Wildcats fall to Granger Lions in area round

The Yorktown Wildcats faced off with the Granger Lions on Friday, Nov. 19, at Davenport Field for their Area Championship Playoff game. The Wildcats received the ball first and did not squander their opportunity, scoring on their opening drive with a 27-yard pass from Drew Alexander to receiver Kalen Barefield. Andres Archuleta tacked on the extra point. They couldn’t have wanted a better start to the game as they scored again to extend their lead to 13-0. Alexander connected with De’Quan Clay on a 67-yard throw, garnering tons of momentum for the Yorktown team. The Yorktown defense stopped the Lions back-to-back and it appeared the Wildcats were in the position to dominate their opponent. The Wildcats were methodically moving the ball downfield in anticipation of scoring and applying pressure on the Lions. Unfortunately, a pass bounced off the hands of an intended receiver and a Lion player took advantage by catching and scoring a 42-yard interception return with 2:12 left in the first period. On the next drive, a Wildcat player fumbled while running the ball. The first period had a great start, but almost as equally as good of a finish for their foe. The first period concluded with the Wildcats on top, 13-7.

Less than a minute had ticked off and a 52-yard run scored for the Lions, giving them the lead at 14-13. They would punch in again to extend their lead with 4:37 left to play, 21-13. The Lions had their biggest lead of the game so far, but the Wildcats immediately scored to bring the game close in points again at 19-21.  Barefield caught a 9-yard pass in the endzone with 3:05 left in the half. The back and forth scoring continued as the Lions found the endzone on their next drive with 45 seconds left to play at 19-28.

The Lions got the ball to start the second half. They were too much for the Wildcat defense to contain as they scampered into the endzone bringing the score to its large differential, 35-19. Running back Gabe Latta did not return after half due to an injury. It appeared the game was on the brink of getting out of hand, but the Wildcats stepped up to the challenge and demonstrated resilience. The Wildcats refused to give up and hand the game to the Lions as they fought to get points on the board. Clay bulldozed in from the 1-yard line. The Wildcats two-point conversion was good, 27-35.  With 2 minutes left in the third, the Lions scored.

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