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A tight first quarter made it look like the game between the Wildcats and the Monticello Magic would come down to the wire.  But with big play after big play, the Magic built a three touchdown lead at the half.  The Magic pulled away even more in the second half and cruised to a 49-19 homecoming win over the Wildcats.  The game was played last Friday night, October 7 at Monticello Middle School.

It didn’t look too good for the Wildcats at the outset as Monticello returned the game’s opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown and led 7-0 just 13 seconds into the game.  The Wildcats started at their own 18 on the ensuing drive.  Runs of 10 and 17 yards by quarterback Henry Trost helped to move the Wildcats to the Monticello 47.  Two plays later Trost completed a 17 yard pass to Arran Hickcox – his only completion of the night – and the Wildcats had a first down at the Magic 28.  Later in the drive, on second and nine from the 14, Trost kept the ball and went through a hole on the right.  He was hit hard and fumbled the ball at the 10, but scooped it up at the five and dove to the one to give the Wildcats first and goal.  On the next play, Cole Hemme took the handoff and went through a big hole up the middle for a touchdown.  Alex Morehead kicked the extra point and the game was tied 7-7 with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter.

Monticello started at their own 30 after the ensuing kickoff and went on a 15 play drive highlighted by one third down conversion and two fourth down conversions.  On fourth and three from the Wildcat 20, the Magic decided to again go for it.  Magic quarterback Nick Zwack took the snap, rolled right and had to hurry his throw because of pressure from the Wildcats.  He fired back across to the middle of the field.  His receiver dove for the ball at the 15 but couldn’t come up with it and the Wildcats took over on downs with just under a minute left in the first quarter.

After the big stop on defense, the Wildcats took over at their own 20.  Fullback Cole Glenna took the handoff, cut through a nice hole up the middle and ran to daylight.  He moved left as he ran down the field and was finally caught from behind at the Monticello 37 yard line.  A 12 yard run by Trost then gave the Wildcats a first down at the Magic 25.  Three play later, the Wildcats went for it on fourth and five from the 20.  But they lost four yards on the play and the Magic took over on downs.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Magic took over on their own 29 yard line.  And then things started to go south for the Wildcats.  On the very next play, Monticello running back Charlie Voller took the handoff, sprinted up the middle and ran all the way to the end zone for a 71 yard touchdown to put the Magic up 13-7 with 4:50 left in the first half.  Despite the big play, the Wildcats seemed to be well within striking distance late in the half.  But the Wildcats went three and out on the ensuing drive and the Magic took over on their own 43.  They went on a six play drive, scoring on a touchdown pass from Zwack to Voller and went up 19-7 with a minute left in the half.  The Wildcats lost a fumble on their next play from scrimmage and the Magic took over at the Wildcat 39.  Ryder Backman ran for 31 yards on the next play. On the play after that, Zwack threw and 8 yard touchdown pass to TJ Jassmann and, after a two point conversion, the Magic was up 27-7 at the half.  Trost was hurt near the end of the half and did not return.  He was replaced at quarterback by Mitch Barrett.
After the Wildcats went three and out to open the second half, Monticello had big plays on their next two drives – runs of 29 and 59 yards – and scored twice to go up 42-7 with four minutes left in the third quarter.  The Wildcats scored on touchdown run of one yard each by Terrell Ayers and Barrett and the Magic added another score to make the final Monticello 49, Chisago Lakes 19.

Wildcat head coach Bill Weiss said “The first quarter was pretty even.  We went on a nice drive and scored and them stopped them on downs deep in our territory.  We did some good things and moved the ball on our next drive.  But late in the second quarter, the wheels fell off.  We had breakdowns defensively and offensively didn’t respond.  Add in the turnover late in the half and it was a bad quarter.  In the third quarter, we were able to do a few things and move the ball.  We did okay statistically, but not on the scoreboard, where it counts.  We had some more breakdowns defensively.  As coaches, we have got to do a better job of preparing our guys for games like that.”

Trost suffered what appeared to be a quadriceps injury.  Weiss said “It’s too early to tell if Henry will be able to play this Friday.  He is still moving pretty slow on it.  We have to look long term and want to make sure he is okay before we put him back in there.  When Henry is out, Mitch Barrett will be our guy at quarterback.  He did a nice job in the second half.  It’s tough to go in cold, especially at quarterback, and he led us on a couple of scoring drives.  He executed the offense up and down the field and showed a good grasp of what we try to do.  He has been getting lot of reps in practice all year and we have a lot of confidence in him.”
 
Notes
Junior running back Matt Mohr, who was injured last week against Big Lake, is out for the season with a torn ACL.
The Wildcats (3-3) will take on Duluth East (1-5) tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Chisago Lakes High School.  The Greyhounds give up an average of 37 points per game, but they do score 28 points a game.  Weiss said “They are a much improved team.  They have a lot of starters coming back and, with the points they have been putting up on offense, will present a big challenge for us.”

Monticello will be moving to a brand new stadium next year.  So this was the last regular season game played at the Monticello Middle School Field, which has been the varsity football field for over 60 years. 

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