We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
These four Wildcats are pretty excited following the teams season opening 28-12 win over the Poplar Indians. They are (L-R) Freshman Hayden Main, freshman Cody McCabe, junior Leon Champagne and freshman Matt Billmayer.
The Harlem Wildcats got their season off to a great start this past Saturday in Poplar. The long time Northern B foes met once again, this time however in a Class C Eight-Man Clash. The Wildcats, now a member of the Northern C, and the Indians representing the Eastern C.
The Wildcats begin the year with a first year Head Coach Trenton Woodward. After weeks of hitting each other on the practice field it was nice to finally see some live game action.
The Wildcats relied heavily on their ground game to move the ball which they did quite effectively all game long. Harlem proved to be rock solid on the defensive side of the ball as well forcing a turnover early in the contest that put the Wildcat offense in business at the Indian one yard line. Junior Thunder Bigby was right on top of things, recovering the fumble to secure the possession for the offense.
Harlem wasted no time, scoring on a one yard touchdown run by senior Clay Adams on the Wildcats very first play from scrimmage. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful leaving Harlem with a 6-0 lead early in the contest.
The Indians responded by putting together a long ball controlled drive that took more than six minutes off the clock. Again the Wildcat defense rose to the occasion, standing tall in the shadow of their own end zone to force a turnover on downs at the six yard line giving the ball back to the offense.
With plenty of green grass in front of them and a long way to the endzone, the Wildcats began drive number two. What transpired next, Coach Woodward explained best, "I have never seen anything like it before on the football field, maybe one time some nearly as spectacular but not like this." In the Wildcats second offensive play off the game, the first of their second possession Woodward describes the action, " We had and outside zone and Adams got hit, fumbled the ball. (Freshman) Ki-Iw Windy Boy went to pick it up and got hit as he went to retrieve it. Which lead to our Quarterback (junior) Leon Champagne scooping it up and running down our sideline for a 74 yard touchdown to put us up 12-0 with 4:00 minutes left in the first."
A short time later the Harlem defense again made a big play with senior Charlie Calvert thwarting a potential scoring drive by the Indians with an interception keeping the momentum in Harlem's favor. The teams exchanged a couple of possessions with neither offense moving the ball to far before Poplar was able to break through and find paydirt, cutting the Wildcat lead in half 12-6.
Harlem respond perfectly, putting together a nice long ball control drive based almost entirely on the run. Adams scored his second touchdown of the contest just before the half and Champagne added the conversion run to give Harlem a 20-6 lead at the break.
During the halftime break Coach Woodward noticed a grass fire burning near the playing field and inquired about the players safety and gaged their level of concern. The Poplar Fire Department arrive on scene just as the halftime intermission was winding down and extinguished the fire.
Both teams struggled on their first couple of possessions to start the second half. Harlem started to see their offense click as time began to wind down in the third quarter. Another solid run ended on a high note culminating with another Adams score. Champagne added the conversion run to put Harlem up 28-6.
The Indians managed to connect on a big play as the third quarter expired scoring what would end up being the final points of the contest. When the final horn sounded the Wildcats had secured a well deserved season opening win over the Poplar Indians to improve to 1-0 on the season.
"Clay Adams was a workhorse for us today," said Coach Woodward. "I don't have all the numbers in front of me, but he had to have gained 190 yards or more to go with his three touchdowns. On defense he was all over the field and made big plays for us numerous occasions." At the end of the day the Wildcat defense forced four turnovers and recorded multiple turnover on downs, thwarting a number of solid drives by the Indians.
When the dust settled Coach Woodward had plenty to say about his teams season opening win, "We were aggressive on defense and forced some turnovers early in the game that helped us get out early on the score board. We need to work on our play up front on both sides of the ball and take care of the ball better. Overall I'm happy with the effort our boys had and excited about the outcome. We have A LOT that we need to clean up this week to prepare for Shelby. They are going to be a very tough test!"
Harlem will be on the road again this weekend as the travel west to face the Coyotes in Shelby. Like the Poplar Indians the Coyotes are old Northern B competitors but this weekends game is a Northern C conference clash. Harlem will host Rocky boy in their home opener on September 9. The game with the North Stars will also be the Wildcats Homecoming contest and will cap a week long buildup throughout the community with the contest being played under the lights Friday night.
The Wildcats will be at home following week as well playing host to the Chinook Sugarbeeters. Senior night will be held on Friday, September 30 when the Wildcats will welcome the Fort Benton Longhorns to town. Harlem will conclude their regular season schedule on the road, Friday, October 7 in Belt against the Huskies.
