Adam Howe
Sports Editor
In a back-and-forth battle on Saturday morning, the Wildcats let one get away from them when Hogan Prep Academy scored with under one minute left in the game to narrowly nip Warsaw sending them on a long bus trip home with a 22-21 loss.
The Wildcats led 7-0 after a 7 yard touchdown run by Jayce Depriest and a Logan Gemes PAT with three minutes remaining in the first frame.
Hogan bounced back quick though when Dacian Mulderew broke loose on an 86 yard touchdown run less than thirty seconds later. The Rams 2 point try was no good and the Wildcats held a slim 7-6 lead.
Hogan Prep took their first lead with just over three minutes left in the first half when Maurice Thornton connected with Javion Mahone on a crossing route that ended in a 56 yard touchdown reception. This time Malichi Thompson converted the 2 point attempt and Warsaw found themselves in fairly unfamiliar territory, down 14-7 at the half.
Like Wildcats fans are accustomed to seeing, halftime adjustments were made and execution was near flawless on the Wildcats first drive on the second half.
At the 7:58 mark, 'Cats quarterback Garrett Ferguson squeezed in from the 5 yard line for another touchdown, Gemes split the bars for the PAT as Warsaw knotted the game up at 14-14 and that's how the third quarter ended.
The Wildcats reclaimed the lead just inside the fourth period when Harvath scored on a 1 yard TD plunge and Gemes nailed his third PAT of the sultry afternoon to give Warsaw a 21-14 lead.
On the Rams next possession, Depriest flew off of the edge for a sack of Thornton, the ball jarred loose and was recovered by Oliver Robertson giving the ball back to the Warsaw offense. However, the Wildcats failed to exploit the opportunity and that drive ended in a punt.
The Rams final drive of the game was marred by penalties, but most of those came against Warsaw in an uncharacteristic fashion. With just 0:45 remaining on the clock, Javion Mahone snuck across the goal line on a 5 yard touchdown run and with a lowly 1-3 record coming into the game, elected to go for the win on a 2 point play.
Thornton kept the ball, moved to his left, took off and was greeted at the goal line by Wildcats defenders, but momentum carried him in for the go ahead score, 22-21.
Warsaw's final drive ended on an interception and they headed back to Benton County with their second loss in three games.
The Green and Black now stand at 3-2 on the year and 2-0 in the OHC.
The Wildcats offense failed to find much rhythm throughout the contest, failing to get anything going on the ground or through the air.
Harvath led Warsaw with 71 yards, Depriest had 63 and Ferguson finished with 23 rushing yards. Each tallied 1 touchdown apiece.
Ferguson connected on 5 of 8 passing for 56 yards and threw 2 interceptions.
Gemes was perfect once again going 3 for 3 in his PAT's.
Harvath also led the Wildcats defense with 8 tackles while Drake Murrell tallied 5.5. Devon Boul recorded 3.5 tackles and 3 each were also contributed by Depriest and Sean Reinertsen.
The Wildcats will look to right their ship when they travel to Eldorado Springs this Friday night for another Ozark Highlands Conference game. Like usual, that game is set for a 7:00 PM kickoff.
