The Wayne County High School Wildcats managed only 135 yards of total offense last Thursday night against the Huntingdon Mustangs in Region 6-1A football action. The game, originally scheduled for Friday, was moved to Thursday night because of Hurricane Delta. The Wildcat defense gave up 382 yards, 369 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns, to be shut out by the score of 22 – 0. The Wildcats now stand at 3 – 4 on the season, 2 -1 in region action, and will travel to McEwen this week to take on the Warriors.
The game began with each team being unable to move the ball. They exchanged punts twice each, before the Mustangs put together a 76 yard, 5 play drive for a touchdown. Huntingdon scored on a 24 yard run with 9:13 left before halftime. The conversion attempt failed to make the score 6 – 0.
The Wildcats moved the ball from their own 23 to the Mustang 48 on the next series but were forced to punt. Huntingdon got the ball at their own 20 on the touchback and went down to the Wildcat 37 before fumbling it back to the ‘Cats. Wildcat Luke Sesler came up with the fumble. Huntingdon’s defense forced a three and punt series, giving them the ball back at the Wildcat 40, with 1:29 left. They scored again on the second play from scrimmage. On the first play, Brian Austin Carlton sacked the Huntingdon quarterback for a four yard loss. The Mustangs got loose on the next play, going 44 yards for a touchdown. Again the point after was no good, making the score 12 – 0 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Wildcats got the ball and were unable to move it, forcing them to punt. Huntingdon moved the ball down the field 70 yards before being stopped on downs at the one yard line. The first play of the Wildcat possession resulted in a fumble in the end zone for a safety to up the lead to 14 – 0 with 1:45 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats moved the ball on their next series, ending at the Mustang 42 and turning it over on downs. The Mustangs ran 9 plays and scored with 3:46 left. Their third touchdown came on a 23 yard run. They converted the 2-pt conversion to make the final score, Mustangs 22 – Wildcats 0.
Hunter Staggs rushed for 36 yards on 8 carries, while Julian Birchett had 40 yards on 7 attempts. Austin Whitson had 2 carries for 22 yards. Cade Crews rushed 4 times for minus 9 yards and was 4 of 15 passing for 47 yards. Clay Baugus was on the receiving end of the 4 completions for 47 yards and carried the ball twice for minus 2 yards. Eli McClain carried the ball once for no gain.
The Wildcat defense was led by Hunter Staggs with 15 tackles. Clay Baugus had 14. Jonmikel Lynn had 8 tackles, while Blayne Love and Damian Dickey each had 5. Chase Cummings, Brock Brown, and Chance Kelley each had 4 tackles, and Luke Sesler, Colton Beason, and Cameron Manley each had 3 tackles. Sesler also came up with the fumble recovery. Brian Austin Carlton had 2 tackles plus a sack, and Ethan Tilley, Spencer Turnbow, and Austin Whitson each had a tackle.
Follow the Wildcats as they travel Friday to McEwen to take on another region foe. Game time is 7:00 p.m. “GO WILDCATS!”—Submitted
