After a tough loss to Bowling Green the week prior, the Wright City football program dominated in a 49-14 win over Louisiana on Sept. 20. 

Duan McRoberts led the Wildcats with four touchdowns, reaching the end zone twice on 70-yards runs and a 44-yard touchdown reception from Dayton Humphreys that put the Wildcats ahead 21-6 in the opening quarter. McRoberts’ final touchdown came on an 85-yard fumble recovery in the final quarter. The senior totaled 222 yards on offense (178 yards rushing and 44 yards receiving).

“He’s an explosive player. He’s just tough to bring down with one tackler,” Head Coach Tyler Rickard said. 

In addition, Kayden Allison had a 14-yard touchdown run, Jersiah Higgins had a 25-yard touchdown reception from Humphreys and Gavin McCord added a two-yard touchdown run late in the fourth. 

Humphreys bounced back this week to complete six of seven passes for a career-high of 120 yards and two touchdowns.

Leading up to the game, Rickard knew they had an advantage with their receivers against Louisiana’s defensive backs, so they wanted to throw the ball more. 

“[Humphreys] did a good job of reading the secondary and making the right throw, and our receivers made good plays, so it just worked out really well,” Rickard said. 

Rickard added the team went through some growing pains the first three weeks, but they were able to really show progression last Friday night that he is hoping will translate into more games.

“We’re able to develop this passing attack that’s going to complement an already very dangerous rushing attack,” Rickard said. “We’re able to show that we have more than just one person that’s going to carry the ball and that’s something we need to continue to see throughout the season.”

Rickard is pleased with the defense's progression as well and noted it was a good sign that they were able to bounce back after Louisiana scored a 91-yard touchdown in the first quarter. 

Rickard said that outside of the first play, the defense did a good job with creating havoc for Louisiana's offense. 

“Our run defense was solid, our defensive linemen did a good job creating issues, and then our linebackers were all over the place making tackles,” Rickard said. “Just a really sound effort from our defense.” 

The Wildcats totaled six tackles for losses. McCord and Evan Baum led in tackles with nine each. Ben Rodriguez had one interception and Wright City’s defense did not allow any completed pass to be made. 

While overall, Rickard was pleased with the growth the team is showing, he noted that it’s important they do not become complacent. 

“We have to take the next step. We can’t stay where we are, because we have to continually get better each and every week,” Rickard said. 

The Wildcats, who are now 2-2 on the season, will be back at home Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. to take on Mark Twain.