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After struggling and falling behind 14-3 in the first half, the Wildcats gave the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights a run for their money. But, the Wildcat rally fell just short as the ninth-ranked Red Knights beat the Wildcats 21-18 at Benilde Friday, September 7.

Things looked good early for the Wildcats. After starting at their own 20 following the game's opening kickoff, the Red Knights fumbled on their second play from scrimmage and the Wildcats recovered. They couldn't move the ball, but got a boost when Brandon Mueller hit a 37-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead just a couple of minutes into the game.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Red Knights took over on their own 37-yard line. They went 63 yards in 12 plays, scoring on a 3 yard run on the first play of the second quarter to go on top 7-3.

The ensuing kickoff sailed deep into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Wildcats first and 10 at their own 20. The Wildcats ground out one first down. But they fumbled on first down from the 31 yard line, and the Red Knights recovered. On the first play after the fumble, a Red Knight receiver ran down a seam in the middle of the field. The quarterback hit the receiver in stride and he outraced several Wildcat defenders the last 15 yards to the end zone. That made it 14-3 in Benilde's favor.

It looked like the Wildcats were in deep trouble after they lost another fumble on their own 34 yard line with just 2:12 remaining in the half. But, on third and six from the 30, Ryan Waddell burst through the line and sacked the quarterback for a seven yard loss, forcing the Red Knights to punt and keeping the score at 14-3.

The Wildcat defense came up big again on a Red Knight drive in the middle of the third quarter. Starting at the Wildcats 48, they went 29 yards in four plays to face first and ten at the 19. The Wildcats nearly snuffed out the drive on the next play, but they dropped an interception at the 5 yard line. After a short gain, the Red Knights faced third and six at the 15. But, Mueller broke through the line and wrapped up the ball carrier for a 5 yard loss. The Red Knight field goal attempt sailed wide left, and the Benilde lead stayed at 14-3.

The Wildcats started from their own 20 after another Benilde kickoff sailed into the end zone. They used up the last six minutes of the third quarter, going 80 yards in 14 plays. The drive was highlighted by by running back Jon Lien's 21 yard run. Quarterback Andy Willhite appeared to cramp up at the end of the third quarter, and was replaced by senior Mike Gryte.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, facing fourth and goal from the 1, Gryte called his own number and plowed up the middle for a touchdown. The Wildcats decided to go for two to get within a field goal of the Red Knights. Gryte rolled right, started to cut upfield and pitched the ball to the trailing Mueller at the last second. Mueller dove over the goal line into the right front corner of the end zone to pull the Wildcats within three points at 14-11.

The Red Knights offense showed some life and went 71 yards in 12 plays, eating seven precious minutes off the clock and scoring a touchdown. They were up 21-11 with 4:53 remaining in the game.

The Wildcats began their next drive at their own 31 after a 23 yard kickoff return by Lien. On the second play of the drive, Willhite again appeared injured and was replaced by Gryte. On the next play, facing second and nine from their own 44, Lien plowed through the middle and broke free for a 24 yard gain to put the ball at the Benilde 32.

The gassed Knights called a time out to regroup. On the next play, Mueller scampered around right end for 14 yards, stepping out of bounds to stop the clock with 3:36 to go. Gryte kept the ball and went 9 yards on the next play. Three plays later, the Wildcats faced third and goal at the two. Jake Spehar took the handoff from Gryte and plowed into the center of the line. Spehar appeared stopped, but a little shove from behind by Gryte helped him make it into the end zone. After the Mueller extra point, the Wildcats trailed 21-18 with 2:23 remaining in the game.

The Wildcats attempted an onside kick, but the Red Knights recovered the ball and ran out the clock, escaping with a 21-18 victory over the hard-charging Wildcats.

"We didn't play real well in the first half," said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss. "We regrouped at halftime and got in a good groove in the second half, but the clock became our enemy and we just ran out of time at the end."

Quarterback Andy Willhite came out of the game twice in the fourth quarter with what were likely cramps. He should be fine for next week's game against Totino Grace. Senior quarterback Mike Gryte filled in for Willhite, scored one touchdown and gave his running back a hand with the other.

"It's nice to have an upperclassman like Gryte ready to step in like that," said Weiss. "He'd been playing defense throughout the first three quarters, so he was already into the flow of the game. He came into a tough situation on a moment's notice and we didn't miss a beat."

Lien led the Wildcats in rushing with eight carries for 80 yards.

SCORING SUMMARY

1 2 3 4 T

Chisago Lakes 3 0 0 15 18

Benilde 0 14 0 7 21

First Quarter

CL-Mueller 37 field goal

Second Quarter

BS-Lynch 3 run (Grupa kick)

BS-Rothstein 30 pass from Lynch (Grupa kick)

Third Quarter

No scoring.

Fourth Quarter

CL-Gryte 1 run (Mueller run)

BS-Glynn 6 pass from Lynch (Grupa kick)

CL-Spehar 1 run (Mueller kick

Next up for the Wildcats are the formidable Totino-Grace Eagles. The Wildcats and Eagles will square off at Grace, Friday, September 14, at 7 p.m. The Eagles, last year's Class AAAA state champion, will probably be in a foul mood after being upset by Irondale 21-20 last week.

"This will be the third highly-ranked team we've played in a row," said Weiss. "Totino-Grace is probably the best of the bunch. Our kids will have a heightened awareness this week in practice and won't need any extra motivation to get up for this one. We need to play a complete game against Totino. If we do that, we'll be all right."

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