‘Cats can’t stop Liberty’s running game; face Skyline next

Published 9:04 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

In their second tough game in as many weeks, the Mount Si Wildcats had their hands full stopping the running game of the Liberty Patriots. And despite several drives into the Patriots’ red zone, the Wildcat’s fell 38-14.

The Wildcats came out with a bang to start the game. Running back Tyler Griffin picked his way through the defense with relative ease for Mount Si. A pass from Alex Smart to Logan Ratcliffe moved the ball into Liberty territory, and Griffin added another run to push the offense to the Liberty 38.

Then on one of the best passing plays of the night, Smart found Brandon Dollinter’s outstretched arms near the goal line. Dollinter appeared to scramble into the end zone, but was called out of bounds at the five. Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, four plays failed to get them into the end zone, and they turned the ball over to Liberty on the 1-foot line.

The rest of the first quarter was spent in a defensive struggle for both teams. Outstanding play by the Wildcats’ John Karlen and Emerson Wetherall stunted a Liberty drive. An interception of a Corey Slater pass by Mount Si’s Brad Trombley thwarted another drive.

The interception set up what appeared to be a possible scoring drive but Smart was intercepted at the Patriots 8-yard line.

With minutes left in the first half, Liberty’s Casey Bishop fired up the offense and began a drive that would result in a touchdown at 3:17 mark. The extra point was good, making the score 7-0 in Liberty’s favor.

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this weeks Valley Record