The Wildcats’ defense held a good Greenville offense at bay most of the night. The Wildcats’ offense survived some turnovers and scored three touchdowns. As a result, the Wildcats improved their playoff standing with a 21-7 Senior night victory over the Lions Friday night at Gerald Prim Stadium.
The Wildcats seemed laser focused from the beginning. They forced Greenville to punt on their first drive and Simeon Taylor put the Wildcats in great shape with a good punt return. Quarterback Ryan Humphries threw a pass to Austin Dodd who did a good job of running to cover 26-yards for a touchdown. The Wildcats led 7-0 at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter. The Wildcats kept the Lions reeling with a successful on side kick by kicker Angel Tavera who dribbled the ball ahead ten yards and recovered it. The Wildcats bogged down and a long field goal attempt went wide.
Then the teams started giving the ball away. Outside linebacker Kylan Wade intercepted a pass. Later Greenville fumbled the ball away. The Wildcats then fumbled the ball away right at the goal line. Greenville lost a fumble that was picked up by safety D.J. Abron who returned it deep into Lions’ territory. The Wildcats took advantage of this turnover to score their second touchdown. Humphries threw to Taylor who slanted inside, caught the ball and ran into the end zone for a 13-yard score.
The Wildcats led 14-0 with 2:02 left in the second quarter. That was the halftime score. In the third quarter, the Wildcats lost another fumble but the Code Blue defense forced Greenville to give the ball up on downs. Just before the end of the third quarter, back Colton Allen found the end zone from 20 yards out and the Wildcat went up, 21-0 with just 19 seconds left in the third quarter. Greenville’s attempt to battle back hit a snag as they lost a fumble right at the goal line. Later the Lions managed their only score as quarterback Caleb Jarvis teamed up with back Christian Dunson on a 62 yard pass and run TD. Greenville still trailed 21-7 with 6:03 left to go in the game. The Wildcats played ball control and were able to run out the clock.
The Wildcats and the Lions are now both 2-3 in district play and they are tied for the last playoff spot in fourth place in the district, The Wildcats need a win at Hallsville next Friday to wrap up a playoff spot.
