Wildcats come up big in second half for win

Maybe you could call last week's home opener a revenge game for the Whitehouse Wildcats.

It was the second game of the 2006 season when Whitehouse traveled to Sulphur Springs and suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of the hometown Wildcats.

However, without that loss, Whitehouse may have never made the personnel changes that it did which led to a memorable season and raised expectations to an all time high going into the current season.

Whatever way you want to look at last week's game, it was an important game for the Wildcat football team for many reasons.

The game would help Whitehouse build towards the district season; it would prove that expectations for the season were valid; and it would show if Whitehouse could win a home opener for the second year in a row.

All of these things were accomplished after Whitehouse pulled away in the second half for a 38-22 victory to start the season 2-0.

The Whitehouse offense came out with something to prove after the prior week's slow start at Forney and jumped out to a 6-0 lead when QB Brady Attaway hit Asher Williams for a 38-yard connection on the first play from scrimmage.

The play followed a 50-yard kickoff return by Bart Henderson to set up great field position. On the Wildcats' third possession of the night, RB Matt Ponce would burst through on a draw play that would go 50 yards to the Sulphur Springs' 40-yard line.

This would set up a 35-yard strike from Attaway to Jacob Holmen down to the three-yard line. Lesley Perdue hauled in a three-yard strike for the TD that moved the Whitehouse lead to 12-0.

The Whitehouse defense started out solid, and Ace Estrella received the first of four interceptions for the Wildcats on Sulphur Springs' next possession to put the offense back in business at the Whitehouse 40.

The drive was highlighted by a third down pass to Perdue and a fourth down run by Seth Cashion to move the chains before Attaway hit Henderson with an 18-yard TD pass.

The Cats missed the PAT for the second time on the night to put the lead at 18-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter turned into a nightmare for Whitehouse that saw Sulphur Springs put up 22 unanswered points on three TD passes of 12, 37, and 75 yards.

The 12-yard score was set up by a 48-yard pass completion on third and long. While the defense was bitten by the big play bug, the offense became its own enemy with a fumble by Henderson trying to get extra yards and an interception by Attaway.

The lead for Sulphur Springs could have been even higher, but a deep pass right before the half was dropped in the end zone.

The Wildcats found themselves in a familiar position, as for the second week in a row, they trailed at halftime.

Just as in week one at Forney, Whitehouse came out determined in the third quarter, and the tone was set by the special teams when they pinned Sulphur Springs back deep on the second half kickoff.

The defense then took the field and got a three and out series to get the ball back to the offense. The drive was kept alive by a third down catch by Heath Mayo but stalled at the Sulphur Springs' 43 on a fourth and two.

Whitehouse decided to go for it on fourth down and came up big as a fake to Cashion on the dive up the middle froze the Sulphur Springs' defense.

Attaway then tossed a 43- yard TD pass to Julian Broaddus who slipped into the secondary out of the backfield to claim the lead back for Whitehouse by a score of 24-22.

The next series for Whitehouse produced another fourth down call. Attaway hit Henderson to move the chains.

Attaway later found Henderson again on a 2-yard slant in the end zone for the score. Taylor Burns' PAT built the lead to 31-22 with 3:42 left in the third period.

The Whitehouse defense buckled down after giving up some big pass plays in the first half.

Broaddus would provide pressure from his defensive end position while tackles Aubrey Kennedy and Gavin Green came up the middle to force three interceptions in the second half.

Estrella would get his second pick of the night, while freshman, Quincy Aldridge, would get his first two picks of the season.

The offense finished the scoring when Attaway hit Mayo for a 25-yard scoring strike on third and long. Burns' PAT ended the score at 38-22 for the night.

"The big plays definitely hurt tonight. We have some young guys back there, and they are going to blow coverages early, but we came back in the second half and controlled the game on defense," stated Coach Randy McFarlin.

"We made a big improvement on kickoff coverage from the Forney game, and our offense provided a big spark early and played a good second half to get the lead back and pull away," McFarlin said.

Coach McFarlin was very excited after the game when talking about the crowd at Wildcat Stadium.

"That was great to see the fans come out and support these young men. I know the stands are getting full each home game, and I am asking the fans to be patient as we look at a way to help provide additional seating," Coach McFarlin stated.

The Wildcats travel to Mabank tomorrow night to try and extend their record to 3-0 before an off week that will lead to the home district opener against Kilgore on Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Individual Statistics:

Rushing - Ponce 13-135, Hernandez 6-17, Printers 3-11, Cashion 2-3

Receiving - Perdue 8-73-1, Williams 5-56-1, Mayo 3-52-1, Henderson 6-43-2

Passing - Attaway 27-42-301- 6-2, McDaniel 1-2-11

Wildcat Note: Season ticket sales doubled from last year, and home game tickets are scarcer for each home game. Remember that tickets are available for sale Tuesday-Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Friday until 11:30 a.m. in the Athletic Of fice at the high school.