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The Wildcats lost 35-14 to the top-seeded, eighth-ranked Hill Murray Pioneers in the Section 3AAAA semifinals on Saturday, October 26 at Hill-Murray High School, ending their season.  The Wildcats were able to move the ball on offense, but the Pioneers were able to take advantage of some Wildcat mistakes to advance and finish off drives.

Wildcat head coach Ryan Anderson said “There are three things you need to do in football to give yourselves a better chance to win.  Win the turnover margin, keep your opponent from making big plays, and make tackles.  Well, there were no turnovers by either team in this game, so the other two things got amplified.  Ultimately, we missed way too many tackles.  Our pursuit just wasn’t where it was earlier in the season, and it led to some big chunk plays for them.  Our defensive line fared well, and our interior linebackers played well enough for us to win the game.  Hill-Murray had to get to the perimeter for success.  Several times, it looked like we had the guy bottled up, but we missed tackles, and they ended up 20 or 30 yards downfield.  We were able to move the ball, for the most part, but we made mistakes that kept us from scoring more.  What might be little mistakes in the regular season turn into bigger issues in the playoffs because there is no chance to correct them next week if you don’t win.”

Things started off well for the Wildcats.  After forcing a three and out to start the game, they took over at their own 12 after the punt.  After a couple of first downs, they faced second and four from the 50.  Quarterback Kellen Meissner handed the ball off to Jadon Greene.  The line completely sealed off the edge as Greene sped around the corner and outraced the Pioneer defensive backs to the end zone for a touchdown.  After Brycen Morley’s extra point, the Wildcats led 7-0 with 7:39 left in the first quarter.  But it took Hill Murray just three plays to respond.  On third and seven from their own 33, quarterback Jackson Reeves took a shotgun snap and rolled left.  He quickly decided to pull the ball down and head upfield.  Two sets of Wildcat defenders whiffed on tackles in the first ten yards, and Reeves burst into the open, running down the left sideline all the way to the end zone to tie the game at 7-7 with just over six minutes left in the first quarter.

After forcing the Wildcats to punt on their next drive, the Pioneers took over at their own 22.  Reeves showed off his arm, with completions of 18 and 27 yards helping to move his team deep into Wildcat territory.  On second and 8 from the 18, Reeves faked a handoff, rolled right, and connected with John Pietruszewski at the five.  Pietruszewski turned and headed toward the end zone, plowing over a Wildcat defender and into the pylon for a touchdown and a 14-7 Hill-Murray lead with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.  The Wildcats looked like the punishing running team we’ve seen throughout the year on their next drive.  They went 75 yards in ten plays and took six minutes off the clock.  On second and two from the 12, Carson Langevin took a handoff, stepped into a nice hole on the right side of the line and was hauled down six inches short of the goal line.  With lineman Chuck Gilman lined up a fullback, Langevin took a handoff and headed for the same hole.  A Pioneer defensive back may have had a shot at Langevin, but he wanted nothing to do with Gilman, avoiding the block and allowing Langevin to step into the end zone and, after the extra point, tie the game at 14-14.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, from the Pioneer 35, Hill-Murray running back Xaviers Daniels got loose around the end and headed down the right sideline and looked like he would outrun the Wildcat defense all the way to the end zone.  But Wildcat defensive back Cole Stilp dove at Daniels at midfield.  Daniels avoided the tackle, but stepped on the sideline at the Wildcat 46, so Stilp’s dogged pursuit and dive saved a touchdown – temporarily.  Four plays later, on second and two from the 18, Reeves took the snap and ran through a huge hole on the right side, waltzing into the end zone for a touchdown.  Hill-Murray led 21-14 with 431 left in the first half.  The Wildcats were forced to punt from their own 48 on their next possession.  The Pioneers fielded the punt giving them great field position at the Wildcat 42.  Four plays later, on second and eight from the 17, Reeves hit a wide-open Pietruszewski in the right side of the end zone, and Hill-Murray led 28-14 with 1:22 left in the first half.

Each team possessed the ball just twice in the second half.  One team didn’t score on their third quarter drive, and one did, and that pretty much sealed the outcome of the game. Starting from their own 39, the Wildcats went on a 13-play drive that took a lot of time off the clock.  On fourth and three from the Pioneer 20, fullback Michael Houle took a handoff to the right and bulled his way for four yards and a first down.  On third and five from the 11, Meisner dropped back and fired a pass toward Greene on the right that would have been enough for a first down, but the ball was thrown behind Greene and was knocked away, incomplete.  On fourth down, Langevin took a handoff to the left, but was stopped after a three-yard gain, turning the ball over to Hill-Murray on downs.    On the 13th play of the drive, from the Wildcat six, Reeves threw a pass just over the outstretched arms of a Wildcat defender and into the arms of tight end Jack Drange in the end zone to make it 35-14 with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats followed with a 15-play drive that took up a lot of time.  On third and 10 from the Pioneer 22, the Wildcats tried some razzle-dazzle.  Meissner took the snap and threw a quick screen to wide receiver Brayden Anderson on the right.  Anderson pitched the ball toward Greene, but the pitch was way off and rolled backwards.  Anderson chased it down and fell on it at the 34.  On fourth and 22, Meissner heaved a pass into the end zone that fell incomplete.  The Pioneers nearly scored again, but ultimately settled for taking a knee on the final play of the game at the Wildcat three, winning 35-14 and ending the season for the Wildcats.

Reeves was 12 for 13 passing for 148 yards and three touchdowns, for a passer rating of 153.7, which is just short of a perfect passer rating of 158.3.  Reeves also carried the ball eight times for 114 yards and two touchdowns.  Running back Xavier Daniels had 19 carries for 149 yards.   Wildcat statistics were not available.

Football Notes

The Wildcat will have a season-ending banquet, with the date still to be determined.  We will publish the awards once they are announced and get a few comments from head coach Ryan Anderson about the season and an early look at the team’s prospects for next season.

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