A tradition spanning more than 50 years has taken an interesting twist

in recent years. The normally dominant Valley Cup participant Mount Si

Wildcats have fallen twice in the last three years to their new nemesis,

the Cedarcrest Red Wolves, and this year was no exception. The Red

Wolves took back the coveted trophy that they had won in 1997 with a sound

football game against the Upper Valley gridders, winning 16-7.

Notably missing from the game for the Wildcats was veteran Dan

Thompson, who was held out due to a concussion received in a previous

game. In the lineup for the Red Wolves was standout receiver Michael Smith,

who had been rumored questionable for the Valley Cup game.

The key to this game was turnovers, and with two fumbles in the

red zone and two deep in their own territory, the Wildcats gave Cedarcrest

every opportunity possible.

The Red Wolves started from their own 20 as the Brett Bergstrom

kick sailed into the end zone. They moved down the field on runs by Eric

Dick to get to their own 40, but the `Cat defense dug in and held tough, forcing

a punt.

The opening drive gave Wildcat fans a glimmer of hope that their

team would run all over their Cross Valley rivals. Quarterback Byron Dill

orchestrated a drive from his own 35, using the running talents of Jeff

Beckman and David Cole. The powerful Cole moved the ball to the Cedarcrest

20 where the unthinkable happened: with 3:41 left in the first quarter, the

`Cats fumbled and the Red Wolves recovered.

Cedarcrest tried going to the air on their next drive but the pass

coverage was sticky. Runs by Dick didn’t gain much yardage, forcing a punt.

Dill again came out to lead the Wildcat charge on the backs of

Cole and Beckman. The first quarter ended midway through the drive at

nothing-nothing but the Wildcats kept going. Cole, a veteran of the `Cat

running game, showed his true talent in what may have been his last game ever.

He powered his way through the defensive line several times, gaining

big yardage on each run.

Finally, from 10 yards out, Dill rolled out with the keeper and

scampered into the end zone. The extra point kick by Bergstrom was good

and with 6:59 left in the first half, Mount Si led 7-0.

Cedarcrest’s next drive looked to capitalize in the hands of

wide-receiver Smith but coverage by Ben Veyna and Bergstrom made it

difficult. Geoff Hise added a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and the Red

Wolves were again forced to punt.

The game went back and forth with both teams punting as the

clock ticked down to end the first half. Mount Si had a slight but fragile

7-0 lead heading into locker room, but the first half was likely the most

impressive for the `Cats, as they would soon find out.

Two plays into Mount Si’s first drive of the second half, the

unthinkable happened again, a fumble on their own 26. Dick again pounded

the middle, and from four yards out, Morgan Henley found his way into the

end zone. Ben Frey added the point after, and the game was tied at seven each.

Both teams would have stunted drives until near the end of the

third quarter. On their first play of possession, Dick broke free from the

pack and rambled 57 yards for the touchdown. The Red Wolves were then

penalized for too much celebrating and the penalty was assessed on the

point-after attempt. Frey missed the mark from 25 yards out, so with 3:34 left

in the third quarter, Cedarcrest had the lead, 13-7.

Mount Si quarterback Jon Odom trotted on the field, hoping to lead

a scoring drive for his team, but again on second and nine, the `Cats

fumbled, this time on their own 25. Cedarcrest would capitalize once again, this

time with a field goal by Frey from the 15- yard line, making the score 16-7 at

the end of the third.

Mount Si had several opportunities to score in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, on the Red Wolves’ 10- yard line, the `Cats fumbled

another time, with Cedarcrest recovering. Then, with 3:23 left in the game

and on the 7-yard line of Cedarcrest, they fumbled the ball away again.

The icing on the cake was a pass interception by Cedarcrest with

1:51 left in the game. One first down and a few drops to the knee by the

quarterback ended Mount Si’s hopes of keeping the trophy.