Wildcats fall on the road

By Kelly Bowen, Staff Writer
Posted 10/25/24

The Wright City football team was on their way to victory on Oct. 18, until the fourth quarter. Leading Montgomery County 28-13 at the end of the third, the Wildcats tried to contain Montgomery, but …

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Wildcats fall on the road

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The Wright City football team was on their way to victory on Oct. 18, until the fourth quarter. Leading Montgomery County 28-13 at the end of the third, the Wildcats tried to contain Montgomery, but lost 33-28. Wright City is now 4-4 in the season and 2-3 in the EMO Conference.  

Head Coach Tyler Rickard said it was a game of many ups and downs. Wright City had jumped to a 21-point lead early in the first quarter, but after Montgomery had 94 snaps compared to Wright City’s 49, the defense became worn out. 

“That kind of discrepancy is hard to overcome. We just weren’t able to get off the field on defense and we weren’t able to stay on the field enough offensively,” Rickard said. 

Going into halftime, the Wildcats felt good. Mason Wendt had scored a two-yard rushing touchdown, Duan McRoberts ran for a 50-yard touchdown and Kayden Allison had a 17-yard touchdown reception. 

They had also just made a huge stop on defense and started the second half scoring another touchdown off of McRobert’s 86-yard run to go up 28-13. 

“Obviously, you’re feeling pretty good at that point, but their offense got rolling and our offense sputtered,” Rickard said. “We had some drives that were going, but then we had some crucial penalties that really set us back.” 

Wright City had 10 penalties which set them back a total of 60 yards. 

The Wildcats also struggled with Montgomery’s passing game, as they completed 32 passes for 377 yards. 

“We tried to give them different looks, different coverages and it just never failed that the quarterback was able to find the one open receiver,” Rickard said. 

The Wildcats were missing a few starters, but Rickard noted that was not an excuse. 

“Those guys would have helped, but we still had plenty of opportunities and we weren’t able to make the most of it,” Rickard said. 

Overall, McRoberts completed five passes for 41 yards and ran 253 yards on 21 carries. Allison received 35 yards. Xavier Stufflebean and Jakob Popp recorded 10 tackles. Stufflebean also recovered a fumble. Gavin McCord had 12 tackles, and Ben Rodriguez and McRoberts both had eight. 

Despite the outcome, Rickard has no doubt in his team. With one last regular season game against North Callaway, Rickard knows his team will be ready. 

“They’ve never failed to respond and to come out and fight. That’s always been a testament of our football team. We're going to fight and we’re going to give you everything we got. So, I don’t doubt that they will do that,” Rickard said. 

Rickard noted the team is coming off two core losses, but they are regrouping and hoping to end the regular season on a positive note. 

“Our kids are great kids and they work hard and they’re not going to just come out and lay an egg. I don’t have any worries about that,” Rickard said. 

Wright City will play at home on Oct. 25 for senior night at 7 p.m. 




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