On Friday, Sept. 6 the Yorktown Wildcats had their first home debut, playing against the Banquette Bulldogs. It wasn’t the start the Wildcats were looking for, as the Bulldogs scored on the opening kickoff, but it was the finish that mattered the most. Yorktown beat Banquette, 34-14 and currently have a 1-1 record. “The one consistent constant between last week and this week is how they fought. They fought hard last week and this week, for four quarters in both games. This game we executed better. I know it didn't start off that way in the first quarter, but they showed resilience. I think they learned alot from last week,” stated Head Coach Ryan Knostman. Their opponents seemed to have all the luck, initially. After returning the opening kickoff Banquette even managed to score two points off of the blocked extra point. Only sixteen seconds had ticked off the clock and Yorktown found themselves trailing, 8-0. The Wildcats responded well. With Daylon Meyer and McKenzie Medina back to return, Banquette tried to onside kick. It did not go far enough and gave possession to the Wildcats on the 49 yard line. Brody Metting would score on the second play, scampering down the right side line. Kason Sullivan added on the extra point, 7-8. 11:04 still remained in the first quarter, and both teams had already found the endzone in this offensive showcase. The Bulldogs took a six yard loss on their first play but on second down with 16 yards needed they managed to find the endzone. They would attempt a two point conversion but were stopped with a tackle by Rylan Rau, 7-14. The Wildcats trailed by one, 13-14 when they had a big defensive stop. After the Wildcats fumbled during a pitch to the running back, Banquette had the ball on the 47 yard line, however Richard Flores made a tackle bringing on fourth down. The opponent went around the end when Ethan Fitts and Matthew Olguin knocked him out of bounds and the ball went over on downs to the Wildcats. Yorktown moved into the red zone but missed the field goal. With 5:16 remaining in the half, Banquette fumbled on the 35 yard line. Metting would scramble for a 54 yard touchdown to give the Wildcats the lead. Sullivan tacked on the extra point, 20-14. During the Bulldogs next possession a series of back to back penalties forced them to punt. Metting would perform his signature move, bolting up the middle before scrambling down the sideline, to the 19 yard line. After connecting with Olguin, quarterback Metting carried the ball four yards into the endzone, 26-14. This time the defensive playmaker was Adam Serbin as he sacked the quarterback for a three yard loss. 4:16 remained in the game when Brayden Knostman handed the ball off to running back Garrett Menn who rushed for eight yards and a touchdown. Sullivan’s extra point attempt sailed through the uprights, ending the scoring of the night, 34-14.
“We preach ‘play the next play’ and I think that is what they did tonight. Offense and defense both did that. If they keep chipping away, eventually they are going to wear down their opponent. That is what happened tonight, we were better conditioned this week than last week. Every week we will continue to become more conditioned. Then when we get into district and are playing schools our size, that’s when our conditioning and our pace is really going to pay off for us.” stated Knostman.
The Wildcats will be back in action on Friday, Sept 13 at home against Skidmore Tynan with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
