October 6, 2016 at 2:27 p.m.
CL beats Big Lake but loses Mohr
CL beats Big Lake but loses Mohr
Speedy running back Matt Mohr went out with a knee injury near the end of the first half and did not return to the game. Trost and fullback Cole Glenna carried on the relentless Wildcats ground attack in the second half. Trost finished the game with 14 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns and the bruising Glenna pounded the ball up the middle 22 times for 132 yards and a touchdown. Trost completed just three passes for the game, all to wide receiver Anders Brown, but two of the completions to Brown went for touchdowns.
The Wildcats started the game’s first drive at their own 30. On first down, Trost rolled right and hit Brown in stride about 15 yards downfield. Brown raced up the sideline and was shoved out of bounds at the Hornet 42 yard line. The Wildcats went to the ground after that. On first and goal from the four, on the ninth play of the drive, Mohr took a handoff up the middle. He was hit at the one but dove just across the goal line for a touchdown. Alex Morehead missed the extra point and the Wildcats led 6-0. But the Hornets’ Tanner Teige broke free on the ensuing kickoff and raced down the left sideline, finally getting caught from behind by Mohr at the Wildcat six after a 79 yard return. Teige scored three plays later and, after converting the extra point, the Hornets led 7-6.
After the teams exchanged punts, the Wildcats found themselves at their own 42 yard line with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. On third and 11 from the 41, Mohr took a pitch to the right and gained 13 yards to keep the drive alive. On first and five from the Big Lake 31, Trost rolled right and lofted the ball on the run towards the front right corner of the end zone. Brown ran a perfect pattern and the fluttering ball dropped right into his hands in stride as he crossed the goal line 34 seconds into the second quarter. Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss said “That ball was thrown in the right spot and Anders adjusted to exactly where he needed to be.” The Wildcat try for two was stuffed and they led 12-7.
The Hornets came right back down the field on their next drive. On first and goal from the eight, Teige took a handoff left and, after a nice shake and bake move, ran into the end zone untouched. But the play was called back because of a false start by Big Lake. A pass to Teige in the right flat looked like it might end in pay dirt, but Terrell Ayers made a touchdown-saving tackle at the three. The Wildcats stuffed the next two runs at the line of scrimmage and the Hornets had to settle for a 20 yard field goal by Isaiah Strom with 6:52 left in the half to cut the Wildcat lead to 12-10.
The Wildcats went three and out on their next drive. Taking over on their own 35, the Hornets moved the ball well. On the tenth play of the drive, with one minute left in the half, they faced second and ten at the 14. Big Lake quarterback Spencer Hinrichs dropped back to pass and rifled a ball into the center of the end zone. Brown stepped in front of the receiver and intercepted it, protecting the Wildcats’ slim two point lead. On first and ten from the 20, Mohr took a pitch left. He was tackled near the sideline and stayed down with an injury. He walked off the field under his own power, but his knee was wrapped in ice soon thereafter and he did not return to the game.
The Hornets started from their own 35 to open the second half. They once again moved the ball well and had another touchdown called back because of a false start penalty. But on second and seven from the 12, Hinrichs kept the ball, ran right and broke three tackles on his way to the end zone. The Wildcats stuffed the two pointer and the Hornets led 16-12 with 9:13 left in the third quarter. After a touchback on the kickoff, the Wildcats started the ensuing drive on their own 20. Trost and Glenna used their legs to lead a 14 play drive that took over five minutes off the clock. On first and goal from the 8, Glenna found a hole up the middle. He was hit at the four but powered his way forward, diving across the goal line for a touchdown. Alex Morehead kicked the extra point and the Wildcats led 19-16.
The Wildcats got the ball back on the Big Lake 41 with 1:20 left in the third quarter. On first and ten from the 30, Trost dropped back and zinged a ball to Brown in stride at the 15. Brown ran into the end zone untouched and, after the extra point, the Wildcats led 25-16 at the end of the third quarter. But the pesky Hornets refused to yield. They moved downfield quickly on their next drive. On first and 20 from the 25. Teige took a handoff to the right. After a gain of five yards, it looked like he was going to step out of bounds. But he cut back inside and ran down the right hash marks into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point attempt sailed wide left and the Wildcat lead was cut to 25-22 with just under ten minutes left in the game.
Peter Vitalis settled under the ensuing kickoff at the ten. He ran up the middle, cut right and was knocked out of bounds at the 50 after a 40 yard return, giving the Wildcats great field position. After Lee ran for 11 yards on first down, Glenna plowed up the middle four straight times. On second and five from the ten, Trost faked the ball to Glenna. The Hornets collapsed on Glenna as Trost sauntered around left end and into the end zone for a touchdown. With just under seven minutes left in the game, the Wildcats led 32-22. After the ensuing kickoff, the Hornets started their own 22 yard line. They overcame two penalties as they moved the ball quickly downfield. On third and four from the six, the Wildcat defense stuffed the run for a two yard gain, and Big Lake settled for another field goal to cut the Wildcat lead to 32-25 with 4:38 remaining.
The Hornets lined up as if they might try an onside kick and the Wildcats lined up accordingly, with no one deep. But Strom drilled the ball into the end zone for yet another touchback. The Hornets were apparently planning to rely on their defense to get the ball back. The strategy was questionable considering the fact that the Hornets had not had much success stopping the Wildcat rushing attack all evening. Glenna carried the ball three times on the ensuing drive for 33 yards against the worn down Hornet defense. On third and one from the Big Lake 38, Trost faked the handoff to Glenna, ran left and sped around the left end. He ran down the left sideline all the way to the end zone with 1:17 left, and the Wildcats led 39-25. Arran Hickcox picked off a pass two plays later to end any thoughts of a miracle comeback and the Wildcats had their third win of the season.
Weiss talked about his two rushing leaders. He said “Obviously Cole Glenna had a real nice night on offense. You want to take what the defense gives you and on Friday we finally got some really nice production with dive phase of our option. It was especially noticeable on our last drive. And Henry played very well. He took a big step in executing the offense. As a team, we protected the ball, finished drives and scored points. It was our best offensive game so far this season, for sure.”
And while the Wildcat defense gave up quite a few points, they came up big when they needed to. Terrell Ayers was a big part of it. The relentless Ayers led the Wildcats with 11 tackles, including four tackles for loss, and two assists. Weiss said “Terrell is a guy we have kind of moved around between safety and outside linebacker. He flat out had a great defensive game. He has a good nose for the ball and used his skill and athleticism to get to the right place all night.”
Weiss continued “They have a running back, Tanner Teige, that is very talented. He’s not big, but he has good speed, good quickness. He was tough to deal with. Big Lake is unconventional on offense. They try to outnumber you at point of attack. They were able to put themselves in position to score some points. But our defense stepped up when they needed to. Anders had the big interception in the end zone before halftime and we stopped them inside the five to force a field goal late in the game.”
Strom was the best kicker the Wildcats are likely to see this season. Weiss said “He’s probably the reason they settled for three when they were down by ten. A lot of times in high school football, teams hesitate to go for three. In that situation, if they don’t make it they’re down by two scores with little time left. And our kickoff return team averaged some nice returns in first few games, but a kicker like Strom who puts the ball in end zone negates the return game completely. All but two of his kickoffs went for touchbacks, and making a team start at the 20 in high school football is a great weapon to have.”
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