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An early turnover helped to put the fourth-seeded Wildcat football team in a 14-0 hole and they were never able to catch up against the top-seeded Bemidji Lumberjacks.  The Wildcats eventually lost the Section 7AAAAA semifinal game to the Lumberjacks 28-14.  The game was played at Bemidji High School Saturday, October 25.

Bemidji returned the game’s opening kickoff to their own 44 yard line and went on an eight play drive.  Logan Hatfield capped off the drive with a six yard touchdown run and the Lumberjacks led 7-0.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Lumberjacks lofted a short, high kick.  The Wildcats failed to field the ball and the Lumberjacks recovered at the Wildcat 45 yard line.  This time, it took seven plays to score.  Quarterback James Hendricks and William Annette completed a 13 yard touchdown pass to finish the drive and put Bemidji up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.  Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss said, “They were up by 14 points before we even ran a play.  Being down 14 before you even touch the ball is a tough position to be in.”

The Wildcats started at their own 37 on the ensuing drive and it looked like they were going to cut into the Bemidji lead.  They moved the ball well on the ground.  Will Gillach had runs of 12 and ten yards.  On first down from the Lumberjack 17, Joe Virga had runs of eight and six yards and the Wildcats were knocking at the door of the Lumberjack end zone with a first down at the three yard line.  But then disaster struck.  Kimlinger fumbled on the next play and Bemidji recovered to thwart the Wildcats’ excellent scoring opportunity.

Bemidji got one first down before the Wildcat defense stiffened and forced them to punt from their own 33.  The teams then traded three and outs and the Wildcats started a drive at their own 30 early in the second quarter.  On first and ten from the 48, Austin McCurdy ran for 13 yards and a first down.  Six plays later, the Wildcats faced fourth and one at the Lumberjack 17.  Kimlinger again fumbled and Bemidji recovered at the 21.  But two plays later, Hendricks fumbled it right back and the Wildcats were back in business at the Lumberjack 16.  On third and three from the nine, Kimlinger decided to keep the ball and went into the end zone for a touchdown.  After Bryce Thompson’s extra point, the Wildcats had cut the lead to 14-7.

Bemidji moved the ball well on their next drive.  They faced fourth and 13 at the Wildcat 17 yard line.  But the Wildcats sacked Hendricks for an 11 yard loss to stop the drive.  The half ended four plays later with the Wildcats down by seven.

Midway through the third quarter, Bemidji had the ball first and ten at their own 48.  Hendricks tore off a 31 yard run to move the ball all the way to the Wildcat 21.  On the next play, Annette ran it in from 21 yards out and the Wildcats were once again down by two touchdowns.  But the Wildcats weren’t done yet.  They started the next drive at their own 29 yard line.  A ten yard run by Virga and a 12 yard run by McCurdy helped to move the ball downfield.  On third and six from the Lumberjack 43, Kimlinger threw a pass to Ethan Hickcox for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the Bemidji 31.  Two plays later, another 10 yard run by Virga gave the Wildcats a first down at the 16.  A 14 yard run by McCurdy put the ball at the two as the third quarter ended.  On the first play of the fourth quarter, Virga found his way to the end zone and the Wildcats were  trailing 21-14 with plenty of time left in the game.

Bemidji responded with a ten straight running play on their next drive, eating up a lot of the clock.  Facing second and 13 from the Wildcat 17, Hendricks kept the ball himself and ran for a touchdown, putting the Wildcats down 28-14 with time ebbing.  The Wildcats began what turned out to be the final drive of the game, coming up with two big fourth down conversions to keep the drive alive.  On fourth and one from the Bemidji 43, Kimlinger kept the ball himself and plowed ahead just enough to get the first down.  On fourth and three from the Lumberjack 30, Kimlinger again called his own number and gained five yards to keep the drive alive.  On fourth and 13 from the 28, Kimlinger’s pass fell incomplete and the ball went over to the Lumberjacks on downs with little time left in the game.  The Lumberjacks handed the ball off to Hatfield six straight times for 68 yards to run out the clock and halt a once-promising season for the Wildcats.  Bemidji will host the section championship game tomorrow night against third-seed St. Francis, who upset second-seeded Brainerd 40-26 to advance to the championship game.

Virga led the Wildcats in rushing with 13 carries for 105 yards.  Kimlinger has 83 yards on 22 carries and completed six of 14 passes for 51 yards.  And McCurdy, seeing his first extended action at fullback this season, rushed eight times for 64 yards.  Three players rushed for over 100 yards for the Lumberjacks.  Hendricks carried 16 times for 126 yards, Annette had 12 carries for 106 yards and Hatfield led all rushers with 137 yards on 21 carries.
Weiss said “We moved the ball and had some opportunities, but some drives we just couldn’t finish.  We had some guys that were banged up a little, but I was very impressed with how hard our guys continued to play the game, throughout.  In playoff football you have to do the things you need to do and you can’t afford mistakes.  This game had two good football teams going at it and at the end we fell a little bit short.  The start of the game sure didn’t do us any favors.”

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