Cats one game away from crown

Photo/Jim Jackson QB Brady Attaway looks downfield during the Wildcats' 20-12 victory over the Henderson Lions. Whitehouse has a chance to lock up the district crown tomorrow against Marshall.

All Coach Randy McFarlin could say was that sometimes you win "ugly" and last Friday's home win over Henderson fit into that category.

"I knew that there would be games this year that we would not play real well in, but that because of our talent, we would win," said Coach McFarlin.

"Tonight was one of those games and now we need to adjust and look ahead to a huge game versus Marshall," said Coach McFarlin.

The Wildcats found themselves playing an unfamiliar role last week: district leader and big home favorite vs. the 1-3 Henderson Lions. The problem with that was the visiting team had nothing to lose, and their coaches had them ready for the big upset over the Wildcats.

The Lions came out early and took the opening kickoff down the field to only come up short as a fumble recovery by the Wildcats stopped the early drive.

The Wildcat offense could not generate much, and the Lions got the ball back with time running out in the first quarter. The Lions would take a fourth and nine and come away with a big 36-yard TD completion from Joel Johnson to Doogie Brown to take the lead, 6-0.

Photo/Jim Jackson Jon Harvell looks upfield after picking off a Henderson pass.

The Cats went to the running game (41 attempts for 213 yards on the night) as Henderson left five in the box in an attempt to take away the Wildcats' passing game.

This strategy produced solid runs from Luke Shivers and Jimmy Kennedy and pushed the Cats deep into Lion territory. Kennedy finished off the drive with a 5-yard TD run, and with Paul Metzner's PAT, the Wildcats claimed the lead 7-6 with 9:12 remaining in the second quarter.

The Whitehouse defense, ranked first in district entering the contest, was challenged by the multiple look offense of the Lions, but they forced a punt on the Lions' next possession to give the Wildcat offense plenty of time to build on the lead.

After Shivers picked up seven tough yards to convert a fourth down and one, Kennedy galloped 38 yards to pay dirt, and Metzner's PAT extended the lead to 14-6.

Metzner would then extend the lead to 17-6 on the Wildcats' next possession with a 43- yard field goal right before the half.

Henderson would step up with its own defensive stop to start the second half, and after a Whitehouse punt, Brown would haul in his second TD catch of the night, this time on a 45-yard strike.

The two-point conversion failed, and the Whitehouse lead was cut to 17-12. Later in the period, Whitehouse got deep into Lion territor y, but a Metzner field goal went wide left and the lead would stand.

It started to become apparent that the Wildcat defense would have to step up and make some big plays to keep the fivepoint lead intact as the game entered the final period.

A Whitehouse scoring drive in the middle of the period halted on a holding call, and the Cats would have to settle for another Metzner field goal, this time from 25 yards out, and the lead grew to eight points at 20- 12 with 7:07 left in the game.

The Lions had one more big chance to score in the game as they faced a first and goal from the Wildcat 6-yard line.

After stopping a pass in the end zone, the Wildcats' defense withstood a third down and goal when LB Cody Brown came up with a big tackle on a pass in the flat to force the fourth down.

On fourth down, Johnson dropped back to pass but never got of f the throw as Evan Beaton burst through the line and got a huge sack to give the ball back to the Cats.

Later in the quarter, Jon Harvell picked off an errant pass from Johnson, and the Cats would grind out the clock to go to 5-0 in district play.

Whitehouse hosts Marshall tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.; this is also senior night for the team.

Wildcat Note: Coach Randy McFarlin confirmed Wednesday morning that the Wildcats are assured of a playoff berth, and a share of the district title, regardless of the outcome of the last two games.

Even in the event of a "worstcase scenario," with the Wildcats losing their last two games, the team still advances, said McFarlin.

"I called the district chair, and we're in," said Coach McFarlin.

If the Wildcats win one of their last two games, the team takes the district title.
          Score by Quarter
          1       2     3     4     Final
WH       0       17   0     3     20
Lions     6       0     6     0     12

Individual Statistics:

Rushing - Kennedy 16-112- 2, Shivers 18-81, Hicks 5-10, Attaway 2-10

Receiving - Leonard 4-36, Williams 3-19, Kennedy 5-14. Metzner 1-8

Passing - Attaway 15-24-80