Football

Tight first quarter goes to wayside in Wildcats’ loss

Jeff Stahlhut, Correspondent
Posted 9/20/21

After getting off to a good start Friday night, the Wright City football team eventually dropped to 1-2 on the year after falling to Winfield, 63-19. Trailing 14-13 after one quarter, things …

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Football

Tight first quarter goes to wayside in Wildcats’ loss

Posted

After getting off to a good start Friday night, the Wright City football team eventually dropped to 1-2 on the year after falling to Winfield, 63-19. Trailing 14-13 after one quarter, things deteriorated quickly.

“Early on we were able to connect on a few big pass plays that got us up. However, they returned the kickoff after our second touchdown and that swung the momentum back to their side,” said Wildcats coach Tyler Rickard. “We kept battling throughout the second quarter but just couldn’t quite get back into a rhythm.”

Despite trailing 35-13 at halftime, the Wildcats did have chances to close the gap.

“We had some opportunities in the red zone to put more points on the board, but just couldn't quite get it done,” Rickard said.

“That falls on me as the coach to put our players in better situations to succeed. We are going to work on that in practice this week and get better from it.”

Entering the game, Rickard knew Winfield wouldn’t be an easy matchup.

“We knew this would be a tough game coming in. They were big and physical up front and had a few athletes that are playmakers,” he said. “They did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes and we couldn't do the same.”

Even in defeat, a handful of Wright City players put up some good numbers.

“Offensively, Hayden Beck had a big game for us (156 yards passing, 54 yards rushing, and three total touchdowns). Duan McRoberts also had a good game (60 yards rushing, 58 yards receiving, and one touchdown),” said Rickard. “Jake Smith had a big game as well at wide receiver with 80 receiving yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Denzel Dowdy played really well with seven tackles, one tackle for loss, and one interception.”

Next up for Wright City is Bowling Green, a team Rickard says will be a worthy foe.

“Bowling Green is a good, solid team. They are big and physical up front and they love to run the football,” he said. “Their quarterback and running back are dangerous when given space, so we have to be sure to limit their damage this week. Offensively, we need to put together quality scoring drives.”

The game will be on the road in Bowling Green. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Football, Wright City High School

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