Wildcats’ Rally Falls Short against Woodlawn

By Josh Walker

Central made a game of it after trailing 27-6 in the third quarter. They fought back to make the score 27-20 before giving up two more touchdowns to end the game with a 41-27 loss. Woodlawn got the ball on the Wildcat 29 yard line in the first quarter after a Zach Evans fumble and scored on a ten yard touchdown pass. Central’s offense came right back and marched down the field on runs by Lamonte Janeau and Brett Courville and a 32 yard catch by Devon Gales to set up a one yard touchdown run by Courville. Those would be the only points the Wildcats would score in the first half while Woodlawn scored twice more on 80 and 39 yard touchdown passes.

The Panthers would also score to open up the second half on a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Gary Tripplet answered that return with one of his own, this time a 98-yard return, cutting the lead to 14 points. Central would score again on a one-yard Courville run to make it a one-possession game. After a Panther touchdown, Courville connected with Jeremy Anderson for a 13 yard touchdown pass. On their next offensive drive, the Wildcats got down to the Woodlawn 12 yard line after a 53 yard run by Courville before being stopped on a fourth down pass. Woodlawn would put the game away on a 29-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes left in the game.

Courville led the Wildcats with 165 passing yards with 11 completions in 24 attempts and one touchdown. He also led the team with 119 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Janeau ran for 44 yards and Evans ran for 18. Devon Gales led the receivers with 55 yards while Jeremy Anderson had 43 yards and one touchdown. Defensive end and tight end Zach Hetrick had one 31-yard reception. Hetrick led the Wildcat defense in tackles with 7. Paul Broussard had 5 ½ with a fumble recovery. Dalton Holdman also intercepted one pass.

Coach Dotson commented on the many positive things the Wildcats did. He said, “I’m proud of you guys. This is a good football team, and good football teams fight to the end.” He also said the Wildcats played physical and hard throughout the night but did not play smart. This will come with time though. This is still a very young team that will grow before your eyes. If they continue to give the effort that they are putting forth, they will be a force to be reckoned with at the end of the season.