YATES CENTER — Wildcat coach Ben Wiehn knew going into the season that his team would be out-numbered in many of its games, but as the season continues, the situation continues to worsen for the Wildcats.
During Monday’s 36-8 loss to Northern Heights, that lack of depth was exposed again and again.
“We did not come ready to play and they did,” Wiehn said. “We were not focused at all tonight.”
On the defensive side of the ball, with injuries and suspended players in the front-seven, the Wildcat coaching staff elected to move several secondary players into linebacker roles, which made the secondary even thinner and younger than it already was.
Northern Heights quarterback Mason French was repeatedly able to throw deep and find receivers streaking open downfield.
“We are throwing freshmen out there and they found them,” Wiehn said. “It is tough because you are asking a freshman, a 14- or 15-year old boy, to come out here a play against 17- or 18-year old men and its tough, but when they don’t do their job and responsibility, it makes it even tougher.”
After Northern Heights made it 7-0 on its first drive of the game with an Andrew Reisen short touchdown run, Yates Center was able to force Northern Heights into a third-and-11 on their second drive of the game. That is when French attempted his first pass of the game and he found Chase Weaver for a 28-yard touchdown in the middle of the field in a blown ‘Cover-3’ defense by the Wildcats.
The struggles continued for the embattled Yates Center secondary on the next series with French again going deep on his second pass of the game with a third-and-14 throw which found Nick Boline uncovered and gave Northern Heights a 30-yard gain.
The Yates Center defense was able to hold the Northern Heights offense on downs and get their first stop of the game to keep the deficit at 14-0.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the offense turned in its third-straight three-and-out to begin the game and gave the ball right back the Northern Heights.
French again went deep and found Tee Preisner for a 39-yard gain to set up a one-yard Sam Kehoe touchdown plunge.
Northern Heights — wanting to avoid the return capabilities of Yates Center star Mikey Bruner — kicked an onsides kick on the ensuing kickoff and after it eluded the hands of several Yates Center players, Northern Heights recovered.
A fumbled snap ended that drive for Northern Heights, but with Bruner fighting for extra yards on the next possession, they were able to strip the ball from the Wildcat quarterback one play later and got the ball back.
Two plays later, Northern Heights again went deep, but this time Bruner dropped from his edge-rushing linebacker spot and intercepted the ball 30 yards downfield at the Yates Center 15-yard line.
Bruner ran for 28 yards on the first play of the drive and it looked like Yates Center would be able to narrow the gain right before halftime. However, a negative run on a sweep play forced the Wildcats behind the chains and the drive sputtered out. Northern Heights to a 21-0 lead into the intermission.
At halftime, only one of the Wildcat’s three leading rushers for the season had positive yardage. Brunner had 45 yards on seven carries, but Thayne Smith was held to four carries for minus-11 and John Righini had two carries for minus-12.
The play that was hurting the pair of running backs production is a staple of the Wildcat offense with the jet sweep.
“Every offense has its keys and tells, they were keying on our fullback and making really good plays,” Wiehn said. “One of the keys to that play is cutting hard and we have to have running backs willing to cut and we did not have that tonight.”
With the failure of sweep, that forced the Wildcats to lean on Bruner even more and the senior — who plays quarterback on offense linebacker on defense and is a returner, punter and covers kicks for the special teams — developed a limp in the second quarter.
“You have to have the role players have some success to free up Mikey, because if they don’t (the defense) can just spy him,” Wiehn said. “How many times can you give a kid the ball when nothing else is working?”
Although, he stayed in the game, he struggled to get going in the second half and with him ineffective, the entire Wildcat offense grew dormant.
Three big pass plays by Northern Heights grew the lead to 29-0 on the first drive of the third quarter. Then a 66-yard pass to Preisner late in the third started the running clock with a 36-0 score.
Yates Center senior Logan Tidd scored a late touchdown to avoid the shutout, but the Wildcats’ fate was already sealed.
The 1-2 Wildcats will look to bounce back on Friday when they host Jayhawk-Linn at 7 p.m.
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