For Garrett Ferguson, it was the kind of game that little boys dream of while playing in their backyards. And his first touchdown run of 93 yards, on the second offensive play from scrimmage, was just about as easy as Ferguson took advantage of a hole as wide as the Osage River, split the second level and raced the distance for his first touchdown of the night. Logan Gemes nailed the PAT to make it 7-0, and Warsaw was feeling it.
Ferguson called his own number again early in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run and the 'Cats scored again just minutes later on Ferguson's hat trick after an 8-yard touchdown run.
Ferguson capped his near-perfect half with a 10-yard run that ended in paydirt. Gemes was good on every PAT and the Wildcats held a comfortable 28-0 lead at halftime.
"Garrett just did a good job of taking advantage of what their defense was giving us," said Wildcats boss Ryan Boyer. "Defenses pay a lot of attention to our running backs, and when that happens, it helps free him up, as well as others."
Ferguson's big night continued on Warsaw's first drive of the second half when he found Drake Murrell on a 27-yard hook-up that ended with another Wildcats touchdown, only this time through the air. Gemes split uprights again as Warsaw started the turbo clock, up 35-0.
Ferguson finished his big night midway though the third quarter when he plunged in for a 5-yard touchdown run, his fifth of the night on the ground, tying the Wildcats record for rushing touchdowns in a game. Gemes nailed another PAT and the Homecoming crowd went rowdy at the 42-0 onslaught.
"After the first touchdown, I knew it was going to be a good night," Ferguson said. "I had great blocking from the men up front and my running backs, Jayce (Depriest) and Josh (Harvath), and I just made sure that I was running hard."
Warsaw tacked on their final score of the night late in the third period on a 3-yard touchdown run by D'Angelo Ramirez and Gemes' PAT was successful to make it 49-0, all Wildcats.
Sherwood avoided the shutout in the fourth with a short touchdown run, but this night belonged to Ferguson and the Wildcats as they delighted a packed stadium with a 49-7 win.
Ferguson finished with 137 yards on 14 carries and had 5 of the 6 Wildcats' rushing touchdowns. He also connected on 2 of 3 passing for 31 yards and the 1 touchdown strike.
Josh Harvath added 92 yards on the ground on just 8 carries for a hefty average of 11.2 yards per carry.
Murrell and Shane Poyser were on the receiving end of Ferguson's 2 completions. Murrell had the receiving TD.
Murrell also led the Warsaw defense with 7.5 tackles, including 1 quarterback sack and 2 forced fumbles.
Harvath totaled 4 tackles and Brecken Brewster added 3.5. Brewster, Noah Siebert and Dakota Todd all also had sacks of the Marsksman signal caller.
Sean Reinertsen picked up his second interception of the season for the Wildcats defense.
Gemes was an impressive 7 for 7 on his point after tries.
Warsaw (4-0, 2-0) will be back on the road again this week when they travel to Versailles for another OHC contest.
The Tigers (1-3, 1-1) began their season with losses at Knob Noster (40-0) and Eldon (13-12) before getting their first win in week 3 when they hosted Butler (22-14). They lost at Eldorado Springs last week by a 49-8 final.
The Wildcats and Tigers can also be viewed live on BCE TV with Matt Dove and Drew Burdick via www.citylinktv.com.
