CLARK FORK – Friday night’s game saw a 42-14 win for the Clark Fork Wampus Cats over the Wallace Miners.
With the team down in the first half, that left them with nothing to prove, coach Brian Arthun said.
The festivities began with a 62-yard pass from Miners quarterback Landon Streeter to running back Julian Davis, who ran it in just a minute in the first quarter. Two-point conversion failed.
Less than a minute later, Wampus Cats running back Chase Sanroman ran the ball 48 yards to tie the game. The Cats also fell short on the two-point conversion.
The first quarter went into overtime, with Clark Fork’s Jackson Clemens registering a turnover with a minute and a half remaining.
In the second quarter, Wallace had the Cats on the ropes. Wallace quarterback Parker Goldade scored on a stealth shot from the one-yard line, then did the same for the two-point conversion to put Wallace ahead 14-6 midway through the second quarter .
Clark Fork quarterback Ethan Howard made almost the same play, sending the ball one yard away, but the Cats didn’t get the conversion. The teams entered halftime with Wallace leading 14-12.
But something happened during those ten minutes in the locker room.
When Clark Fork appeared, they had a theme. As Arthun said, “hit hard”.
And they hit hard. Wallace struggled to advance even a few yards for most of the second half and failed to score again. Defensive lineman Antonio Mayorga had several blocks that could be compared to smashing your bike into a brick wall.
Mayorga also doubled as a ball carrier and, less than four minutes into the second half, he found dirt in the middle from three yards out. Sanroman followed that up with a successful two-point conversion.
With 2:30 left in the third quarter, defensive back Hank Barnett intercepted a pass and on the next play, Sanroman sent the ball into the end zone. Tight end Clemens then grabbed the ball for two more points to end the third quarter with Clark Fork up 28-14.
The fourth quarter saw another touchdown from Sanroman, who kicked the ball from the 10-yard line just over a minute into the quarter. They opted for and didn’t get the two-point conversion.
The final touchdown was scored by offensive linemen Wyatt Mintken. With 4:30 left in the game, Mintken raced the ball down the middle, pushing through Wallace’s defensive line to score at 40-14. The two-point conversion was scored by offensive linemen Hudson McDaniel.
For their next game, Arthun wants the team to focus on strengthening their defensive formation from the gitgo. “They woke up in the second half.”
The Wampus Cats hope to repeat their success in an away game against Logos in Moscow next Friday.