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In their Section 4AAAA quarterfinal game at home Tuesday, October 23, the third-seeded Wildcats trailed the sixth-seeded St. Paul Harding Knights 22-20 at the half. But the Wildcats broke the game open with three third quarter touchdowns for a 53-34 win and a berth in the section semifinals.

After holding the Knights to a three-and-out on the game's opening possession, the Wildcats went on a 12-play, 80 yard drive. Fullback Jake Spehar scored on a one-yard plunge to put the Wildcats up 7-0. The Wildcats scored on their next two possessions. Jon Lien scored on a three yard run and Andy Willhite got into the end zone with a 14 yard scamper. The Knights blocked one of the Wildcat extra point attempts. But Harding also scored on their next three possessions and converted a two-pointer, putting the Wildcats down by two at the half.

The third quarter was all Wildcats. They held Harding to three-and-out on the opening possession. After the Wildcats got the ball back, Brandon Mueller got the players, coaches and fans fired up with a 51-yard touchdown run on the Wildcats' first play of the half.

On the next drive, facing fourth and 9 from the Knight 33, Willhite and Lien hooked up for a 28 yard completion to give the Wildcats a first down at the five. Lien scored on the next play. Willhite scored on a five yard run on the Wildcats' next drive, and the Wildcats led 41-22 at the end of three quarters.

The Wildcats and Knights each scored twice in the fourth quarter. Willhite hit Lien with a 9 yard touchdown pass, then scored on a 19 yard run to make the final score Chisago Lakes 53, St. Paul Harding 34.

Mueller led the Wildcats with 12 carries for 123 yards. Fullbacks Jake Spehar and Mike Rosenthal did a lot of the hard work on the ground for the Wildcats, combining for 17 carries and 99 yards. Willhite was six for nine passing for 91 yards.

Wildcats vs St. Paul Johnson

The third-seeded Wildcats dug a deep hole for themselves as they managed just 12 yards offensively in the first half against the second-seeded Governors. In the Section 4AAAA semifinal game Saturday, October 27 at Macalester College Stadium, CL proved unable to stop the Governors' offense in the first two quarters, and trailed 20-0 at halftime.

But, the Wildcats rocketed out of the hole in the second half, scoring all six times they had the ball for a thrilling 44-26 win over the Governors. The win vaults the Wildcats into the section championship game tomorrow night, Friday, November 2, at home at 7 p.m. against Mahtomedi.

Brandon Mueller blasted the game's opening kickoff into the end zone and the Governors took over on their own 20. They went on a 10-play drive, highlighted by a 34 yard pass play that gave them first and goal at the Wildcat nine. After the Wildcats stuffed two runs, the Governors hit a wide open receiver at the goal line to go up 7-0.

Jon Lien returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards to the Wildcat 44. That was about the last thing that went right for the Wildcats in the first half. The Wildcats ground out one first down, but the drive stalled and they were forced to punt.

The Wildcats went three and out on their next two possessions. They stopped Johnson once but the Governors put together two touchdown drives (six plays and eight plays) to go up 20-0 at the half.

In the second half, the turnaround started right away The Governors squibbed the opening kickoff, probably to keep it away from Lien, and the Wildcats fell on it at their own 46. They went on a five-play drive, highlighted by a 27 yard run by quarterback Andy Willhite. Mueller took it in from 13 yards out, and the Wildcats were finally on the scoreboard, trailing 20-7.

The Wildcats stopped the Governors on their first possession and forced them into punt formation from their own 30. The ball was snapped. Mueller burst through the middle of the line, and the punt thumped off his chest and sailed straight backwards. The ball rolled all the way out of the end zone for a safety, and the Wildcats now trailed 20-9.

Mueller returned the free kick to the Governor 41. The Wildcats went on their only sustained drive of the game, using nine plays to chew up most of the rest of the third quarter. Willhite made his only pass attempt and completion of the game count, hitting Mueller with a 13 yard touchdown pass to pull the Wildcats to within 20-15.

The Wildcat defense stopped the Governors on their next four possessions. Meanwhile, the Wildcat offense ran just seven - yes seven - plays the rest of the game, scoring four touchdowns. On the second play of the next drive, Lien scored on an electrifying 62-yard run to put the Wildcats ahead 21-20. On the try for two, Mike Rosenthal burst up the middle and looked like (Viking Great) Chuck Foreman as he spun out of a tackler's grip and into the end zone to give the Wildcats their first lead, 23-20.

The Wildcats started their next drive at their own 11. Lien's 11 yard run gave them a first down at the 22. On the next play, Willhite hung onto the ball, slid right and started up the right sideline, with Mueller trailing. Willhite was tripped up after about 15 yards. A hit by another Johnson player appeared to keep him from hitting the ground right away. In that split second, Willhite e flipped the ball back to Mueller. Mueller caught the pitch in stride and outraced the Johnson defense down the sideline for a touchdown play of 78 yards. The Wildcats went up 30-20 on what had to be one of the most exciting plays in Wildcat history. After the play, one of the referees turned to a reporter standing on the Wildcat sideline and asked, "Can I get a copy of the coach's halftime speech?"

The Wildcats needed just one play on their next drive and Lien made it look easy, scoring on a 43 yard run. Johnson went for it on fourth and six from their own 11 yard line the next time they had the ball, but the pass fell incomplete and the Wildcats took over. After a nine yard run by Lien on first down, Ryan Waddell did the honors, scoring from the two yard line to put the Wildcats up 44-20 with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

The Governors drove down the field and added a meaningless touchdown on the last play of the game, making the final score Chisago Lakes 44, St. Paul Johnson 26.

Lien led the Wildcats with 160 yards rushing, including 155 yards on just nine carries in an incredible second half.

"The whole game was crazy," said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss. "We had a tough first half, to say the least. There were no great adjustments or fiery speeches. We knew we were in a hole and talked about a few things. We gave the defense some reminders, and they were able to go out and execute in the second half. And, sometimes in an offense like ours, it just takes a little while to get going. Maybe just that break in the action at the half gave us a chance to calm down and remember how we do things. As inactive as things were in the first half, they really took off for us in second half. Scoring on our first drive was helpful, and Mueller's blocked punt really changed the momentum of the game. We got the ball back in good field position and scored on our next drive."

"Jon Lien has been a playmaker all year for us," continued Weiss. He played effectively on offense, defense and special teams. He had some big runs on offense. Johnson kicked away from him on special teams because they were worried about his return ability. And, on defense, he had a number of key tackles for us and knocked away a couple of passes. When you get into a big game like this, get in big game, kids like Jon take advantage of the opportunity to shine. And while Jon and Brandon Mueller are clearly talented, our younger backs can do nice things, too. Zach Butcher, Alan Swanberg and Ryan Waddell have had a chance to step in, show what they can do and get some experience this season. With Brandon and Jon playing a lot on defense, we've been able to get them some rest by switching Zach in on a good portion of the snaps in the last couple of games and he's done a real nice job.

"We've taken advantage of the opportunity to work Mike Rosenthal a little more on offense," Weiss said. "He's a nice complement to our regular fullback, Jake Spehar. Spehar is a big, strong power runner. Rosenthal has a lightning like quickness. Having two fullbacks at your disposal that bring different abilities to their position is a nice addition for us offensively."

The third-seeded Wildcats will play fourth-seeded Mahtomedi for the Section 4AAAA championship tomorrow might, Friday, November 2, at 7 p.m. at Chisago Lakes. Mahtomedi upset top-seeded Como Park 40-12 to advance to the championship game.

It's the first time in Weiss's tenure as the Wildcats' head coach that they've hosted a section championship game. "We get to come back home one more time," said Weiss. "We love playing in front of our fans. The guys are excited about it. So many things have to fall into place for this to happen. Both teams will have a lot of fans in attendance and it should be and exciting, action-packed game."

Weiss talked about the Wildcats' opponent. "Mahtomedi has been up and down at times this year. On offense, they have a great running back, an athletic wide receiver and a quarterback who does a great job distributing the ball. They're pretty well-balanced between the run and the pass. They're solid defensively, with size, speed and discipline up front. They're well-coached and will be well-prepared for us. But I guess that's true for every team that makes it this far.

"If we control the ball, eat some clock and contain a couple of playmakers, we'll be all right. There are playmakers on both teams who'll be showcased and it should be exciting to see."

SCORING SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 0 0 23 21 44

St. Paul Johnson 7 13 0 6 26

1st Quarter

S-Britten 9 pass from Ellis

(Ellis kick)

2nd Quarter

S-Henderson 4 run (Ellis kick)

S-Britten 12 pass from Ellis

(pass failed)

3rd Quarter

C-Mueller 13 pass from Willhite (Mueller kick)

C-Safety, punt blocked out of end zone

C-Mueller 11 pass from Willhite (pass failed)

C-Lien 62 run (Rosenthal run)

4th Quarter

C-Mueller 78 run (Mueller kick)

C-Lien 43 run (Mueller kick)

C-Waddell 2 run (Mueller kick)

S-Henderson 4 run (pass failed)

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