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If you love offense, the game you wanted to be at last Friday night was the Wildcat game at Big Lake.  Both teams piled up over 500 yards of offense and they scored over 100 points between them.  When it was all over, the Wildcats beat the Hornets 61-46 to remain undefeated at 4-0.

The Wildcats’ workhorse fullback, Evan LaValle, rushed 28 times for 210 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Carson Langevin carried the ball 13 times for 189 yards and two touchdowns.  For the Hornets, quarterback Carson Gellerman was a one-man show.  He completed 17 of 31 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, and also gained 156 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown.  Jack Midas led the way for the Hornet receivers with ten catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.

It didn’t look good for the Wildcats early in this one.  Big Lake started at their own 47 after a nice kickoff return.  On fourth and ten from the Wildcat 25, Kellerman threw a nice ball downfield.  A Wildcat defensive back leaped at the five to try to bat it away, but it went just over his fingertips and settled in the arms of Wuoson Nehwah for a touchdown.  The two-point conversion made it 8-0.  On the first play of the ensuing Wildcat drive, from their own 33, receiver Reed Bleymeyer had to dive for Gavin Lewis’ short pass over the middle.  As he dove, the ball hit off his hands, and rolled up his legs.  Nehwah snatched the ball out of the air and ran to the end zone untouched for a pick-six.  The try for two was incomplete and just three minutes into the game, Big Lake led 14-0.

After a short kickoff and a short return, the Wildcats started at midfield.  LaValle led the way, carrying the ball four times for some nice yardage, and went over from the five-yard line.  Brycen Morley’s extra point – the only one he would try in the game – was good, and the Wildcats trailed 14-7  with 6:08 left in the first quarter.  The Hornets responded with a six-play drive, capped off by a 25-yard scoring run by Trent Josewski, and, after the two-point conversion – their final successful one of the game – the Wildcats trailed 22-7.

The Wildcats responded quickly.  A key play on the scoring drive came on second and 15 from the Wildcat 39, when Lewis hit Langevin over the middle.  Langevin cut left and was knocked out of bounds after a 23-yard gain.  A 27-yard run by LaValle and a seven-yard run by Jadon Greene moved the ball to the five.  LaValle took it through a nice hole on the right side and into the end zone on the next play, and also converted the two-pointer to cut the Big Lake lead to 22-15.  The Hornets responded quickly.  On the third play of the ensuing drive, from the Wildcat 41, Kellerman threw to Nehwah in the left flat.   Nehwah weaved his way through some traffic and broke free, outrunning the pursuing Wildcats defensive backs for a touchdown.  The Wildcats stuffed the two-point attempt, and the Hornets led 28-15.  On the very next drive, LaValle carried most of the load as the Wildcats quickly moved downfield.  On first and 10 from the 14, Langevin took a handoff, faked right, stepped left, cut up through a nice hole in the center of the line and waltzed into the end zone.  LaValle went up the middle to convert another two-pointer, and the Wildcats trailed 28-23 with 8:12 left in the second quarter.  The Wildcats stopped the Hornets deep in Wildcat territory twice in the last few minutes of the second quarter and trailed 28-23 going into the half.

On the opening possession of the second half, LaValle cut diagonally through a nice hole on the left side and scored from 25 yards out.  He again converted the two-pointer with his legs, and the Wildcats had their first lead of the game at 31-28.  That lead only lasted about 15 seconds as Midas took the kickoff at the ten-yard line, ran to his left, cut back through the wedge and was off to the races.  He shook off a Wildcat tackler just after midfield and ran all the way to the end zone.  Big Lake again failed to convert a two-point attempt but regained the lead at 34-31.

Starting from their own 40, the Wildcats needed just three plays to score on the game’s next drive.  LaValle went for 16.  On the next play, Langevin took a handoff, cut through a hold up the middle and looked like he was going to score, but he was caught from behind at the one-yard line.  Lewis took it over from there, Langevin did the honors on the two-point conversion, and the Wildcats led 39-34 with 9:59 left in the third quarter.  After  three and out by the Hornets, a short punt, and a ten-yard return, the Wildcats took over at the Hornet 45.  On the second play of the drive, LaValle went up the middle for 15 yards.  On third and seven from the 23, Lewis made a nice fake to LaValle, kept the ball, and headed around left end.  The offensive line sealed off the end, and Lewis ran to the front left corner of the end zone for a touchdown.  The two-point attempt was stuffed, and the Wildcats led 45-34 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

The Hornets then embarked on a 16-play drive, including a first down conversion on fourth and 13 from the Wildcat 48.  Gellerman took it over from the two.  The Wildcats broke up a pass attempt to stop the two-point conversion and led 45-40 with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter.  The Wildcats responded with a much quicker drive.  In the first play of the fourth quarter, facing third and eight from the Big Lake 40, Lewis headed around left end on the option.  After he had gained about ten yards and was about to be tackled, he pitched the ball left to Langevin, who picked up another 25 yards before he was shoved out of bounds at the five.  On the next play, after a couple of nice fakes, Lewis handed the ball to Greene.  He went off-tackle right, was hit at the two and plowed into the end zone for a touchdown.  LaValle stepped into the end zone through a giant hole on the left for a two-point conversion, and the Wildcats led 53-40 with 10:32 left in the fourth quarter.

After the teams exchanged three and outs, the Hornets took over at their own 20.  They needed just five plays to score.  Kellerman hit Midas over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown.  Kellerman slipped on the two-point conversion attempt and the Hornets trailed the Wildcats 53-46.  After a short kickoff and a return, the Wildcats started the next drive at their own 46.  On third and five from the Big Lake 49, Lewis faked the ball to LaValle and handed it to Langevin, who headed through a hole up the middle and ran 49 yards for a touchdown.  LaValle went up the middle for the two-point conversion, and the Wildcats led 61-46.  The Hornets again moved the ball quickly.  But on the sixth play of the drive, on fourth and ten from the 26, a Wildcat defensive back broke up a potential touchdown pass.  The Wildcats got one first down on the ensuing drive and were able to run a few minutes off the clock before punting deep onto Hornet territory with less than a minute left in the game, and the defense then shut the Hornets down to preserve the 61-46 win.

The Wildcats, who generally kick extra points, went for two on all but their first touchdown.  Wildcat head coach Ryan Anderson said “A lot of times, going for one or two in various game situations is based on a cheat sheet we have put together.  But when the opponent always goes for two, the cheat sheet is meaningless, because we could be in trouble if they made a lot of twos, and we were going for one.  Thankfully, we converted most of our opportunities and our defense stopped most of Big Lake’s opportunities.”

As for the slow start, Anderson said “At the beginning of the game, we just couldn’t catch a break, including that bizarre interception.  So, we ended up spotting them 14 points right away.  But we settled in and were able to move the ball well and score some points of our own.

LaValle had yet another big night and Langevin also gained nearly 200 yards.  Anderson said “Both Carson and Jadon are very capable backs, and who gets the ball depends on what the defense is giving us that night.  Last Friday was Carson’s night as he stepped up and had himself a nice night.”

As for the defense giving up a lot of points?  “There were too many missed tackles,” said Anderson.  “There are a lot of guys who are still fairly green.  Getting them gamE experience and coaching them Up in practice will help.  We need to find consistency on defense.”

Football Notes

The Wildcats (4-0) will welcome the Zimmerman Thunder (0-4) to Chisago Lakes High School tomorrow night for Homecoming.  “We aren’t familiar with Zimmerman,” said Anderson.  “They had a nice run and made it to state last year, but things aren’t going as well for them this year. But they are better than their record shows.  They are a physical team that likes to run the ball, so we will need to have a good night from our defense.  Hopefully, our offense continues to move the ball and have the success they have had so far this season.  It should be a good game.  There will be fireworks after the game, so hopefully we play a good game for homecoming and people can also enjoy the post-game festivities.”

It’s also Tackle Cancer night, with all funds raised going to the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund.  Wildcat players have been collecting funds from their fellow students in homeroom this past week.  Bring some cash to the game – the Gridiron Club will be accepting donations,  and selling beads and pom-poms and will also have a 50-50 raffle.  All proceeds will go to the Shaver cancer fund.

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