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by CHUCK FITZER

If you weren’t at Chisago Lakes High School last Friday night, you may have missed the most entertaining high school football game you are ever going to see.
And it even had a happy ending.  Well, at least if you were a Wildcat fan.
That night, Wildcat Bryce Thompson, who had missed two field goals earlier in the game, kicked a 29 yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the game to give the eleventh-ranked Wildcats a 24-21 win over the third-ranked St. Michael-Albertville Knights.  An interception by Wildcat defensive back Will Gillach late in the fourth quarter set up the short drive that led to the winning field goal.
The Wildcats dominated the game from start to finish.  They gained 426 yards on the ground, including over 150 yards apiece by running back Joe Virga and quarterback Joe Kimlinger.  The Wildcat defense held the Knights, one of the top rushing teams in Class 5A, to under 100 yards for the night.  The Wildcats had five drives of 58 yards or more, while St. Michael had just two drives over 58 yards.
As for the entertaining part: two different times during the game there were turnovers on consecutive plays.  There was a play that had three fumbles in it.  There was a kickoff return for a touchdown.  There was an amazing leaping reception by a St. Michael wide receiver, and an equally amazing leaping interception by Thompson.  And there was a perfectly thrown 50 yard pass to a St. Michael receiver that tied the game and helped to set the stage for Thompson’s late game heroics.
To see how it all unfolded, let’s start at the beginning.
A touchback on the opening kickoff gave the Wildcats the ball at their own 20.  Neither team did much on their opening drives, and after an exchange of punts the Wildcats took over at their own 19.  On second down from the 23, Virga took a handoff to the right and cut back up the middle for a 12 yard gain.  On the next play, Virga took a pitch left and sprinted down the left sideline for a 34 yard gain.  Gillach gained 8 yards on the next play, but that was wiped out by a chop blocking penalty.  But Kimlinger got that back on the next play with a 17 yard run to the right.  After a five yard delay of game penalty, Kimlinger handed the ball off to Gillach on a misdirection play.  Gillach headed up the middle and, after a couple of spin moves, gained 14 yards and a first down.  After one more first down, the Wildcats drive stalled at the 10 yard line at fourth and six.  So on the twelfth play of the drive, Thompson lined up at the left hash mark for a 27 yard field goal attempt.  Thompson’s kick was beautiful – it would have been good from 45 yards – but it sailed a couple of yards to the left and the game was still scoreless.
The Knights took over at the Wildcat 20 and went on their only drive of eight plays of more for the entire game.  On third and eight from the 22, St. Michael quarterback Jackson Greenwaldt dropped back and lofted a pass deep down the left sideline.  Wildcat defensive back Michael Dunne was in position to make a play on the ball, but receiver Isaiah Weston leaped high in the air to make the catch.  He was tackled immediately by Dunne for a gain of 38 yards and a five yard face masking penalty was tacked on, giving the Knights a first down at the Wildcat 36.  A pass completion after a fake reverse and a one-handed catch by tailback Jordan Joseph moved the ball to the Wildcat 13.  On second and ten, Greenwaldt hit receiver Trevor Rothstein with a bullet at the two yard line. Rothstein caught the ball and dove into the end zone, giving St. Michael a 7-0 lead with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats started at their own 20 on the ensuing drive.  On second and six from the 24, Kimlinger kept the ball, slid left, and ran through a hole inside the left hash mark for a 31 yard gain and a first down at the Knight 45.  On third and five, Kimlinger pitched left to Virga.  Virga dropped the pitch as he was heading upfield, but the ball bounced right back into his hands and he continued upfield.  He was knocked out of bounds at the 20, giving the Wildcats a first down.  Six plays later, the Wildcats faced third and four at the St. Michael five.  Virga took a pitch left.  As a bevy of Knight defenders closed in on him, Virga dove right at the pylon with the ball leading the way.  He tore the pylon out of the ground as he was swarmed under and the referee signaled touchdown!  Thompson’s extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 8:51 left in the second quarter.
After Thompson’s kicked sailed into the end zone for a touchback, St. Michael started their next drive on their own 20.  They quickly moved the ball into Wildcat territory.  But on second and 14 from the Wildcat 46, Luke Koskie burst through the middle and sacked Greenwaldt for a four yard loss.  On the very next play, Jax Ebbenga darted into the backfield, grabbed Greenwaldt, spun him around and took him down for another sack.  Facing fourth and 28, the Knights punted and the Wildcats began a drive on their own 36 yard line.  The Wildcats then went on a ten play drive – their third drive of ten plays or more – and it was still in the first half.  On first down from the 47, Kimlinger passed to Noah Taylor at the left sideline for eleven yards and a first down.  Two plays later, fullback Drake Gadbois took a handoff up the middle and blasted a potential tackler at the 21 before being hauled down at the 18.  Four plays later, on third and goal from the eight, Kimlinger dropped back and fired a pass three yards into the end zone right into the breadbasket of a wide open Noah Taylor.  Taylor hung on for the touchdown.  A low snap threw off the timing on the extra point try and it missed.  The Wildcats led 13-7 with 1:35 left in the first half.
Starting at their own 25, the Knights quickly moved the ball downfield.  With 17 seconds remaining, on second and eight from the Wildcat 41, Greenwaldt threw a pass down the middle of the field.  Thompson leaped up at the 15 yard line, grabbed the interception and returned it to the 35.  Kimlinger knelt down on the next play and the Wildcats went into halftime with a 13-7 lead.
After a pooch kick to start the second half, the Knights started at their own 38.  Joseph took the handoff and broke a couple of tackles.  But as he was being hauled down by Koskie, Koskie stripped the ball loose and Virga recovered it on the Knight 46.    On the very next play, Virga took a pitch left.  He zigzagged his way down the field.  But after ten yards, Virga was hit and fumbled the ball, with the Knights recovering at their own 36 yard line.  After a penalty for taunting, the Knights started the drive at their own 21.  The Wildcat defense forced them into a three and out.  The Wildcats then embarked on a 14 play, 64 yard drive.  Highlights included an eleven yard completion to Gillach and a punishing ten yard run up the middle by Gadbois.  On first down from the 15, Gillach took a handoff up the middle and three hip fakes later gave the Wildcats first and goal at the four.  But the drive stalled there.  On fourth down from the nine, the Thompson lined up for another field goal attempt.  But another nice looking kick sailed just to the left and the Wildcat lead stayed at 13-7.
A blocked pass by Dylan Wood and a tackle for loss by Virga gave St. Michael another three and out. After the punt, the Wildcats took over at their own 42.  On second and 13, Virga took a pitch left.  Gillach’s blocked sprung him loose and Virga was tackled at the 50.  Kimlinger slid right and dragged some tacklers six yards for a first down at the St. Michael 44.  On the next play, Virga burst up the middle and accelerated past the entire Knight defense all the way to the end zone for a touchdown.  The Wildcats went for two.  Kimlinger ran to the right.  As he was being tackled, he managed to flip the ball to Will Gillach, who waltzed into the end zone untouched to increase the Wildcat lead to 21-7.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Joseph caught the ball at the eight, ran right and headed down the right sideline for a 92 yard return and a touchdown.  Just like that, the Wildcat lead was cut to 21-14 with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
Gillach fielded the ensuing kickoff at the four.  He cut through the initial wave of tacklers and accelerated.  It looked like he had a chance to go all the way, but an ankle tackle at the Wildcat 40 saved a potential Wildcat touchdown.  The Wildcats again started to move the ball and eventually faced second and eight from the 13.  Virga took a pitch left and headed toward the sideline.  He cut upfield and tiptoed down the sideline towards the end zone.  He again dove straight at the pylon, ball first, for an apparent touchdown.  But it was negated by a chop blocking penalty on the Wildcats, moving the ball back to the 27.  On the next play, defensive back Austin Nickel picked off a Kimlinger passing attempt at the 25.  He ran down the right sideline and was caught and tackled from behind by Koskie at the Wildcat 26.  On the very next play, Greenwaldt threw a screen to the left.  But the ball was stripped loose and recovered by Virga at the 25 with 8:52 left in the game.
The Wildcats went three and out and, after a 43 yard punt by Dunne, the Knights took over at their own 30 yard line.  Four plays later, they had the ball first and ten at the Wildcat 45.  Greenwaldt dropped back to pass.  He threw a perfect ball down the middle of the field.  Weston had a half step on two Wildcat defensive backs.  The ball dropped right into his arms at the ten and he loped into the end zone for a touchdown.  After the extra point, the game was tied 21-21 with 4:41 remaining.
The Wildcats again showed the ability to move the ball.  Starting from their own 24, they ran the ball four straight times and faced third and six at the ire own 43.  Kimlinger threw a pass left.  Gillach leaped high to catch it and was hammered as he came down, but hung on to the ball for a first down at the St. Michael 46.  On the next play, Gadbois took the handoff and headed up the middle.  After a gain of about 15 yards, the ball popped loose as Gadbois was being tackled.  A St. Michael player scooped it up and started to run with it.  But he was hit hard and the ball popped loose and started rolling towards the Knight goal line.  Virga tried to pick it up in stride at the 25, but couldn’t get a clean handle on it.  The ball rolled to the 15, where St. Michael recovered it with 1:53 left in the game.
Three plays later, the Knights faced second and six at their own 31 with 58 seconds remaining.  It looked like overtime was in store.  Greenwaldt threw a pass to the right.  As the ball got to the receiver, Gillach was preparing to make the tackle.  But the ball bounced off the receiver’s hands and dropped right into Gillach’s.  He hung on to it for an interception and ran the ball back to the 24 for a Wildcat first down With 48 seconds left.  Virga ran for nine yards.  Kimlinger was stopped for no gain on the next play.  Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss tried to call an immediate timeout, but several seconds ticked away before the referees noticed.  With 19 seconds left, Kimlinger threw an incompletion on third down.  On fourth and one with 13 seconds left, Kimlinger kept the ball and plowed u the middle for three yards and a first down at the 12.  With the Wildcats out of timeouts, Kimlinger spiked the ball with 5.9 seconds remaining and Thompson trotted out to try a field goal.  St. Michael called a timeout to try to ice him.  After the timeout, Thompson was ready.  The ball was snapped, the hold was perfect and Thompson kicked.  It wasn’t pretty as his wounded duck headed for the uprights, but it sailed through for three points and a 24-21 Wildcat lead with three seconds remaining.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats kicked the ball a short way along the ground and the Knights recovered at the Wildcat 49 with 1.3 seconds left, with time for one last play.  The Knights tried a hook and ladder play, but after a couple of pitches the runner was talked near midfield and the game was over.  The upset win over St. Michael kept the Wildcats undefeated at 5-0.
“That was the best feeling in the world,” said Thompson, just a few minutes after his game-winning field goal.  “It was awesome!  It was a beautiful night.  It was a great game.  Joe Kimlinger was awesome and Joe Virga was lights out.  Even after I missed the two earlier field goals, everyone had my back.  I trusted Ethan [Hickcox] to snap the ball and I trusted Joe to put down the hold.  This game was a total team effort.”
Gillach talked about his interception and his impressions of the game.  He said “I was looking to break up the pass.  All of a sudden the ball hopped into my hands and I scooped it up and took off.  It was all about luck and timing.  The bugs were terrible at the beginning of the game.  We went up and down the field and stuck together through thick and thin in this one.  It was unbelievable and we had a great atmosphere at home, as always.  I couldn’t be happier.”
Virga finished with 174 yards on 17 carries and Kimlinger ran for 146 yards on 33 carries.  Gillach and Gadbois finished with over 50 yards apiece.  Kimlinger was 4 for 9 passing for 45 yards, one touchdown and one interception.  Taylor and Gillach had two receptions apiece, with one of Taylor’s receptions going for a touchdown.
Weiss was asked about his thoughts on the game winning field goal.  He said “I had no hesitation about sending Bryce out there at the end.  It was the logical thing to do in that time and place.  In practice, he hits on them all the time.  He’s a golfer and a goalie in hockey.  Those are two sports where you have to have a short memory for failure.  Combine everything together and I felt good about Bryce making the kick.”
Weiss continued “With the way the game went, it kind of felt weird that the score was tied near the end.  I felt like we were in control.  We did a lot of good things in the game, but we just couldn’t finish sometimes.  It was a little frustrating, but when you are playing a very good team like St. Michael, those things happen.  I thought Joe Kimlinger played an outstanding game.  He had a great feel for what was going on out there.  Our offensive line obviously did a great job up front and our backs ran hard.  I thought our offensive coaches – Jeff, Ryan, Scott and Mike – did a great job putting together a simple game plan that we could execute.  And give credit to the kids for actually going out there and doing it.  And it’s a credit to our whole defense to take a great rushing team like St. Michael and hold them to under 100 yards.  That’s their bread and butter.”

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