A track meet broke out in the first half on Friday and the Wright City football team couldn’t keep up.
Playing in a Class 3 District 4 quarterfinal, the host Wildcats went score-for-score into the second quarter before Fulton’s two late first-half touchdowns gave the visiting Hornets the lead for good in the visitor’s 49-20 win in the programs’ first-ever meeting.
Even though Fulton outran Wright City, Wildcats senior Benji Rodriguez said that sometimes it’s about more than just what happens on the field. He, for one, was proud of his teammates for the way they carried themselves, both Friday and all season.
“It’s not all about being a good football player, but just being a good person,” Rodriguez said. “I think that’s what we focus on here at Wright City. Of course, we’re trying to be a good football team, but what comes first is making sure you grow as a person and just be better.”
After a Fulton score on the opening possession, Wright City (3-7) marched down the field and tied the game at seven on an 11-yard scoring run by Rodriguez with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
After Fulton (3-7) retook the lead 13-7 late in the first quarter, Wright City came right back.
A 20-yard pass from Kody Kneemiller to TJ Hamel with 7:07 left in the half made it 13-all after a missed conversion.
The Hornets scored the final two touchdowns of the half, moving to a 27-13 lead. Thomas Pittman tallied the final three Hornets scores of the half on runs of 14, 3 and 62 yards after Jacob Hays opened the scoring with a 2-yard scamper.
Wright City had a final chance with a first-and-goal deep inside Fulton territory in the final minute, but a pair of tackles for loss and a last-second run by Kneemiller came up short.
Even after Fulton pulled away, Wright City didn’t give in.
Zamarion Rawlison’s 55-yard run closed out the scoring with 3:19 to play.
“Somebody almost caught me,” Rawlison said. “I still scored. This year was a bend-don’t-break mentality. I don’t care what the score is, I’m going to go 100 every play.”
Wright City Coach John Klekamp said the team's effort on Friday and all season fills him with pride and hope.
“These guys worked so hard battling through all kinds of adversity,” Klekamp said. “I’m so proud of all of these guys. Now, we get to work on what we need to do to improve for next season.”
