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In a catfight last Friday night at Princeton, Wildcat quarterback Ethan Hickcox scored on a two yard run with 56 seconds remaining to put the Wildcats up 37-35.  And with just seconds left in the game and the Tigers going for it on fourth down from their own 43, Wildcat lineman Dylan Wood burst through and sacked Tiger quarterback Tyler McAlpine to seal the Wildcat victory. They improve their record to 3-1 on halfway through the 2015 regular season.  “Dylan had a solid game,” said Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss, “and concluded it with a really big play.”

The key play of the game was in the first quarter after the Wildcats had tied the game at 7-7.  Bryce Thompson kicked off for the Wildcats and the Tiger return man mishandled the kickoff.  Wildcat Jack Roth fell on the ball at the 30, putting the Wildcats in excellent position.  Seven plays later,  Thompson kicked a 30 yard field goal to put the Wildcats up 10-7.  Weiss said “Jack’s recovery of that ball gave us a three point advantage that benefitted us throughout the game.   Bryce split the uprights with plenty of room to spare.  We traded scores throughout the game, but always had that three points in our back pocket.”

After forcing the Wildcats into a three and out on the game’s opening drive, Princeton scored on its first possession.  But the Wildcats tied things up before anyone had a chance to blink.  Starting from the Wildcat 24, Hickcox gained eight yards on first down.  On the next play, Hickcox dropped back and threw a ball in the direction of wide receiver Tanner Marquardt.  Marquardt hauled it in at the Wildcat 37  and outran the Tiger defense all the way to the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.  

“Hats off to a guy like Tanner,” said Weiss.  “Tanner continued to work hard in practice even though he didn’t play much in our first game.  He elevated his play on the JV, as well.  He was able to capitalize on all of that hard work against Princeton.”

After the Wildcats kicked the field goal to go up 10-7, the Tigers went on a seven play, 82 yard drive, capped by a 32 yard run by McAlpine to put the Tigers up 14-10 near the end of the first quarter.  Starting from their own 35 on the ensuing drive, Hickcox, fullback Drake Gadbois and running back Matt Mohr took turns pushing the ball down the field.  On fourth and one from their own 44, the Wildcats lined up to punt and Princeton called a timeout.  The Wildcats sent their regular offense back onto the field after the timeout.  Gadbois gained six yards to give the Wildcats a first down at midfield.   Facing second and four from the Tiger 29 yard line, Hickcox pitched the ball to Mohr on the right.  Mohr stopped and threw a pass to a wide open Marquardt, who scored a touchdown to put the Wildcats back on top 17-14.

“This is an option play for the halfback,” said Weiss.  “After the quarterback pitches the ball, hopefully the receiver is open because the defensive back bites on it and leaves the receiver to come up and cover the run.  Once you have seen a guy playing the run hard like that, it’s something you can try.  And it worked out well for us.”

On Princeton’s next drive, they faced a fourth and four from their own 45.  They lined up to punt, but faked it.  McAlpine ran 24 yards to give the Tigers a first down at the Wildcat 31 and keep the drive alive.  Three plays later, they faced third and seven from the Wildcat 28 yard line.  McAlpine threw a pass into the end zone that was picked off by Wildcat defensive back Vaughn Strenke, his third interception in the last two games, and the Wildcats went to work from their own 20.  But Hickcox returned the favor just four plays later and that interception gave the Tigers a first down at the Wildcat 33.  Six plays later, McAlpine went over from the one and the Tigers led 21-17 at the half.

Both teams took a break from scoring in a third quarter that saw two punts by the Tigers and one punt by the Wildcats.  After the second Tiger punt, the Wildcats started from their own 14 yard line.  Two big plays, a 23 yard run by halfback Brenden Boudin and a 39 yard run by Hickcox, put the Wildcats on the verge of scoring.  On second and goal from the two, Gadbois did the honors, plowing up the middle for a touchdown to put the Wildcats back on top 24-21 early in the fourth quarter.  Princeton followed that with an eleven play drive capped off by an eight yard run by McAlpine and re-took the lead at 28-24.

The Wildcats started the ensuing drive on their own 25 yard line.  On first down from the Wildcat 48, the speedy Mohr electrified his teammates and the Wildcat faithful who made the trip to Princeton with a 52 yard touchdown run to give the lead back to the Wildcats at 31-28.  But the lead again changed hands on the next drive for the Tigers.  On the sixth play of the drive, Jacob Carlson went over from the three to put Princeton up 35-31 with 3:42 left in the game.

A 30 yard kickoff return by Aaran Hickcox gave the Wildcats the ball at midfield.  Mohr gained 13 yards on first down and a personal foul by the Tigers tacked on another 15 yards to give the Wildcats a first down at the Princeton 21.  On third and six from the 17, Mohr got the ball and nearly got into the end zone, being stopped at the two yard line.  On third and goal from the two, Ethan Hickcox scored to put the Wildcats up 37-35.

 Weiss said “Once we got inside the ten yard line on that last drive, we tried to take as much time off the clock as we could without getting penalized.  But first things first.  You’re down by four points and you need to score.  The scoring play is a sneak.  We tell our quarterbacks that if you see an ‘A’ gap you can squeeze through, just go.  It was a pretty heads up play by Ethan.  There’s a signal he can give to the center to snap the ball right away.  So for a split second, the quarterback and the center were the only ones moving.  By the time everyone else started to move, Ethan had the advantage and made it across the goal line.”

After Woods’ big sack a few plays later, the Wildcats celebrated an exciting win in which the lead changed hands nine times and, except for a pause in the third quarter, neither team was able to keep the other one from scoring.

The Wildcats outgained the Tigers 301 to 270 on the ground.  Through the air, the Tigers put up 147 yard to 92 for the Wildcats.  The Wildcats completed just three passes, two by Hickcox and one by Mohr.  And two of the three completions were to Tanner Marquardt for touchdowns.  Marquardt gained 97 yard on his two receptions.  Mohr rushed 7 times for 110 yards, Ethan Hickcox carried it 15 times for 85 yards and Gadbois plowed ahead 11 times for 56 yards.  All three players rushed for a touchdown.  

For the Tigers, McAlpine ran it 16 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns.  Carlson chipped in with 61 yards on ten carries and a touchdown.  And McAlpine was 11 for 22 passing for 159 yards and one big interception by Vaughn Strenke.
 
Pigskin Patter
The Wildcats (3-1) host Big Lake tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Chisago Lakes High School.  

Weiss said “On offense, they have some good size up front with a couple of pretty good backs.  In their first three games this season, they ran a pretty heavy spread offense.  In their win over North Branch last Friday, they ran more of a wing T style.  So we’ll have to prepare for both styles.  It’s a bit of a challenge, but we will defend them the best we can.  

“We’ve lost some guys to injuries for the season, including Tanner Rivard, Gabe Taylor and Cole Glenna.  We’re kind of scrambling to move some guys around.  But we do get some guys with sprained knees back this week.  The injury bug has really been biting us and the hope is we can get healthy and stay healthy.”

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