Adam Howe
Sports Editor
The Wildcats had three rushers eclipse the century mark and the offense racked up nearly 500 yards in a wild 46-28 win over South Callaway at home on Friday night in one Class 2 District 3 semifinal.
Uncustomarily, the visiting Bulldogs won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, but Warsaw forced a punt and quickly went to work.
The Wildcats got on the board first on a 6 yard touchdown run by Josh Harvath; the first of several on the night for the sophomore ball carrier. The PAT was no good after a bad snap but Warsaw went up 6-0.
With the Green and Black defense holding tight, the Wildcats scored again late in the opening period on another Harvath run, this time from 1 yard out. A sweet shovel pass to Jayce Depriest from Garrett Ferguson for the 2-point conversion was successful, however, the play was negated on a penalty. Gemes came back on to try the 30-yard PAT, it sailed right, but the Wildcats extended their lead to 12-0.
South Callaway closed the gap on their next possession on a 7 yard run by quarterback Tayber Gray. Gray also converted the 2-point try to make it 12-8 with 3:51 left to go in the first half.
Warsaw's next score was no less than dramatic as Ferguson led the troops downfield. A big-time 38 yard completion to Jase Hubert got the Wildcats into the red zone and with no time left on the clock, Ferguson scored on a 1-yard run. The ''Cats 2-point attempt fell short once again, but at the half, it was Wildcats, 18; South Callaway, 8.
For fans in the stands, the third quarter was entertaining as it provided nearly half of the scoring of the entire game.
After receiving the kickoff, Warsaw marched down the field and hit paydirt on another Harvath run from 5 yards out. Gemes came on to put thru the PAT and the Wildcats lead swelled to 25-8.
But just under one minute later, the Bulldogs narrowed the margin again, this time on a 1 yard run by Gray. Gray's pass was intercepted by Harvath on the 2-point try, and the Wildcats still held a two score advantage, 25-14.
For the Warsaw faithful, things got too close for comfort. The Bulldogs recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff and under one minute later, they scored again on a powerful 41 yard touchdown run by Owen Rees. The 2-point attempt was no good, but things got tight at 25-20.
The Wildcats showed that their offense can strike quickly too when Depriest rattled off a 54 yard run that ended in the paint. Gemes nailed the PAT and Warsaw led, 32-20.
Harvath's fourth touchdown of the night, a 20 yard run and another Gemes PAT capped the scoring in third and the Wildcats led 39-20.
Oliver Robertson got in on the scoring for Warsaw on a 5 yard run in the fourth and Gemes put another PAT thru for a 46-20 lead and a Gray pass to Nathan Hecktor from 6 yards out, followed by a 2-point conversion rounded out the scoring for the 46-28 win for the Wildcats.
Hubert sealed the deal with a late interception.
Depriest led Warsaw with 162 yards on the ground and 1 score while Harvath was second with 134 yards while tallying 4 touchdowns. Ferguson also finished in triple digits with 103 yards and 1 rushing touchdown. He was also 4 for 8 passing for 58 yards with 1 interception.
Robertson added 3 carries for 19 yards and 1 TD for the Wildcats.
Hubert hauled in 1 pass for 38 yards, Depriest also had 1 for 12 and Gemes was on the receiving end of 2 passes for 8 yards.
Gemes also went 4 for 5 on his PAT's.
For the defense Drake Murrell led the team with 4.5 tackles, including 2 quarterback sacks. Sonny Garrett tallied 4 individual tackles. Devon Boul and Hubert both contributed 3.5 and 3 each were added by Harvath, Riley Taylor and Kendall Bagley.
Robertson also had 1 sack of the Bulldogs quarterback.
With the win, Warsaw punched their ticket to the district championship game this Friday when they'll take on Father Tolton Catholic (10-0) in Columbia.
That game is slated for a 7:00 PM kickoff. Digital tickets only will be accepted, cost is $6. Those tickets can be purchased by visiting https://www.mshsaa.org/tickets.aspx.
Or like always, fans are also encouraged to tune in to watch the Wildcats webcast on BCE TV with Matt Dove, Drew Burdick and Adam Howe. However, as a reminder, the game is only allowed to be streamed via mshsaa.tv.
