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Irondale 36, Chisago Lakes 14

Facing conference power Irondale at Irondale October 17, the Wildcats trailed 20-7 at halftime.

The 'Cats stopped the Knights on the first drive of the third quarter, forcing them into a fourth and 5 at their own 25. It looked like the Wildcats would get the ball back in good field position with a chance to tighten the score. But the Wildcats were called for too many men on the field, giving Irondale a first down. The Knights drove for a touchdown to stretch their lead to 27-7 on their way to a 36-14 win over the Wildcats.

Things looked good for the Wildcats early in the first quarter. Brandon Mueller returned the opening kickoff to the Wildcat 38 yard line. CL pounded the ball down the field with a 10 play drive, all runs. The drive ate up over five minutes. It was highlighted by Mueller's 15-yard run that gave the Wildcats a first down on the Irondale 13. On third and 7 from the 10, quarterback Andy Willhite bobbled the snap, kept the ball and ran off tackle untouched into the end zone. Mueller's extra point put the Wildcats up 7-0.

Things looked even better for the Wildcats a couple of minutes later. The Knights, facing second and 7 from their own 33, threw a bomb into Wildcat territory. Defensive back Jon Lien intercepted, giving the Wildcats the ball on their own 30. But the Knights held the Wildcats to three-and-out, forcing the Wildcats to punt. The Knights took over on their own 29.

Irondale moved quickly down the field, highlighted by a 39 yard screen pass. They ran it in from the 4 with just under a minute left in the first quarter. Their try for two failed, and the Wildcats led, 7-6.

On their next possession, the Wildcats found themselves facing third and 8 at their own 40. The Knights intercepted a Wildcat pass and returned it to the Chisago Lakes 10 yard line. They scored two plays later and, after the extra point, led 13-7.

The Wildcats went three and out on their next series. The Knights took over at their own 30 and began the longest drive of the game. After over seven minutes and 14 plays, the Knights faced fourth and three at the Wildcat 13. They decided to go for it. But Wildcat Jacob Elzy tackled the ball carrier a yard short of a first down, and the Wildcats took over on downs.

The Wildcats failed to move the ball again, and were forced to punt from the 13. The Knights partially blocked the punt, and took over at the Wildcat 39 with two minutes remaining in the first half. The Knights moved the ball nearer the goal line in five plays, and a quarterback sneak on sixth play put them up 20-7 with 25 seconds remaining in the half.

The Wildcats, starting from their own 20, saw gains of 15 yards by Willhite and 10 yards by Mueller. CL had the ball on its own 45 with 0.3 seconds left. Willhite heaved a 32 yard pass to wide receiver Robert Wilson, but Wilson was tackled immediately ending the half.

After Mueller's second half opening kickoff skipped through the end zone, the Knights started on their own 20. The Wildcats held Irondale to five yards in three plays and it looked like they would get the ball back in good field position.

Then came the penalty for too many men on the field. The Knights took advantage of the Wildcat error. They moved down the field in nine plays, converting twice on third and 10, and scored to go ahead 27-7. The Knights took advantage of two more Wildcat turnovers in the second half, adding a touchdown and a field goal, to go up 36-7.

The Wildcats may have gotten a glimpse of the future. Late in the game, junior running back Alan Swanberg, on his only carry of the game, took a pitch, cut back up the middle and ran 38 yards for a touchdown with four minutes remaining. Those were the game's last points.

"Too many men on the field was a stupid penalty," said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss, "but it's one of those things that happens. Unfortunately, the timing couldn't have been worse. We should have been in a position to do something with the ball, but we handed it right back to them. You can't do that against a team that good.

"Early in the game," continued Weiss, "we had a nice drive going, executed our offense well, scored a touchdown and got an interception on their first series. But we couldn't jump start our offense again and didn't sustain a drive 'til late in game. Irondale was able to sustain some drives. We knew that their athletes and their scheme would present a challenge for us, and they executed pretty well on both sides of ball."

Weiss then talked a little bit about the future. He said "Alan Swanberg had a nice run at the end of the game. He is one of those hardworking kids who hasn't seen a lot of playing time because of all the experienced talent in front of him. But we'll be looking for him to step into a bigger role next year as a senior. At the end of today's game, Alan and some of the other backups gave us a chance to see what they can do in a game situation."

"A game like this doesn't hurt you," said Weiss. "We were playing a team ranked seventh in the class (5A) above us. We got a sense of where we were at. The outcome was not what we wanted it to be, but it wasn't the type of game that breaks you, either. It allows us to evaluate where we've been, what we've got going on and ride that into the postseason. As I've said before, if you have your choice of games, this is the type of team you want to face heading into the playoffs. It helps coaches and players learn where corrections need to be made before postseason play begins."

SCORING SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 7 0 0 7 14

Irondale 6 14 13 3 36

1st Quarter

C--Willhite 10 run (Mueller kick)

I--Colwell 4 run (run failed)

2nd Quarter

I--Carlson 4 run (McFarlane kick)

I--Colwell 1 run (McFarlane kick)

3rd Quarter

I--Carlson 5 pass from Colwell (McFarlane kick)

I--Ojika 17 run (pass failed)

4th Quarter

I--FG McFarlane 25

C--Swanberg 38 run (Mueller kick)

The Wildcats, seeded third in Section 4AAAA, were scheduled to face sixth-seeded St. Paul Harding (3-5) Tuesday, October 23 at Chisago Lakes. "The Harding game is a tough one to gauge," said Weiss. "We didn't play them and we don't have any common opponents. They're a spread formation team and their quarterback threw for over 1500 yards this season, mainly to four receivers. We need to take advantage of dropped passes and opportunities for interceptions. Our best defense may be to have our offense click so we keep him on the sidelines. If we execute our offense, control the clock, and limit the number of times they have the ball, we should be all right. We'll certainly be well-prepared for them."

If the Wildcats won this past Tuesday, they'll face the winner of second-seeded St. Paul Johnson and seventh-seeded St. Paul Arlington this Saturday, October 27. A game against Johnson would be an away game.

Since some St. Paul schools share fields, the time of a game at Johnson has not been determined. Please check nsconference.org, call the school or check with your favorite player or parent for the game time and location. If Arlington wins, the Wildcats will play them at Chisago Lakes at 7 p.m.

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