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When quarterback Ethan Hickcox scored from 22 yards out with just over a minute to go in the section semifinal game to put the fourth-seeded Wildcats up 28-24 against top-seeded St. Francis, it looked like the Wildcats, who had trailed 24-7 midway through the third quarter, would be heading to the section championship game.   But the Fighting Saints came up with a late drive of their own and scored with 16 seconds remaining to go up 31-28.  The Wildcats didn’t give up, moving the ball into position for a 52 yard field goal attempt with 3.3 seconds left.  But the kick fell short and the Wildcats went down to defeat, ending their season.  The game was played at St. Francis last Saturday afternoon, October 17.

After the Saints stopped the Wildcats on the game’s opening drive, they took over on their own 31 yard line.  Nine plays later, they scored the game’s first touchdown to go up 7-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.  Starting at their own 21 after the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats answered with a 16 play drive that took eight minutes off the clock.  On third and four from the Wildcat 48, running back Matt Mohr took a pitch right and head upfield.  After a gain of 12 and with a Fighting Saint defender drawing a bead on him, Mohr could have stepped out of bounds for a first down.  But instead he continued upfield and knocked the defender backwards, picking up another five yards in the process – along with the first down.  On fourth and one from the St. Francis 26, Mohr took a pitch right for a four yard gain and a first down.  And on fourth and three from the 15, Hickcox kept the ball, went through a small hole on the right side of the line and leaped over a Fighting Saint defender for a five yard gain and a first down.  But on second and goal from the two, Hickcox fumbled on a keeper and St. Francis recovered at the four, keeping the Wildcats off the scoreboard.

The Saints then went on an eight play, 96 yard drive.  St. Francis quarterback Hunter Trautman hit wide receiver Stephen Anderson for 21 yards and a touchdown with 5:45 left in the half to put the Saints up 14-0.  On the ensuing kickoff, St. Francis tried to pooch it and the Wildcats recovered on their own 43 yard line.  On second and six from the 47, Ethan Hickcox fired a bullet to Arran Hickcox over the middle at the Saints 45.  Arran Hickcox was hammered instantly, but hung on to the ball for a first down.  On second and six from the 41, Ethan Hickcox kept the ball, squeezed through a hole, broke a couple of tackles and headed left.  St. Francis defenders descended upon him after ten yards, but Hickcox carried half the team for another ten yards before going down at the 20.  A few plays later, on third and goal from the two, Mohr took a pitch right and went into the front corner of the end zone standing up for a Wildcat touchdown with 1:24 left in the half.  Thompson converted the extra point and the Wildcats trailed 14-7.
After the ensuing kickoff, on second and two from the St. Fancies 28, Trautman dropped back and fired a long pass down the middle.  Wildcat defensive back Anders Brown stepped in front of the receiver and intercepted the ball at the 50.  The Wildcats managed to get one first down.  On fourth and eight from the St. Francis 38, Ethan Hickcox dropped back and fired a ball about 15 yards downfield to the left for what should have been a Wildcat first down with about 50 seconds left in the half.  But Tanner Marquardt dropped the ball and the Saints took over on downs.  Using their timeouts wisely, the Saints moved the ball down the field.  The Saints called their second timeout of the half with 8.4 seconds left and a first down on the Wildcat 24.  The Saints ran the ball to the left.  As the runner was being hauled down after a 15 yard gain and a first down, the clock operator stopped the clock with 0.8 seconds left before the whistle blew.  The referees didn’t notice and St. Francis called their final timeout of the half.  Gabriel Taylor nailed a 26 yard field goal for the Saints and the Wildcats trailed 17-7 at the half.

St. Francis took the opening kickoff of the second half and went on a 12 play, 56 yard drive.  St. Francis running back Gabriel Gaustad went in from the two and the Wildcats trailed 24-7 with 6:40 left in the third quarter.  It looked bad for the Wildcats, but they were by no means done.  On the next drive, they went 75 yards in 12 plays.  On first and goal from the ten, Ethan Hickcox took the snap, slid left and started upfield.  As the Saints’ defenders closed in on him, he pitched to Mohr back to his right.  Mohr outraced a couple of St. Francis players to the right front corner of the end zone for his second touchdown of the game, cutting the Saints’ lead to 24-14 with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

The Saints managed a couple of first downs on their next drive.  Then, on first and ten from their own 44, Trautman was nearly sacked by Carter Duncan.  He broke free and threw deep downfield, but the receiver was well covered by Brown and the ball fell incomplete.  On second down, a hands to the face penalty on St. Francis moved the ball back to the 31.  On third and 17 from the 31, Trautman hit a wide open receiver right on the numbers at midfield for what would have been a first down.  But the receiver forgot to catch the ball before he tried to turn and run and the ball fell incomplete.  Trevin Nelson caught the ensuing punt at the 28 and returned it to the 35, where the Wildcats offense again went to work with 10:04 left in the fourth quarter.  Five straight runs by Hickcox and a 15 yard personal foul on the Saints moved the ball all the way to the St. Francis 22.  On first and goal from the seven, Hickcox took the snap and started right for what looked like an option play.  But he saw a hole up the middle, made a nice cut and went into the end zone standing up with 5:49 left in the game.  Thompson nailed the extra point and the Wildcats now trailed by just three points at 24-21.

The Wildcats tried an onside kick and got a nice, high bounce out of it.  A St. Francis player muffed the ball, but fell on it to retain possession for the Saints at their own 41.  On first down, Wildcat linebacker Kyle Schoenecker stopped running back Max Greene for a one yard gain.  A holding penalty on the next play moved the ball back to 34.  Thompson stopped Greene after a two yard gain to make it third and 15.  After an incomplete pass, the Saints were forced to punt.  The Saints’ Tim Wetenkamp got off a nice kick, and the ball rolled dead at the Wildcat 13 with 4:30 left in the game.  On first down, Hickcox kept the ball and picked up 14 yards.  On second and 12 from the 26, Hickcox moved right, cut upfield and looked like he might go all the way.  But an ankle tackle brought him down after a 15 yard gain.  Three plays later, the Wildcats faced fourth and two at their own 49 with 1:40 remaining.  The game was on the line.  Hickcox took the snap and dove up the middle for three yards and a first down.  Oo the next play, Mohr took a handoff to the right and leaped over one of his own players on his way to a 14 yard gain and a first down.  Nelson took a pitch left on the next play and went 12 yards before being tackled at the 22 and leaving the field with an injury.  On the next play, the option went to the right.  Hickcox kept the ball, cut up the middle and, with his best broken field running of the year, ran all the way to the center of the end zone standing up for a touchdown and a 27-24 lead for the Wildcats with 1:08 left in the game.  Thompson call the Wildcats’ final timeout when he noticed only ten players were on the field for the extra point.  After the eleventh player came out, Thompson kicked the extra point and the Wildcats led 28-24.

St. Francis returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 35 and a nice tackle by Adam Hanson prevented a much longer gain.  A run and four straight pass completions by Trautman put the Wildcats on their heels and moved the ball down to the Wildcat 7 with 28.6 seconds left.  On the next play, Trautman kept the ball and ran right.  He went out of bounds at the one with 21.6 seconds remaining.  Trautman went up the middle for a tough yard and a touchdown on the next play and, after the extra point, the Saints let 31-28 with 16.0 seconds left in the game.  The Saints tried a short kickoff to prevent a big return by the Wildcats and the Wildcats fell on it at their own 39.  The Wildcats had used up their last timeout on their extra point attempt.  Hickcox hit Brown for two completions near the sideline and Brown went out of bounds both times.  The two plays went for a total of 26 yards and moved the ball to the St. Francis 35 with 3.3 seconds left.  As the Wildcats lined up for a field goal attempt, St. Francis called their final timeout.  After the timeout, the teams again lined up for a 52 yard field goal attempt, for which Thompson certainly has the leg.  But Thompson’s kick fell well short as time expired and St. Francis had squeaked out a 31-28 win.

Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss said “The end was certainly disappointing with the way we got back into it and scored late in the game.  But that’s football.  We have been on the winning side of last seconds wins ourselves.  Our guys played a heck of a game.  And I have said this throughout the year, but Ethan Hickcox really evolved a strong understanding for the quarterback position.  It got to the point where he changed about sixty percent of the plays at the line based on what he saw from the other team as they lined up.  It says a lot for a guy to be in that position for just one season and be comfortable enough and proficient enough to make those calls.”   

Getting the tough Cambridge-Isanti draw in the first round of playoffs hurt, especially when by most measures, Chisago Lakes was the better team than third-seeded Grand Rapids. Weiss said, “Playing a tough, physical team like Cambridge is hard enough, but to have to come back four days later to play another physical team like St. Francis makes it that much more difficult.  We were moving pretty slow at practice on Wednesday, the day after the Cambridge game.  We took the next two days to get ready for the game.  I am proud of our guys because they showed they were ready for the challenge.”

Was there some sort of great inspirational speech at halftime that led to the big Wildcat comeback in the second half?  “Not really,” said Weiss.  “I give our players credit.  We didn’t do a whole lot at halftime except talk about the challenge at hand.  On our guys came up and met it.  It’s unfortunate that some things we needed to have happen didn’t’ happen at the end of the game, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.  The kids played well enough to win and it’s too bad it didn’t work out.”

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