After not playing their Week 4 game against Bowling Green due to quarantine issues, the Wright City Wildcats were just glad to be back on the field on Sept. 24, when they took on Montgomery County at …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous wesbite, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
After not playing their Week 4 game against Bowling Green due to quarantine issues, the Wright City Wildcats were just glad to be back on the field on Sept. 24, when they took on Montgomery County at home.
“We were all just chomping at the bit,” Wright City coach Tyler Pickard said. “Anytime you get a game that has to be taken away, it’s tough. It’s tough to tell them they don’t get to play. But it was one of those things. We just had to respond.”
Wright City got off to a good start against Montgomery County, leading 19-15 late in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the Wildcats didn’t celebrate a win as they lost 42-26.
The Wildcats dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in Eastern Missouri Conference play. Wright City will have another home game at 7 p.m. on Oct. 1 against Mark Twain.
MCHS (3-2) defeated Wright City for the fifth consecutive year. Pickard said he was pleased with his team’s effort despite the loss.
“I challenged our kids all week to respond to adversity, whether it’s in a game, in the classroom and in the community,” Pickard said. “My challenge all week was to link arms as a team and respond to adversity. They did just that.”
Wright City came back from a 15-0 deficit in the first quarter to take a 19-15 lead with 8:52 left in the second quarter, when freshman wide receiver Duan McRoberts scored a 79-yard touchdown catch. It was McRoberts’ second touchdown of the season.
“He’s tough to tackle,” Pickard said. “He has done a phenomenal job for us this year as a freshman stepping up both offensively and defensively. I’m super proud of him for how he has progressed in a short amount of time through four games. He has really come along and has been a big time playmaker for us.”
Almost two minutes later, MCHS rallied to get a touchdown from senior Logan Hutcheson to take a 22-19 halftime lead it never relinquished. MCHS, which is also nicknamed the Wildcats, outscored Wright City 20-7 in the second half.
“They did a good job,” Pickard said. “They’re tough. They brought a lot of pressure and gave us different looks up front that really made it tough on us to be able to do what we would like to do.”
Junior Jeremiah Davis scored a pair of touchdowns, giving him six for the season. He scored on a 90-yard kickoff return with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter that cut Montgomery County’s lead to 15-6. He scored an 80-yard touchdown catch with 1:12 to go in the game.
“He’s just a playmaker that we have to try to get the ball into his hands,” Pickard said. “Coach (Derek) Lowe, our special teams coach, did a great job of designing that kickoff return and it was wide open. He just had to make a couple of plays and go score. He did exactly that. It was huge, especially being down at that point. I’m super proud of him.”
Senior Jake Smith scored a 44-yard touchdown catch with 11:07 left in the second quarter to get Wright City within 15-13. Smith now has three touchdowns in 2021.
