Adam Howe
Sports Editor
After a slow start, the Wildcats got back in the win column with a much needed victory at Skyline on Friday night, 34-6.
The opening period was a tale of two stagnant offenses, neither of which could seem to get much of anything going early on with the game scoreless after a quick first twelve minutes.
That all changed early in the second quarter though when Jayce Depriest forced a fumble for the Wildcats defense and it was recovered by Kendall Bagley deep in Skyline territory. Depriest got the nod on a 6 yard touchdown run and Logan Gemes nailed the point after try to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
With the Warsaw defense having a stranglehold on the Tigers, the offense of the Green and Black pushed across another score on their next possession on another 6 yard touchdown plunge by Depriest. Gemes put the PAT through again and with 3:09 left in the first half, Warsaw led 14-0.
After another stand by the defense, the Wildcats took control again with just over one minute remaining. A long completion to Gemes put Warsaw on Skyline's side of the field and with seconds to go, Warsaw signal caller Garrett Ferguson led the offense into the red zone. With less seconds ticking away, Ferguson scrambled and delivered a bullet to Drake Murrell who made a sliding catch in the endzone for the Wildcats with just 4.8 ticks left on the clock.
Gemes came on for another PAT, he split the uprights again as Warsaw led 21-0 at the break.
With the first possession of the second half, the Wildcats capitalized again when Ferguson marched the offense down the field and capped the drive with a 6 yard touchdown pass to Murrell, his second of the night. Gemes knocked the PAT through for his fourth of the night as Warsaw stretched their lead to 28-0 after the third.
A 15 yard touchdown run by Ferguson in the fourth put the 'Cats up 34-0 after a botched snap resulted in an unsuccessful 2-point attempt and Skyline added a score in the final frame for the 34-6 final.
"I was proud of how our kids stuck to the game plan and played together," Wildcats head coach Ryan Boyer said. "We had a couple of players out, so it was great to see those other guys step up."
Riley Taylor, the starting guard on the right side sat out due to experiencing concussion systems and Josh Harvath, a starting running back, is nursing a shoulder. Both players are hopeful and expected to suit up again this Friday.
Ferguson accounted for over 70% of the Wildcats offensive output. He picked up 103 yards on the ground on 19 rushing attempts with 1 touchdown and finished 9 for 18 through the air for 134 yards with 2 passing TD's.
Depriest went for 61 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries and Oliver Robertson had 10 rushes for 37 yards.
Of Ferguson's 9 completions, 6 were hauled in by Murrell for 83 yards and he recorded 2 scores. Gemes was on the receiving end of 2 passes for 28 yards and Depriest had 1 catch for 23.
Gemes was a perfect 4 for 4 on PAT's and missed what would have been a new school record 38 yard field goal, his only attempt on the night.
Murrell was all over the place for the Wildcats defense, racking up 14 tackles on the night. Bagley finished with 5 tackles. Sean Reinertsen and Depriest contributed 2.5 and 2 respectively. Depriest also had the forced fumble and Bagley came up with the recovery.
The Wildcats (5-3, 3-1) will host Buffalo this Friday night for their regular season finale. The game will also be another Ozark Highlands Conference matchup. Like always, the kickoff is set for 7:00 PM and can also be viewed live on BCE TV with Matt Dove and Drew Burdick.
Prior to the game, senior members of band, cheer, dance, cross country and football of the Class of 2023 will be recognized in Senior Night festivities.
