It’s Football Friday Night again in Brownsville, KY. Tonight couldn’t have gotten here soon enough for the Wildcats. After a tough loss at Adair County, the Wildcats were on Fall Break last week, and went back to work Monday to get ready for tonight’s game. They were eager to play tonight and it showed. Tonight was also Senior Night for the Wildcats. The last home game of the year would prove to be a memorable one.
Along with the Senior Cheerleaders, and the Senior Band members, Wildcat football recognized their Seniors tonight before the game. The Wildcat Seniors recognized were Drew Decker, Marcus Kinser, Nathan Ryan, Brent Foley, John Finch, Dakota Carner, Austin Lemieux-Gravil, Ethan Basham, and Brandon Kinsey.
The game got started well for the Wildcats. After kicking off to the Raiders to start the game, the Wildcats came up with a nice defensive stand to force a Hart County punt. The snap was high, and forced a fumble by the Raiders kicker. The fumble was recovered at the 11 yard line by Jacob Peger of the Wildcats. Three plays later, John Finch punched the ball in from 1 yard for a Wildcat touchdown. Brett Brannon’s extra point was good. Wildcats lead 7-0.
The Raiders moved the ball well on their next offensive possession, but the Wildcats made a nice defensive stop to force the punt.
After two run plays for 15 yards, on 3rd down Raiders QB Josh Shoulders’ pass was intercepted by Safety Marcus Kinser, and returned 40 yards to the Raiders yard line. The Wildcats moved the ball down the field, but the drive stalled at the 25 yard line. Freshman kicker Brett Brannon was called on to attempt a 39 yard field goal. Jarod Hines placed the ball down, and Brannon nailed the 39 yarder, with plenty of leg, to put the Wildcats up 10-0.
At the end of the 1st quarter, the Wildcats lead 10-0.
To start the 2nd quarter, things got a little physical on the field. Hart County was called for two unsportsmanlike penalties on the same play forcing Hart County to punt.
The Wildcats moved the ball down the field with the ground and pound offense that it’s known for. Using multiple ball carriers the Wildcats moved the ball to the Raiders 4 yard line where John Finch punched it in for his 2nd touchdown of the night. Jarod Hines ran the ball in for the two point conversion. Wildcats lead 18-0 at the half.
The Wildcats first drive of the 2nd Half stalled out and forced a punt. Brett Brannon punted the ball from the Wildcats 34 yard line, and it rolled out of bounds at the Hart County 2 yard line. A definite special teams win for the Wildcats.
Hart County came out and showed a different offensive scheme to start their first drive of the 2nd half. The Raiders moved RB Ethan Powell to quarterback, and QB Josh Shoulders to WR in an attempt to catch the Wildcats off guard. It definitely was working. After big runs by Powell, Darren Lynn, and Brian Simmons, the Raiders had the Cats back on their heels, and moving the ball down to the Wildcats 26. On a nice run by Darren Lynn, the ball came loose at the 18 yard line. Freshman Zack Farmer scooped the ball up, and ran 82 yards for the Wildcat touchdown. Brannon’s extra point was good. The Wildcats lead 25-0 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The 4th quarter is when things got ugly. After Hart County had a player ejected for receiving his 2nd personal foul of the game, a second player was ejected for punching a Wildcat after the play. The Wildcats ran 3 plays, and the Raiders received multiple personal fouls.
With 8:45 left to go in the 4th quarter, Hart County AD Jerry Taylor, and Hart County Head Coach Anthony Boone called a timeout, spoke with the officials, shook hands with Wildcat Head Coach Kyle Pierce, and asked that the game be called at that point.
The night ended strangely, but with the Wildcats leading 25-0.
In the post game interview, Coach Pierce stated that he could not be prouder of his team, and the way that they responded after a tough loss at Adair County. He spoke about having a team meeting with everyone on Monday, and how the team responded and matured after that meeting. He gave the Player of the Game to the entire Wildcat team. He said that tonight showed him a lot about who this team has finally decided to be, and he liked what he saw. He also thanked our Seniors and their parents for everything that they have done for the betterment of our team. It’s a true team effort with Coaches, Players, and Parents, and he feels we have as good as any around!
The Wildcats travel to Monroe County next Friday. Game time is 7:00 p.m. Pregame starts at 6:40.
