Freshmen split with Henderson

Photo/Jim Jackson Jacob Gardner follows blocker Rodney Maxfield upfield in the freshman "B" game.

The Whitehouse freshman split last Thursday with Henderson at Wildcat Stadium with the "B" team falling 28-18 and the "A" team winning 21-8 to remain undefeated in district play.

The "B" team found itself trailing 20-6 at the half, but got a break in the third quarter when Henderson failed on a fourth down conversion.

The Wildcats took advantage when Jacob Gardner went 28 yards to the house for the score to cut the lead to 20-12 at the end of the third quarter.

The Wildcat defense stepped up later in the fourth quarter holding the Lions on downs and taking over at the Henderson 41.

Again, Gardner was the man as he took a handoff on the next play and went 41 yards up the middle for the score, but the two-point conversion failed. Henderson still held on to a slim 20-18 lead with 4:00 left in the game.

Henderson then took the ensuing kickoff and ran out the remaining time and scored, and with the two-point conversion, the final score was 28-18.

The "A" team played solid on both sides of the ball and got a big night from RB Shundrick Beasley to keep its unbeaten district record intact.

On Henderson's first possession of the game, the Lions fumbled, and Melvin Moorman recovered on the Lion 33.

The short scoring drive ended with Beasley crossing the goal line on a 5-yard run, and Johnathan Parker's PAT gave the Wildcats an early 7-0 lead.

After Henderson was forced to punt, Beasley burst through the middle on the Wildcats next play for 44 yards and the score to extend the lead to 14-0 headed into the half.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats continued to pound the ball on the ground with QB Patrick Cook getting into the act with some nice gains.

Late in the third quarter, Cook hit Beasley on a swing pass on a second down and 20 for a first down to the Lion 23. The Lions eventually stopped the drive with an interception at the 2-yard line.

Beasley had one more big run left as he found the goal line from 22 yards out to push the lead to 21-0 at the 7:06 mark in the fourth.

Henderson scored a late TD to get on the board, and the two-point conversion made the final score 21-8.

The freshmen are back in action tonight at Wildcat Stadium as they take on the visiting Marshall Mavericks with the "B" game scheduled to start at 4 p.m. and the "A" game to follow at 5:30 p.m.