On a chilly night in Winfield, a beleaguered Wright City defense stood tall when it mattered most in earning the Wildcats the 14-8 road victory.
Within striking distance on several occasions …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous wesbite, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
On a chilly night in Winfield, a beleaguered Wright City defense stood tall when it mattered most in earning the Wildcats the 14-8 road victory.
Within striking distance on several occasions late in the game, Wright City turned the Warriors away repeatedly. A fact that instilled the deepest pride in Wildcats coach Tyler Rickard, he said.
“As they were driving there with four minutes to go and Winfield inside the 30, I was thinking how we needed a stop,” Rickard said. “Sure enough, they got us a stop.”
The final stop came when senior Quinn Schnarre intercepted a pass at the Wright City 24 with the Warriors driving to take the lead.
Schnarre, who had just returned from a minor leg injury, said he knew how big the defensive effort was in the win.
“It means everything to get that,” Schnarre said. “It wasn’t just me, though; the whole defense brought the energy tonight. Knowing I could go out there with my guys and make a big play, it means a lot.”
Before that, senior lineman Ayden Dile produced a sack on fourth-and-3 from the Wright City 31 with 11:03 left to snuff out another Winfield drive.
“It was unexpected how hard we had to fight,” Dile said. “It was great to come out as a team and get it done. It felt great to be the guy in the middle on that stop, but all the guys did it.”
While it was the defense that ultimately sealed the deal, Benji Rodriguez got things humming on the scoreboard for Wright City.
First, the junior returned a Winfield punt 60 yards with 1 minute, 57 seconds left in the first quarter and, after a PAT by senior kicker Kaleb McCory, the Wildcats led 7-0.
The lead doubled to 14-0 after a 29-yard run with 10:40 left in the second quarter capped a defense four-play drive, and McCory once again added the PAT.
“My first touchdown ever was that return, and it was super-exciting,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t think I was going to make it, but I did, thanks to my blockers. My rushing touchdown was thanks to my line. They do it all.”
From there, things went downhill for the Wildcats' offense as a second unsportsmanlike penalty to senior quarterback Dayton Humphreys resulted in his disqualification.
Shortly after, a bad snap on a punt was recovered in the end zone with 6:40 left in the second quarter to make the score 14-2 Wildcats.
Winfield added the final points of the half as junior Blake Norton hauled in a 23-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Beau Schulte to make it 14-8 with 29 seconds left in the half. After a bad PAT snap and that’s where the game stood at the half.
The Wildcats attempted to extend the lead with 3:17 left in the third quarter, but a 34-yard field goal attempt sailed wide.
Wright City (1-1) will return home next week to take on Bowling Green at 7 p.m. Friday.
See more coverage in the Sept. 11 edition of The Record.
