After beginning the season 3-0, the Wright City football team has since been the victim of three straight setbacks, along with a plethora of unforeseen challenges.

The Wildcats’ latest loss came in the form of a 34-16 road setback at Mark Twain, where Wright City was without 14 of its original starters due to quarantine. Reduced to 27 players and minus some of their most critical contributors, the Wildcats were forced to adapt.

“There were a lot of things that didn’t go our way,” said Coach Jeff Sargent. “We have a lot of kids quarantined now from contact tracing. It’s one of those situations where we’re trying to make it until they get back.”

Mark Twain brought a relentless rushing attack, throwing the ball just one time the entire game, while amassing 395 yards on the ground.

“If you can’t stop the run, it’s really difficult to be successful,” said Sargent. “Why would a team ever throw the ball if we can’t force them to? Our strength is our pass defense, but we didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to show that.”

The Wildcats found themselves facing a 20-0 deficit at halftime, which meant 10 straight quarters without a point when combined with shutouts against Bowling Green and Montgomery County.

“It’s gotten to a point, where because we have so many guys out, it seems like we’re pressing too much on offense,” said Sargent. “Because of that, it makes us feel like we have to score on every play. When you’re trying to score a touchdown on every play, you can put yourself into some bad situations.”

Wright City was able to outscore its host in the second half. The Wildcats were lifted by rushing touchdowns from junior Jeremiah Davis and junior quarterback Hayden Beck.

Davis finished with 85 yards on 12 carries.

“Jeremiah had an absolutely incredible game when he got the ball in his hands in the open field,” said Sargent. “He did some things only he is capable of doing when it comes to play making.”

Beck added a two-point conversion run after each touchdown to decrease the margin. He completed 14 of 30 passes for 125 yards, throwing two interceptions. Beck added 70 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Wright City fell victim to its own woes as well on Friday, committing costly penalties.

“It’s not like we’re helping ourselves,” said Sargent. “We had a lot of offsides penalties on offense. I don’t know how we can get offsides based on our snap count. It would be almost impossible, but we struggled.”

The Wildcats’ rushing effort was led by senior Dalton Wiser with 99 yards on 18 carries.

Junior Jake Smith was Beck’s most frequent target, with six catches for 66 yards.

Junior Ian Wolff snagged four receptions for 29 yards.

Defensively, junior Drake Meyers led the way with six tackles.

This week Wright City will host North Callaway on Friday at 7 p.m. in conference action.