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On Friday night in their 24-7 loss at Benilde-St. Margaret's, leading 7-6 early in the third quarter, the Wildcat defense had put up a great goal line stand, stopping the Red Knights three times after they had first and goal at the two. On fourth and goal, the Benilde runner plowed into the line. Nothing happened for several seconds, so it looked like forward progress had been stopped and the Wildcats had held on to their slim lead. But then Benilde halfback Michael Juberian burst out of the pile and into the end zone for a touchdown to put the Red Knights up 12-7.

We asked Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss to comment on what turned out to be the game's big turning point. Weiss stated, emphatically, that...

...the referees got it right. What?

"The coaches had to look at the videos three or four times before we figured out what happened," said Weiss. "The original handoff went to the fullback. He plowed into the line, and fumbled the ball inside the pile. The Benilde halfback alertly picked up the ball and squeezed through the crowd into the end zone for a touchdown. If he had just fallen on it, it would have been our call. So it was a very headsy play for their kid to realize that, pick it up and try to do something with it. It was unfortunate for us, but the referees got it right," Weiss said.

The Wildcats dominated the game in the early going. The Wildcats registered two sacks on Benilde's opening drive, and took over at their own 20 after a 32-yard punt. Zach Butcher gained a yard on the first play and had to be helped off the field with a leg injury. On the next play, quarterback Andy Willhite ran an option around left end, hung on to the ball and outran the entire Benilde defense for a 79 yard touchdown, to put the Wildcats up 7-0 just four minutes into the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Benilde runner took off down the left sideline and had a lot of running room. Just past the 50, he reversed field and headed towards the middle of the field. As he turned upfield, Cory Lushanko caught him from behind and stripped the ball loose. Kevin Roggemann recovered, and the Wildcats had a first down on their own 42.

The Wildcats moved the ball. Lushanko's nine yard run on a pitch right gave the Wildcats a first down. On second and ten, Willhite floated a pass to Lushanko on a right to left crossing pattern for an 18 yard gain and another first down. Runs of eight and seven yards by Willhite gave the Wildcats a first down at the Benilde 15. But the Red Knight defenses stiffened, and the Wildcats trotted out the field goal unit on fourth down from the 17. The kick sailed wide left, and the Wildcat lead remained 7-0.

The Wildcats started at their own four on the next drive after a Benilde punt. They moved the ball out of the shadow of their own end zone thanks to a 15 yard run by Willhite and passes of 11 and 18 yards to halfback Brandon Dawson. But the drive stalled near the 50 at the beginning of the second quarter, and the Wildcats were forced to punt. After forcing Benilde into a three and out, the Wildcats got the ball back at their own 28. On third and 10, the Red Knights recovered a Wildcat fumble and took over first and 10 on the Wildcat 28.

After getting one first down, Benilde decided to go for it on fourth and eight from the 13. The Wildcat defense held the runner to a two yard gain, and the Wildcats took over. Facing second and six from the 15, a wide open Wildcat receiver dropped a well-thrown ball by Willhite that would have given the Wildcats a first down. Two plays later the Wildcats were forced to punt, and the Red Knights took over at the Wildcat 41 with just over two minutes remaining in the half.

On Benilde's first play, Dawson saved a touchdown by knocking the Benilde runner out of bounds at the Wildcat 29. On first and 15 from the 24, the Benilde receiver made a great leaping catch to give the Red Knights a first and goal at the two. Two plays later, running back Nate Hansen plunged up the middle to pull the Red Knights within a point with 56 seconds remaining in the half. The Red Knights missed the extra point, and the Wildcats led 7-6 going into halftime.

The Wildcats couldn't do anything with the ball in the first drive of the third quarter, and Benilde took over at the 50 after a short Wildcat punt. They embarked on an 11 play drive, capped off by the fumble recovery and touchdown described earlier to go up 12-6.

The Wildcats' next drive stalled, and the Red Knights took over at their own 24. On the first play from scrimmage, Benilde running back Ben Sauer gave the Wildcats a taste of their own medicine, running up the middle and down the sideline for a 76 yard touchdown, with three minutes to go in the third quarter. It made the score 18-7 as Benilde missed yet another extra point.

The Wildcats punted on their next drive, but recovered a fumble on their own 40 just three plays later. Facing fourth and 14 from their own 36, the Wildcats tried a fake punt but came up five yards short of the first down. Benilde then went 41 yards in nine plays, capping off the scoring with a 14 yard run by Ben Krebsbach. Wildcat Aaron Armstrong recovered a fumble with thee minutes remaining, but that was the final highlight of the game for the Wildcats in their 24-7 loss to the Red Knights.

"They certainly had the field position in the second half," said Weiss. "We had to punt from deep in our own zone more than once. It worked to their advantage to have the short field and be in four down territory. They got momentum on their side and were able to do things that we weren't. It was frustrating."

Weiss continued. "We had a couple of dropped passes, which were obvious miscues. But we also made way too many mistakes in our base running game. Players weren't going where they were supposed to. That happens sometimes in football, but it happened way too often in this game. We made a lot of strides from the preseason to week one and from week one to week two in terms of the number of mistakes, but we took a step back in terms of our execution this week."

Linebacker Brandon Dawson had a breakout game for the Wildcats with 17 tackles and two pass receptions for first downs. "Brandon was all over the place," said Weiss. "It's part of the nature of the linebacker position to get a lot of tackles, but Brandon was able to fit into a lot of tight seams and make a lot of plays."

Sophomore Cory Lushanko had a great all-around effort for the Wildcats. Weiss said "Cory's been a guy who's started for us on defense already this season. He's got tremendous potential and we were trying to bring him along at a comfortable pace. Due to some injuries, he got more playing time tonight on offense and came up with a couple of nice catches and some nice runs. And after we had a breakdown in kickoff coverage after our early touchdown, he came up with a huge strip. that gave us the ball back. That was a big varsity play. He made plays for us on offense, defense and special teams."

This Week

The Wildcats (2-1) play a home game against St. Francis (0-3) Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. The game will be played a St. Croix Falls. Directions - Take Highway 8 east across the river to the 35 South exit in St. Croix Falls. Take a left at the stop sign (don't go south). You'll cross back under Highway 8. The football field will be on your left.

SCORING SUMMARY

1 2 3 4 F

Chisago Lakes 7 0 0 0 7

BSM 0 6 12 6 24

First Quarter

CL-Willhite 79 run (Novak kick)

Second Quarter

BS-Juberian 2 run (kick failed)

Third Quarter

BS-Hansen 1 run (run failed)

BS-Sauer 76 run (pass failed)

Fourth Quarter

BS-Krebsbach 14 run (kick failed)

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