’t moving the ball like we normally do unfortunately.

“When you give a back like that and a line like that and a quarterback and receivers that many opportunities, eventually they’re going to hit a few.”

The Wildcats wore down the Bruins (4-2 overall, 1-1 in the PVL) as the game went on. Graves managed just 43 yards rushing in the first half, but found the going easier late in the game.

Graves has now rushed 141 times for 1,154 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season, averaging 8.18 yards per rush. He has also caught a touchdown and thrown for four more.

“We were just running at them and wearing them down and then we were able to pop some through and get some big plays,” said Hetland, who finished 9-of-15 passing for 143 yards.

Whitney’s junior varsity topped Bear River 21-19.