Wright City will look to finish the season with a win after falling to undefeated Bowling Green last week. 

Wright City (5-3, 4-2 EMO) dropped a home game to Bowling Green 52-6. Wright City ran 14 more plays than the Bobcats but were outgained 458-160 in the loss. 

“Anytime you play a team at the caliber of Bowling Green, they really make the mistakes that much greater,” Wright City Head Football Coach Tyler Rickard said. “And anytime you make a mistake, it’s just magnified. We had opportunities, and unfortunately we were unable to capitalize on all of those.”

Wright City trailed 16-0 after allowing a pair of Bowling Green rushing touchdowns in the first quarter. Wright City’s lone touchdown of the game came on Duan McRoberts’ 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 24-6. Wright City trailed 40-6 at halftime. 

The Wildcats were able to reach the red zone on two other occasions but were unable to score points on those drives. 

“I was pleased with our ability to move the ball at times on offense,” Rickard said. “We got inside the red zone three times. Unfortunately, we only came away with a score once. So, yes, we moved the ball but we got inside the red zone and weren’t able to execute once we were inside the red zone. And so those are opportunities of both positive and opportunities to learn and grow from.”

McRoberts led Wright City’s offensive attack with 80 yards rushing on 16 carries. McRoberts’ long run of the day was 39 yards. Joey Gendron led Wright City’s aerial attack with 64 yards passing. He completed 5 of 14 passing attempts. Kayden Allison hauled in two catches for 38 yards, including a 42-yard reception. 

McRoberts led the Wildcat defense with three solo tackles. He also had three tackle assists. Carle’on Jones and Quinn Schnarre had two solo tackles and four tackle assists. Schnarre also recovered a fumble. 

“We made them earn it at times, on the option game,” Rickard said. “And then at other times,  we didn’t and they hit us for a big play. And so again, cleaning up those mistakes and making sure that we don’t put mistakes back to back plays. And making sure that we just continue to take games play by play and don’t allow the previous play to have a negative effect on the next play.”

Wright City will wrap up their regular season slate with a home game against Louisiana on Thursday. With a win, Wright City would earn their most regular season and conference wins since 2019. 

“We’ve got a lot to play for,” Rickard said Oct. 17. “We had a good day yesterday of preparation and our guys are excited to get back on the field. One less day of preparation may be seen as a negative at times. But I think for this week, I think it’s going to be a good thing for us because we don’t have to stew on last week’s loss long. We get one less day, we get to get out on the field a little quicker and get that bad taste out of our mouth.”

Kickoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at Wright City High School.