September 4, 2014 at 4:09 p.m.
Wildcats win on last-second touchdown strike
Wildcats win on last-second touchdown strike
Running back Joe Virga carried the ball 13 times for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Kimlinger, in his debut as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback, completed 11 of 19 passes for 121 yards.
The Wildcats led 14-2 after three quarters, but the Big Lake offense broke loose and outscored the Wildcats 21-7 in a wild fourth quarter. Their last points put them up 23-22 with little time remaining. Trevin Nelson returned the ensuing kickoff to the Wildcat 35 yard line. Two plays later, the Wildcats faced third and 16 at their own 29 yard line. The Wildcats caught a break when a pass interference penalty gave them an automatic first down at the 44. The Wildcats picked up another first down. But a pass interference penalty on the next play moved the ball deeper into their own territory and the Wildcats ended up facing third and 25 on their own 41 yard line. Kimlinger hit wide receiver Will Gillach with a short pass and Gillach ran the ball to the Big Lake 31 for a first down.
A five yard false start penalty on the Wildcats moved the ball back to the Big Lake 36. With less than a minute to go, Kimlinger completed a pass to Gillach for seven yards. On second and 8, he hit Noah Taylor five yards downfield. Taylor picked up three extra yards after the catch, just enough for a Wildcat first down at the Hornet 21 yard line. The next pass fell incomplete and the Wildcats faced second and 10 with about 15 seconds remaining in the game. The Wildcats came to the line of scrimmage in a shotgun formation with two receivers to each side.
“In that situation,” said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss, “it’s the quarterback’s job to look for the open receiver. A lot of times, it’s the outside receiver that’s open and the inside receivers that are covered. But on this play, they were worried about Will and shifted a little to the outside to cover him. That shift left Michael temporarily open up the middle. Joe read the opening and made a great throw. Michael made a great catch at about the 15 and ran it in. It was one of those reads the quarterback has to make and Joe made the right read.”
After the ensuing kickoff, Big Lake tried one last Hail Mary pass. But Ethan Hickcox intercepted the ball and the game was over.
It looked like Big Lake was going to score first in this one. A 48 yard run gave them a first down at the Wildcat 13. Three plays later, they faced fourth and one at the four and decided to go for it. Joe Virga made the stop for no gain and the Wildcats took over. A false start penalty backed the Wildcats up to the two. On the next play – the final play of the first quarter – Kimlinger was tackled in the end zone for a safety, and the Wildcats trailed 2-0.
Big Lake moved the ball downfield on the first drive of the second quarter.
They went for it on fourth and six from the Wildcat 18. Hornet quarterback Gabe Bordwell’s pass was broken up by Hickcox and the Wildcats took over on downs. The Wildcats picked up one first down before being forced to punt from their own 36. The Hornets took over at their own 21 yard line after the punt. On the very next play, the Wildcats forced a fumble and Logan Hedrick recovered at the Big Lake 18. On first down, Kimlinger hit Gillach with a pass and Gillach went out of bounds at the five for a 16 yard gain and a first down. One second and goal from the three, Kimlinger carried it into the end zone for a touchdown. Bryce Thompson converted the extra point and the Wildcats led 7-2.
The Wildcats needed just six plays at the beginning of the third quarter to double their lead. Starting at their own 24, after receiving the second half kickoff, they moved the ball downfield and had a first down just shy of midfield. Virga took the handoff and was off to the races. He ran 51 yards for a touchdown and, after Thompson’s extra point, the Wildcats led 14-2. Late in the third quarter, the Hornets went on a nine play drive starting from their own 34 and appeared poised to cut into the Wildcat lead. On third and seven from the 15, Bordwell hit Jackson Schnabl with a pass at the ten. Luke Koskie hit Schnabl at three and knocked the ball loose. Hickcox recovered the fumble at the five and the Wildcats maintained their 12 point lead. Virga got the Wildcats out of the hole with a 40 yard run on the very next play. The Wildcats ended up going 88 yards in ten plays on the legs of Virga, Kimlinger and fullback Drake Gadbois. But the drive stalled at the Big Lake seven early in the fourth quarter and the Wildcats failed to convert a field goal.
Gillach intercepted a long pass on the very next play and the Wildcats had the ball at the 50. Kimlinger returned the favor with an interception on the next play after that.
The Hornets scored on a six play drive to cut the Wildcats lead to 14-9. But on the fourth play of the next drive, Virga ran 62 yards for a touchdown and, after Kimlinger ran it in for two, the Wildcats led 22-9. Big Lake responded with drives of 82 and 54 yards to take a 23-22 lead, setting the stage for the late game heroics by the Wildcat offense.
Dunne’s game winning catch was his third in the Wildcats’ last four games, including last year’s wins against St. Francis and Bemidji. Alex Axtell also had a crucial fumble recovery for the Wildcats. And fullback Drake Gadbois rushed for 65 tough yards on 15 carries.
“We should have been in a position to try to put the game away in the fourth quarter and it just didn’t happen that way for us,” said Weiss, “but we converted when we had to.
“In the first half, Big Lake brought pressure on defense and created some havoc. It gave us trouble till we adjusted to it and were able to settle things down a little bit more later in the first half. We had a couple of huge stops deep in our territory and getting two interceptions and three fumble recoveries was huge, too.”
Weiss then talked about how playing multiple sports benefits the team and the players. He said, “A lot of the guys who made big plays today have already been in pressure situations in varsity competition in other sports. That’s why we want our guys to play other sports. If these guys just played football, I don’t know if it’s as likely they would make plays like that. That’s my plug for the benefits of playing two or three sports as opposed to specializing in one.”
The Wildcats will play their home opener tomorrow night at Chisago Lakes High School against Duluth Denfeld (0-1). Tailgate party starts at 5 p.m. Denfeld lost 33-0 at home to Cambridge-Isanti in their season opener.
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