During the fourth home game of the season, the student section stood decked out in pink to support the football team and Breast Cancer Awareness. The Wildcats defeated the Richard Montgomery (RM) Rockets (3-4), 36-20, to stay undefeated at home. This improved their overall record to 6-1.
To start the game, WJ kicked off and RM ran the ball to their own 45 yard-line. The Rockets faked a punt on their first fourth down of the game, which allowed them to get a first down. They tried to convert on fourth down again, but the attempted pass was blocked by senior captain and linebacker CJ Newman.
“I think we were able to adjust on the fly. I think we had a lot of success adjusting mid game and doing what our coach told us to do,” senior defensive end Shane Barrios said.
The Wildcats were able to put six points on the board when junior quarterback Charlie Blessing connected with senior running back Elijah Barringtine multiple times on their opening drive. Barringtine was able to get the first touchdown of the game, which allowed the Wildcats to lead 6-0. The extra point attempt was missed by senior kicker Kevin Lukash.
At the beginning of the second quarter, RM’s offense started to click. They scored a touchdown and led, 7-6. On the following WJ drive, freshman running back Dylan Byrd and junior wide receiver Reid Wisniewski contributed to the WJ offense being able to drive down the field. Wisniewski regained the WJ lead. The Wildcats entered the half up 12-7, after another missed extra point by Lukash.
“It felt great, it was a huge touchdown to put us up in the second quarter. It definitely got our team and I fired up because of how well our offense was moving along with key stops on defense,” Wisniewski said.
In the middle of the third quarter, RM scored their second touchdown of the game. The WJ offense was able to respond with another touchdown by Wisniewski and a successful two-point conversion.
Lukash put points on the board for the first time early in the fourth quarter when he made a field goal. RM retaliated by scoring another touchdown but didn’t get their attempted two-point conversion. Byrd scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter extending the WJ lead.
“I have to give credit to the offensive line, they were making great holes for me. It felt great to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter,” Byrd said.
On RM’s final drive, the WJ defense was able to stop them from scoring. The Wildcats got the ball back with 1:22 left to play which allowed Blessing to take a knee to secure the win.
This Friday, Oct. 21, the Wildcats will travel to face the Seneca Valley Screaming Eagles (5-2) at 6:30 p.m. Seneca Valley is coming off a loss to Northwest, 29-26. The Wildcats are currently fighting for home field advantage in the playoffs.
“Seneca Valley is going to be a battle for us, especially away, at their home stadium. We need to have a great week of practice and go out there and hopefully get the win,” Wisniewski said.
