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The critical play in the game between the Wildcats and Vikings took place early in the third quarter with the Wildcats leading 7-0.  The Wildcats faced third and 22 at their own 44 yard line.  Wildcat running back Corbin Lee ran right and was tackled after a three yard gain, which would have forced the Wildcats to punt.  But the Vikings were called for a personal foul, giving the Wildcats a third and four at the Viking 38.  On fourth and one from the Viking 35, Wildcat fullback Drake Gadbois took the handoff, burst up the middle and outran the Viking secondary to the end zone to put the Wildcats up 14-0.  “I don’t know where that speed came from,” said Gadbois.  “I think it was just the adrenaline that got me going.”  

The Wildcats went on to beat the Vikings 28-7.  The game was played in warm, weather Friday, September 4 at Chisago Lakes High School.  There were about half a dozen water breaks for the players during the game.

The Wildcats scored on their first possession of the game, but the Viking defense kept them off the scoreboard for the rest of the first half.  Meanwhile, the Wildcat defense held the Vikings to just 20 yards of offense and no first downs for the Vikings’ first four possessions of the first half.  The Vikings did move the ball on their final possession of the half, but an interception stopped that drive.  In the second half, the Wildcats intercepted the Vikings three more times and gave themselves some breathing room with a touchdown at the end of the third quarter to go up 21-0.

After forcing the Vikings into a three and out at the start of the first quarter, the Wildcats went to work from their own 30 yard line.  The drive was highlighted by 11 yard runs by quarterback Ethan Hickcox and Lee;  a 14 yard pass from Hickcox to Lee and a 12 yard run by Trevin Nelson.  On first and goal from the three, Hickcox called his own number and scored a touchdown.  Bryce Thompson’s extra point gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with 5:10 to go in the first quarter.

After another three and out and a short punt by the Vikings, the Wildcats started a nine play drive from the Viking 44 yard line.  The Wildcats decided to go for it on fourth and six from the Viking 15.  Hickcox rolled to the left and, seeing nothing open down-field, pulled the ball down and ran around left end.  The Vikings knocked him out of bounds at the 11 yard line and took over on downs and, after a penalty, took over on their own five yard line.  On the first and ten from the five,  Viking quarterback Brandon Miller rolled right and took off upfield near the right sideline.  Wildcat defensive back Anders Brown pushed him out at the 13 and the Vikings were again forced to punt.  The Wildcats took over at midfield and picked up one first down.  On second and ten from the Viking 40, Gadbois took a handoff up the middle. He was stopped at the line and fumbled.  Viking Nick Johnson recovered and the Vikings had their best field position of the day at their own 39.

Unfortunately, the Viking offense again sputtered and they were forced to punt from their own 38.  Miller, who is also the Vikings’ punter, really got a hold of one, and the line drive took a great Viking bounce and rolled dead at the two.  On second and 9 from the three, Hickcox pitched right to Lee.  Lee broke a tackle at the ten and was pushed out of bounds at the 23.  Two plays later, Hickcox hit tight end Carter Duncan downfield on the left for 33 yard gain and a first down.  But the Viking defense stiffened.  On fourth and 12, Viking Tyler Hargrave knocked down a pass over the middle and the Vikings took over on down with 2:55 left in the second quarter.  On third and two from the Viking 40, Viking running back James Peltier took a handoff and plowed off-tackle for five yards and the Vikings’ first first down of the game.

On third and six from the Viking 48 with 41 seconds left in the half, Miller rolled left, chased by Wildcat lineman Chris Vierling.  Just a step from going out of bounds, Miller threw back against his body down the sideline.  Viking wide receiver Nick Franklin dove to catch the ball at the Wildcat 28 yard line and the Vikings had a first down with 32 seconds remaining.  They immediately called a time out.  But on the next play, Miller dropped back and fired over the middle.  The ball hit the receiver’s hands and popped in the air.  Wildcat Jack Roth snatched it out of the air and fell to the ground, ending the Viking drive.  The Wildcats led 7-0 at the half.

Matt Mohr returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the Wildcat 45 yard line.  After one first down and a couple of nice plays by the Vikings, the Wildcats took advantage of the aforementioned Viking personal foul and went up 14-0 with 8:59 left in the third quarter.  On the Vikings’ next possession, they faced third and nine at their own 16 yard line. Miller fired a pass over the middle and Brown made a leaping interception at the 27 yard line, giving the Wildcats a fist down deep in Viking territory.  On fourth and two from the 19, Gadbois took a handoff up the middle but was stuffed by Hargrave for no gain and the Vikings took over on downs.  But the turnover bug bit them again.  On second and nine from the Viking 33, Miller lofted a pass over the middle.  It bounced off of tight end Cole Pearson’s hands and Wildcat defensive back Vaughn Strenke picked it out of the air at the 42 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.  Wildcat running back Brenden Boudin picked up 15 yards on first down.  Later in the drive, on second and goal from the eight, Hickcox dropped back to pass and, finding no one open, pulled the ball down and cut to his right.  He took advantage of some good blocking as he headed for the end zone.  He was hit at the two, but plowed into the end zone for a touchdown to put the Wildcats up 21-0 with just 31 seconds left in the third quarter.

Strenke’s diving interception for the Wildcats, his second pick of the game, gave them the ball back on their own 45 yard line.  Wildcat sophomore Matt Mohr made himself known to Wildcat fans as he took a pitch to the left for his first carry of the season and showed some blinding speed as he gained 20 yards before being hauled down.  

Wildcat offensive coordinator Jeff Saueressig said, “We’ve always kind of known what Matt Mohr could do.  He’s a great athlete and tonight an opportunity presented itself, we put him in there and he did exactly what we thought he was capable of doing.  He plays fast, that’s for sure.  He also got some really good blocking on the play.  He saw a hole and he hit it one hundred miles an hour, which is what he does.”  When asked if we will see more of Mohr this year, Saueressig grinned and said “We’ll see how things go.”

But the drive stalled there.  On fourth and seven from the 32, Hickcox threw over the middle.  Viking defensive back Kennedy Ashley picked it off and ran it back to the Viking 47.  On fourth and ten from the Wildcat 42, Miller rolled left, spun back to the right and threw on the run toward wide receiver Jacob Souther at the 15 yard line.  The pass was a little high but looked catchable and went off of Souther’s fingertips and fell incomplete, turning the ball over to the Wildcats on downs with just under six minutes left in the game.  On third and six from the Wildcat 46, the Vikings broke through the Wildcat offensive line and swarmed Hickcox.  While he was in the grasp, Hickcox popped the ball forward to Gadbois, who ran it to the Viking 42 for a first down.  Two plays later, a 19 yard run up the middle by Gadbois gave the Wildcats a first down on the Viking 18.  Mohr took a pitch right, cut inside a little and sped into the end zone untouched to put the Wildcats up 28-0 with 3:21 remaining.

The Vikings still wanted to get on the scoreboard and had a ten play drive starting from their own 39.  On first and ten from the Wildcat 39, Miller threaded the needle between two Wildcat defenders to complete a pass to Viking running back Evan Amunrud at the 25.  On the next play, Miller dropped back to pass but was sacked by Wildcat Ethan Bierman for a loss of nine.  Miller picked up eight on the next play.  On third and 11 from the 26, Miller threw a pass to the left side of the field over a Wildcat defensive back to a wide open Ashley at the ten.  Ashley ran into the end zone with 28 seconds remaining and the Vikings had cut the final score to Chisago Lakes 28, North Branch 7.

“Our defense was lights out,” said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss.  “We had four ‘three and outs’ and got four interceptions.  They did a great job containing North Branch’s offense.  The Vikings did not get inside our 20 or threaten to score until they did it on their final drive of the game.    Our defensive backs were in great position and took advantage of the opportunities when the ball was in the air.  Defensive back Bryce Thompson played great run support and tackled very well.  Chris Vierling made his first start at defensive line and made plays all over the field.”  Thompson credited others for his success.  He said “We knew what was coming from the film.  I knew I had good guys behind me to back me up.  Chalk it up to good coaching.”   
Wildcat special teams and offense were also on their game.  Weiss said “I thought our kickoff coverage, especially Cole Glenna, Matt Mohr, and Jack Roth, was pretty good.  We were able to pin them inside the 20 yard line twice and Bryce kicked the ball to the end zone for touchbacks two other times.  We had one kick return and Matt Mohr made a nice return to the 45 yard line to start the second half.   I thought our offense played well too.  Although we only scored once in the first half, we moved the ball across the 50 on every drive, even when we started on our own 2 yard line, and we were never in a punting situation.  And Drake Gadbois is a tough football player.  He goes all out on every down.”

In yards of offense, the Wildcats outgained the Vikings 378 to 204 for the game.  Individually, Gadbois had 14 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats and Corbin Lee hauled the rock 11 times for 76 yards.  Hickcox was seven for 13 passing for 86 yards, with one interception.  For the Vikings, Miller led with 13 carries for 74 yards and was 11 for 19 passing for 100 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.
The Wildcats (2-1) will head to Princeton tomorrow night at 7 p.m.  to take on the Tigers (1-2).  And the Vikings (1-2) will battle the Hornets (0-3) at Big Lake at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.

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