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Kilgore subdues Wildcats, 27-16
Although the game plan sounded simple, it was effective as the Bulldogs controlled the ball and the clock and handed Whitehouse a 27-16 defeat in the district opener for both teams at Wildcat Stadium. The Bulldogs produced the game's first big play on its second possession of the game. After starting the drive at its own 1-yard line, a second down pass up the right sideline moved the ball to the Wildcat 47, and then the Bulldog running game moved the ball inside the 10 before producing the game's first points on a 2-yard run. After the Whitehouse offense went three and out on its next possession, the Bulldogs drove deep into Whitehouse territory only to be turned away by safety, Steven Hicks, who picked off a pass in the end zone to turn away the Bulldogs and preserve only a seven point deficit.
The Wildcats got inside the Kilgore 10-yard line, but could not get in the end zone and turned the ball over on downs. Kilgore, however, turned the ball back over to Whitehouse on the next play, and Attaway hit Bart Henderson in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. Taylor Burns hit the PAT to tie the score at 7-7 with 10:07 to play in the second quarter. The Bulldogs got the lead back on its next possession when a long pass play would key the scoring drive that ended in a 2-yard TD run to give them the lead back at 14-7. On the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats fumbled the ball when Perdue was stripped on the run back, and Kilgore was set up to build on its early first half lead. After moving the ball on the ground inside the Whitehouse 10, Kilgore again suffered another costly turnover when C.J. Hallett picked off a fade route in the end zone to keep the Wildcats close at the half. The first three games of the season had produced second half comebacks by the Wildcats, and the Whitehouse fans were ready to see another one against Kilgore. Whitehouse took the second half kickoff and moved deep into Kilgore territory, but could not convert a fourth down pass to Asher Williams when it appeared that he was interfered with, but Whitehouse did not get the call. The next two possessions for the Wildcats produced no first downs as dropped passes continued to haunt the Wildcat offense. Another big play went towards the Bulldogs as Ace Estrella's punt went off the side of his foot and gave Kilgore great field position at the Wildcat 30-yard line. The Kilgore offense took advantage, and a short scoring drive ended on a 1-yard scoring plunge to extend the lead to 21- 7 with only 9:18 remaining. Whitehouse still had some fight left, and after a pass completion to Henderson moved the ball to the 47, Attaway hit Perdue for a 53-yard touchdown strike. With Burns' PAT, the lead was cut in half to 21-14. Kilgore got another break on the ensuing kickoff as a 15-yard facemask penalty against the Wildcats set them up again in good field position at midfield. The drive killed time and moved the ball down inside the 20 before the defense forced a field goal attempt that was missed giving Whitehouse the ball with 47 seconds left. Kilgore got its final score when Henderson fumbled trying to get out of bounds on a reception, and the Bulldogs went the other way on the recovery for the score. The PAT at the end of regulation was blocked, and Jarone Reddick picked up the ball and carried it the other way for the two point score to make the final score 27-16 in favor of the Bulldogs. "If someone had told me that Kilgore would have only 14 points through three quarters, I would have felt confident that we would win the game," said Coach Randy McFarlin after the game. "As it turned out, it was not the points but how Kilgore controlled the ball and kept moving the chains. We never got anything going offensively. "Overall, we just didn't make enough plays to win a game against a good team," stated McFarlin. Coach McFarlin addressed the team after the game encouraging them to not look back on the poor performance but rather to look ahead to the next week. He challenged his team by telling them "district nor the playoffs are determined in week one." Tomorrow the Wildcats are on the road to Jacksonville as they battle the Indians and look to bounce back and even their district record. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
Individual Statistics: Rushing - Perdue 1-17, Ponce 7-10, Cashion 1-4 Receiving - Henderson 8- 100, Perdue 5-89, Williams 2-15, Johnigan 1-10 Passing - Attaway 17-30-215- 1 |
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