Cats avoid upset

Photo/Jim Jackson Matt Ponce waves off a defender in the Wildcats win over Hallsville Friday night. Trailing at halftime, Whitehouse scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seal the 34-20 win over the Bobcats.

When a team looks back on a successful season, there is always one game that you look at that was "the difference" in the rest of the season.

Last Friday's game at Wildcat Stadium may have been that game for this year's Wildcat squad.

What remains to be seen is how the Wildcats will respond to their second half charge as they head down the stretch of the District 12-4A race in what will be a tough and hopefully memorable finish.

Just as Pine Tree had come in winless in district play a week ago, Hallsville came into last week's game against Whitehouse with a 0-3 district mark, but many felt like they were a much better team than that record reflected.

Those feelings came to life as Hallsville took advantage of a stagnant Whitehouse offense in the first half and threatened to ruin Whitehouse's season before the Wildcat defense stepped up in the second half.

Photo/Jim Jackson Seth Cashion picks up yardage for the Wildcats in their 34-20 win over Hallsville.

The Wildcat's offense found a running game behind a gutsy performance by sophomore back, Chad Lewis, to come from behind and defeat the Bobcats, 34-20.

Things started grim for the home team as Whitehouse failed to convert a fourth and inches on its first possession as QB Brady Attaway was stopped on a quarterback sneak.

The defense then dug in and forced a punt, but the offense could not get on track in its second series either and had to punt.

On its third possession, Whitehouse started to roll as Trey Johnigan picked up 25 yards on a third down pass from Attaway to move the ball into Hallsville territory to the 27.

From there, Attaway hit Lesley Perdue, and he was able to break a tackle along the sideline on his way to a 27-yard TD, and with Taylor Burn's PAT, the Cats had the 7-0 lead.

Hallsville then began a drive that took them deep into Wildcat territory, but a fourth down fumble gave the ball back to the Cats.

Whitehouse could not take advantage of the turnover, and Hallsville took the punt and started a drive at its own 35.

The drive ended with a nineyard TD run on a third down and eight, but the PAT was no good. Whitehouse hung to a 7-6 lead.

Then the first game-changing play of the night occurred. After failing to pick up a first down on its next possession, Whitehouse turned the ball over on a bad snap on the punt attempt.

Hallsville took advantage by scoring on a 13-yard drive that ran off the final 32 seconds of the half to take a 13-7 lead into the half.

Hallsville started the second half with the ball on its own 22. On second and long, Hallsville QB Jimaun Williams eluded two Whitehouse rushers and found a receiver down the field to the Whitehouse 47.

Later in the drive, Williams got loose from tacklers and completed a fourth and 14 pass for a first down to the Wildcat 7.

The drive ended on a 7-yard run up the middle for the score, and Hallsville suddenly looked prime for the upset leading 20-7 with 7:00 left in the third quarter.

Whitehouse could not cross midfield on its next possession, and Ace Estrella's punt was big and was downed by Whitehouse at the Bobcat two-yard line.

Then the game turned towards the Wildcats as Williams scrambled past the first down marker, but the ball was stripped by Seth Cashion, and Estrella recovered the loose ball at the Bobcat 16.

The drive ended with Attaway finding Lewis on an eight-yard shovel pass for the score and the Wildcats were back in the game trailing only 20-14 with 1:49 remaining in the third period.

Whitehouse forced a punt on Hallsville's next possession, and Bart Henderson got a good return on the punt back to the Hallsville 37 to set the Wildcats up with good field position.

Matt Ponce carried the ball on the first play and picked up five yards, and a 15-yard personal foul moved the ball to the Hallsville 12-yard line.

Whitehouse ran the ball inside the ten, and Cashion picked up the first down on a third down to move the ball to the three.

Two plays later, Cashion got through the hole created by the offensive line for the score, but the PAT hit the crossbar. The game was locked at 20 all with 8:29 remaining.

The defensive line led by Julian Broaddus and Aubrey Kennedy and linebackers Taylor Sulser and Cody Brown were now putting more and more pressure on Williams, and Hallsville had to punt again on its next series.

When most looked for Attaway to pass the Wildcats down the field, it was the sophomore, Lewis who stepped up with big runs and got a key first down on a third and 11 on a screen pass.

Hallsville then self-destructed one more time when a 15-yard roughing call was made after Attaway let go of the pass.

The play could have resulted in a turnover as the pass was intercepted at the Hallsville 10, but instead the Cats found themselves at the Bobcat 36.

Lewis then went back to work, and with another 15-yard penalty against Hallsville for a late hit, the Wildcats got inside the ten.

Lewis then did the rest on two runs, the second led to a five-yard score giving the Cats the lead at 27-20, and their first lead since 7-0 early in the game.

Now at desperation time, Williams was sacked on three straight plays, one by Broaddus, one by Brown, and the final one by Sulser on fourth down at the Bobcat one.

After Hallsville was forced to turn the ball over on downs, Whitehouse was able to clinch the win as Cashion bowled through for the one-yard score and the victory, 34-20.

"I was proud of how we found something inside and came back in the second half," stated Coach Randy McFarlin after the game.

"That was a tough win and now we have to really step up on the road next week at Henderson," said McFarlin.

With the win, the Wildcats remained in second place in the district race tied with Kilgore at 3-1, with a huge road game next week against Henderson and then the final two games against district leaders, Marshall and Nacogdoches, both sitting at 4-0.

Now the question remains. Can this year's Wildcat team overcome some shaky plays in the past two weeks to play its best football of the year down the stretch?

The Cats will have to rise up over the next three weeks of the season, and the Wildcats will have to play with "Power, Passion, and Pride" in order to get into the playoffs.

		Score By Quarters
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Whitehouse	7	0	7	20	34
Hallsville	6	7	7	0	20

Individual Statistics:

Rushing - Lewis 7-39-1, Ponce 6-18, Cashion 4-6-2

Receiving - Perdue 5-53-1, Johnigan 1-20, Lewis 2-19-1, Williams 2-15

Passing - Attaway 17-25-135-2