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Playing on their brand-new home field, the Wildcat homecoming game provided 3,500 hometown Homecoming fans with a big dose of excitement. Henry Fitzpatrick's interception return for a touchdown and his subsequent two-pointer put the Wildcats ahead of Irondale 22-21 with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. But Irondale scored a touchdown on the next drive, then added a late punt return touchdown to seal a 35-22 win.



The homecoming gate was believed to be the biggest home crowd in Chisago Lakes' history.



The Wildcats gave the fans a lot to cheer about on the opening drive. Facing third and 5 from the Wildcat 30, quarterback Andy Willhite ran right, cut through the line and raced 40 yards down the right side to give the Wildcats a first down at the Irondale 20. Zach Butcher bulled his way up the middle for 6 yards. After an incomplete pass, Willhite faked the ball to the fullback, ran left and cut inside for a 10 yard gain. Two plays later, Willhite cut through a big hole on the left side for a touchdown. Dominic Novak's extra point gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.



The Wildcats squibbed the ensuing kickoff to avoid Irondale's running sensation Chichi Ojika, but the Knights ended up with great field position at their own 47 anyway. The Knights got one first down, but the stalwart Wildcat defense and a holding penalty forced a punt from midfield. The Knights downed the punt on the 10 yard line.



The Wildcats failed to move the ball. They punted to their own 45, and Ojika returned the ball to the Wildcat 23. On second and 15 from the 28, the Wildcats missed a tackle in the backfield and quarterback Tim Colwell scrambled 21 yards for a first down. Three plays later, Ojika dove into the end zone from the 2. The Knights missed the extra point, leaving the Wildcats with a 7-6 lead.



On the subsequent kickoff, the Knights surprised the Wildcats with an onside kick and recovered it at the Wildcat 37 yard line. They went on a seven play drive. On second and goal from the 5, Colwell appeared to be stopped in the backfield. But he slipped out of the Wildcat tackle and scored less than a minute into the second quarter. Irondale added a two pointer to make the score 14-7.



The Knights kicked off routinely this time, and the Wildcats returned the ball to the Wildcat 34. On second and 4 from their own 40, Jordan Hickox ran 25 yards on a reverse. A holding penalty moved the ball back to the Wildcat 45, but it was still enough for a Wildcat first down. On second down from the 49, Willhite scored on an unbelievable play. Willhite kept the ball and burst into the open. As he sped downfield, one of his own wide receivers cut in front of him. Willhite plowed into the player and appeared stopped. But it hardly slowed him down. He was back at full speed within a couple of steps and ran full speed untouched into the end zone. It appeared the Knight defense relaxed a little at the collision, and Willhite recovered more quickly than they did. Novak's extra point tied the score at 14.



A short time later, Kyle Hagglund recovered a fumble at the Irondale 42 yard line. The Wildcats managed one first down, and then went for it on fourth and 6 from the Knight 26. They ended up a foot short. The defenses took over for the last seven minutes of the half, leaving the score tied at 14-14.



The Knights failed to move the ball in the first possession of the second half. They were forced to punt from their own 43 yard line. The punter mishit the ball and it popped just over his center's head and beyond the line of scrimmage. A Wildcat player muffed it. The ball hit the ground and the Knights pounced on it, retaining possession at their own 47. Five plays later, Ojika scored on an 8 yard run up the middle to put the Knights up 21-14.



The Wildcats moved the ball well on their next drive, highlighted by a 12 yard run by Zach Butcher. But the Knights once more stopped the Wildcats on fourth down deep in Knight territory. The Wildcats returned the favor after the Knights went on an 11 play drive that ate up nearly the last six minutes of the third quarter. On fourth and 3 from the Wildcat 17, Fitzpatrick tipped a pass attempt that fell incomplete, giving the ball to the Wildcats with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.



The Wildcats began to move the ball. The drive was highlighted by Joey Reed's 9 yard run, Willhite's 14 yard pass to Henry Fitzpatrick and Jeff Sargeant's 11 yard pass to Hickox on a crossing pattern. But the Wildcat drive stalled at the Irondale 47, and the Knights took over at their own 32 after a 15 yard punt. On second and 5, Colwell dropped back to pass. He let go of the ball. About 10 yards in front of him, Fitzpatrick leaped to block the ball. It popped up in the air a little. Fitzpatrick grabbed it and took off. He gave Colwell a hip fake worthy of Reggie Bush, slipped by and ran into the end zone for a touchdown. On the ensuing extra point, the Wildcats snapped the ball directly to Fitzgpatrick in an offset left formation. Fitzgpatrick plowed into the line, moved the pile and dove just over the goal line for two points, giving the Wildcats a 22-21 lead with just over right minutes left in the game.



The Knights once again had a short field to work with after a 30 yard kickoff return by Ojika put the ball at the 50. Eight plays later, Colwell scored his second touchdown of the game on a 16 yard sweep to the left, and the two-pointer gave the Knights a 29-22 lead with 4:36 remaining.



The Wildcats started the next drive on their own 36. But the Knights only yielded 2 yards on three plays, forcing the Wildcats to punt with 3:11 remaining. Ojika fielded the Wildcat punt at his own 30 and showed why he's often spoken of in superlatives; he took off down the left side and, virtually untouched, sped all the way to the end zone to put the Knights up by 13. The Knights took over on downs after the Wildcats failed to move the ball, leaving the final score Irondale 35, Chisago Lakes 22.



"Ojika is quite a player," said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss. "He presents quite a problem, primarily on special teams. We tried to squib it to keep it away from him, and that didn't work because it gave them good field position. In fact, they had good field position all night long. That was really the story of the game - special teams and field position. We came out and stopped them after halftime, mishandled the punt and they scored on that drive. We did too many little things wrong during the game."



Weiss talked about his quarterback. He said, "Andy may have played his best game for us yet. We asked a lot out of him, playing full time on defense, playing nearly full time on offense and playing on special teams, and he delivered. Andy's a great open field tackler and we knew we needed our best tacklers on the field all the time against Irondale."



Several Wildcat defensive players stood out. Weiss said "Henry's (Fitzpatrick) block, interception and runback was a very athletic play. He's a smart football player and has been making big plays all year for us. On the series before his interception, he got his hands up and deflected another pass just enough so the receiver missed it. And the touchdown play was the type of play that got everyone excited and darn near won the game for us. And linebacker Clay Olson and defensive lineman Mark Sandgren really played well. The guys they were going up against were huge, outweighing Clay and Mark by 70 to a 100 pounds. But our guys mixed it up and used their quickness to make plays. They may not have had the size advantage, but they played big."



UPCOMING

The Wildcats (3-3) play the Fridley Tigers (also 3-3) Friday, October 10 at 7 p.m. at Fridley. "We haven't played Fridley the last two years," said Weiss. "They've got a new coach and a quarterback and fullback who are potentially explosive. They'll give us the whole gamut of defensive looks, so we'll need to be ready for anything. We didn't turn the ball over against Irondale, and we'll need to do the same against Fridley. We need to take everything we've learned in the past six weeks and put it all together on Friday to have success. If we can beat Fridley, we'll have a better chance of having a home playoff game."





SCORING SUMMARY



1 2 3 4 T

Irondale 6 8 7 14 35

CL 7 7 0 8 22



First Quarter

C: Willhite 7 run (Novak kick)

I: Ojika 2 run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

I: Colwell 5 run (Hanson pass from Colwell)

C: Willhite 51 run (Novak kick)

Third Quarter

I: Ojika 7 run (Jacobson kick)

Fourth Quarter

C: Fitzpatrick 36 int. return (Fitzpatrick run)

I: Colwell 16 run (Colwell run)

I: Ojika 70 punt return (kick failed)

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