Wildcats save the best for last, come up short at Southridge

By Dave Pearce

The goal of every football team in Indiana is to be playing their best football at the end of the season. The Mount Vernon Wildcats attained that goal on Friday night at Southridge, despite falling 25-7 to the Raiders. But a play here or there, or a call here or there, or having players out that have been lost to injury throughout the season would likely have made the difference.

However, Mount Vernon Head Coach Justin Fischer was not disappointed in his team or their performance. They had lost a lop-sided affair a few weeks ago at home and gave the Raiders all they wanted in the opening round of the sectional in Huntingburg. Going into this season, Fischer believed in his team with 16 seniors. He knew he had talent and experience but there was one hole in the win calculation…that was depth. That reared its ugly head at Southridge.

The kids battled extremely hard for three quarters,” Fischer said proudly. “Unfortunately, we were a little short-handed with injuries. However, give Southridge credit, they have kids that play with a lot of grit.”

The two teams battled to a 7-7 half-time score and well into the third quarter, it looked like it could be anyone’s ballgame. But that’s when it happened, likely the game’s deciding play.

The Raiders had scored and led 13-7 but the Wildcats were coming right back at them. But a fumble inside the Raiders’ five yard line cost the Wildcats some of their intensity and it only took a minute for the Raiders to go for the jugular.

“We were right there with a number of chances to win. Too many turnovers and stalled drives inside Southridge territory,” Fischer said in explanation. “Trailing 13-7, we turned the ball over at Southridge’s four yard line. The next play, they broke a 70-yard run on the last play of the third quarter. I think that kind of broke our will.”

On paper, the game was essentially even. But the Raiders must have learned something from watching the Wildcats and Shane Krieger’s dominating performance during last week’s rival game against North Posey. Krieger ran wild against the Vikings but was not afforded that opportunity against Southridge. Krieger gained a total of 54 yards on 26 carries, with the longest run being four yards. But the Wildcats turned to their passing game and enjoyed a lot of success.

Ryder Snodgrass hit on 22-of-41 passes for a total of 232 yards and a score. He did, however, have a pair of passes picked off by the Raiders. As usual, his favorite target was senior Nash Hostetter who finished with 10 catches for 84 yards. Luke Weintraut also had a good night, finishing with two catches but for 53 yards. Logan Clowers caught three passes for 42 yards and Brady Schickel finished with four catches for 18 yards. Overall, seven players caught passes on the night for the senior-dominated Wildcats with Cael Collins and Krieger, each catching a pass for double-digit yardage.

But the Raiders simply did not allow the Wildcats to establish a ground game. Aside from Krieger, Snodgrass carried for 37 yards on five carries and Sain Henderson had two carries for a yard. Krieger also came up with a big interception and brought it back 38 yards while Weintraut and Collins handled the kick-off return duties. Weintraut had three kick-off returns for a total of 49 yards and Collins had one for six.

Ironically, the Wildcats had 18 first downs to only 11 for the Raiders and the Wildcats finished with 324 total yards to 341 for the Raiders. The Wildcats had a pair of turnovers to only one for the Raiders. Each team had four penalties.

“I am extremely proud of this group, given the adversity and number of injuries we faced throughout the season, Fischer said with pride. “Us having a winning record of 6-4 is a really good accomplishment. If things would have broken differently, I think we could have accomplished more. But that’s football and life. I’m very proud of this group and season.”

Defensively, Krieger and Schickel had seven tackles apiece while Clowers and Bryce Bourne had five apiece. Weintraut, Henderson and Kalem Harris had three each. Temme and Snodgrass finished with two apiece while Jaden Railey and Trevan Bell had one apiece.