In a 3-quarter football scrimmage that reminded Wildcats Football Coach Greg Owens of the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly,” the Wildcats and Mount Pleasant battled to a 14-14 tie at Gerald Prim Stadium Thursday night.
The Wildcats offense got off to a great start scoring the first two times they had the ball. The Wildcats had the opening drive of the game and went 75 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Kaden Wallace completed 4 of 5 passes on the drive spreading the ball around to receivers C.J. Williams and Bryant Sanchez. A pass to Williams went down to the Tigers’ two yard line and set up back Caden Davis’ 2 yard TD run. Josh Tavera’s extra point gave the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with 6:16 to go in the first quarter.
Mount Pleasant answered with a 75 yard TD drive of their own. The Tigers converted twice on third and long plays using completed passes. The score was a 43-yard run by a back that took an option pitch from the Tigers’ quarterback. With the good extra point, the game was tied 7-7 with 2:28 to go in the first quarter.
The Wildcats scored again on their second drive of the game going 75 yards. The Wildcats got rushing yards from Davis and 215-pound back Douglas Deloney. Wallace completed four of four passes utilizing Davis, Williams and receiver Matthew Sherman. Wallace’s 24-yard TD pass to Sherman was a thing of beauty as the junior wide receiver made a one-handed catch in the end zone. Kicker Uriel Santacruz added the extra point and the Wildcats led 14-7 with 9:03 left in the second quarter. Both defenses kept the offenses in check for the rest of the quarter.
On the Tigers second drive, they went for it on fourth down but ended up turning over the ball on downs at the Wildcats’ 36 yard line. On the Wildcats’ third drive, a center snap sailed over Wallace’s head. He recovered but the Wildcats took a big loss. The Wildcats ended up punting from their own 33 yard line.
The Tigers then drove to the Wildcats’ 46 yard line, before they stalled again, turning over the ball on downs after an unsuccessful fourth down attempt. On the Wildcats’ next drive, the Tigers picked off a Wallace pass.
There were just 44 second left in the second quarter. The Tigers launched several long passes toward the Wildcats end zone. Wildcat defense back Matthew Mitchell appeared to have an interception, but it was negated by pass interference. The Wildcats picked up another pass interference call later. With just 4 seconds left in the quarter, a long Mount Pleasant pass was broken up by defensive back Dominique Sims. After two quarters, the Wildcats led 14-7.
After a brief break, the Tigers tied the game going 75 yards for a touchdown to open the third quarter. The score was set up by a long scramble down the right sideline by the Tigers’ quarterback. This time, it was Mount Pleasant making an acrobatic catch in the end zone to complete an 8 yard TD pass. The good extra point evened the score at 14-14 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats then drove down to the Tigers 38 yard line before turning over the ball on downs. Mount Pleasant was forced to punt on their next drive. Then, the Wildcats were forced to punt. Again the drive was stymied by a bad center snap. With less than two minutes to play, Wildcats safety Wiley Bennett stopped a Tigers’ drive with an interception.
With one last chance, the Wildcats drive was again crippled by a bad snap. The scrimmage ended after three quarters with things knotted up at 14-14.
The Wildcats now open the regular season on the road on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7:30 p.m. against Frisco Wakeland at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.
