Wildcats lose momentum in 21-14 loss to winless Princeton

Princeton 21, Chisago Lakes 14

Trailing 21-14 with just under three-minutes remaining in last Friday’s game at Princeton, the Wildcat football team had the ball third and goal on the Tigers’ six-yard line, appearing poised to tie the game. Quarterback Kaiden Melquist took a shotgun snap and headed to the right. As he started to turn upfield, an unblocked Tiger defender wrapped up Melquist and knocked the ball loose. Another Princeton defender scooped up the ball and headed the other way. Logan Senske chased him down and tackled him from behind at the Princeton 30, but the damage was done.  The Tigers ran the ball up the middle three times, converting a first down on third and one. Two kneel downs later the game was over, and the Tigers had their first win of the season, a 21-14 triumph over the Wildcats.

Melquist was three for six passing for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Donald Karpenko led the way on the ground for the Wildcats, with 18 carries for 85 yards, and Carter Anderson had six carries for 69 yards.

On Princeton’s opening drive, a 39-yard completion from quarterback Drew Julson to Isaac Nelson moved them into Wildcat territory. On fourth and nine from the Wildcat 36, Julson rolled left, was forced toward the sideline and threw the ball out of bounds, turning the ball over to the Wildcats on downs. Seven plays later, the Wildcats faced fourth and ten on the Princeton 36 and decided to go for it.  Melquist lofted a pass in the direction of Donald Karpenko. The ball was slightly overthrown, and the Wildcats turned it over on downs. Six plays later, the Tigers faced fourth and four at the Wildcat 44. They tried to run the fullback up the middle, but he was stuffed for a one-yard gain by a host of Wildcats, and the Wildcats took over on downs at their own 43.  Six plays later, they faced second an 11 at the Princeton 30.  Operating from the shotgun, Melquist faked a handoff up the middle to Karpenko. The fake was good enough to freeze the defense as Logan Senske streaked down the right hashmarks. Melquist threw a perfect pass to the wide open Senske in stride at the five, and he waltzed into the end zone for a touchdown. Hayden Trupe’s extra point gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing drive, the Tigers faced third and five from their own 26.  Julson dropped back and heaved ball deep downfield. Carter Anderson outleaped two Princeton receivers for the interception at the Wildcat 42-yard line, and the Wildcat offense was back in business. But the business didn’t last for long. Melquist handed the ball off to Donald Karpenko on the next play, and as he headed up the middle the ball came loose, and the Tigers fell on it at the 42. The Tigers picked up one first down. On the seventh play of the drive, they faced fourth and eight from the 22. Julson dropped back to the 30, zipped a pass to Joshua Christopher at the ten, and he broke two tackles on his way to the end zone for a touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 after the extra point.

After an exchange of short drives and punts, the Wildcats took over at their own 30. Three plays later, the Wildcats faced second and one from the Tiger 47. Melquist faked a pitch and kept the ball. He was tackled after a four-yard gain, but a late hit resulted in a 15-yard penalty, and the Wildcats had a first down at the Princeton 28 with time winding down in the first half. An eight-yard run by Fisher Jorgensen moved the ball to the 20. Trupe trotted out for a field goal attempt. The snap and hold looked good, but Trupe’s kick sailed wide left and the game was tied 7-7 going onto halftime.

A 17-yard kickoff return to open the third quarter gave the Wildcats the ball at their own 37-yard line. The Wildcats went on a ten-play drive, highlighted by a 20-yard run by Karpenko and a ten-yard run by Melquist. On second and eight from the 23, the Wildcats ran the same play they had for their earlier touchdown, with the same result. Melquist took a shotgun snap, faked a handoff, and hit a wide open Senske in stride for a 23-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats  a 14-7 lead.

Princeton followed with a seven play, 79-yard drive, highlighted by a 28-yard pass on the run from Julson to Landon Donais. On third and seven from the Wildcat 29, Julson dropped back and threw a strike to Isaac Nelson in the front of the end zone for a touchdown to cut the Wildcat lead to 14-13. The extra point attempt was kicked low and hit Xavier Bradley-Peel in the face mask, and the Wildcats still led by one. The Wildcats went three and out on their next drive, and the Tigers took over on their own 38 after a Wildcat punt. On the first play, Julson threw a 25-yard pass down the middle to Joshua Christopher. He broke a tackle and carried the ball all the way down to the 21. Four plays later, Colton Johnson plowed into the end zone from the three, giving the Tigers a 19-14 lead. Julson passed to Nelson on the two-point conversion attempt, and he beat the Wildcat defenders to the end zone to make the score 21-14.

The Wildcats put together a 14-play drive that looked like it might send the game into overtime. On second and 18 from the 20, Melquist dropped back and threw the ball downfield in the direction of Carter Andesron. Anderson made a spinning catch for a first down at the Wildcat 45.  On the seventh play of the drive, the Wildcats had the ball first and ten at the Tiger 42. A high snap sailed over the head of Melquist. He raced back and fell on the ball at the Wildcat 43, making it second and 26. On the next play, Melquist pitched left to Anderson and Anderson took off down the left sideline, finally being dragged out of bounds at the Tiger 26 for a first down. But a five-yard penalty for illegal procedure, another Melquist fumble that he recovered, and two ineffective runs made it fourth and 22 at the 38-yard line. Melquist’s deep throw down the five-yard line fell incomplete at the right sideline. But a personal foul penalty moved the Wildcats to the 23 and gave them a fresh set of downs.  On first down, Anderson took a handoff, weaved through the line, cut left, and raced down the sideline until he was knocked out of bounds at the six-yard line. Runs of four yards and one yard by Donald Karpenko and a five-year penalty against the Wildcats made it third and goal at the six. But Melquist’s fumble on the next play ended the Wildcats’ last chance to tie the game.

Wildcat head coach Ryan Anderson said “Defensively, we took a big step forward. Princeton came into the game as the best winless team in Class 4A, and we knew they would be ready for us. I am honestly very proud of how the defense played. Princeton had a couple of big runs and beat us through the air a little bit. But we didn’t play the complementary football that we like to see. We put the ball on the ground five times. We lost two of them, and the three we recovered got us off schedule on offense. Along with seven penalties, that was just us getting in our own way. We will learn from our mistakes, and we will be better next time.”

Anderson praised some players for their performances. He said “Our two linebackers, Logan Senske and Fisher Jorgensen, had a heck of a game. On offense, Wilie Naatz is really stepping up on the line. He’s got it figured out. He is the type of guy that we’ll be showing tape of him in the future and saying this is the right way to do things. It was nice to see him and out other guard, Charles Boarman, really laying the lumber when they pulled. Matt Karpenko, who we moved into the tailback spot partway through the season due to injuries, has been doing a nice job, too. Logan Senske had a big night offensively. I can’t tell you the last time we threw two touchdowns to the same guy in the same game. He’s doing a really nice job at tight end outside of the pass catching, too. Offensively, defensively and as the captain, he has really been stepping up as the season moves along.”

Football Notes

The Wildcats (2-4) played the South St. Paul Packers (4-2) at home last night, but the results came in too late for today’s paper. Next Wednesday October 21, the Wildcats will finish out the regular season at home against the Zimmerman Thunder (3-3) at 6 p.m. at Chisago Lakes High School.