We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
The Harlem Wildcats' wild 64-36 loss to the Poplar Indians in Harlem Friday evening was a classic tale of two halves.
Harlem took the opening kickoff and promptly fumbled the ball away to the visiting Indians. Poplar needed a short fourth-down carry to get its first score of the evening with 10:41 left in the first quarter. The extra point was good, giving the visitors a brief 7-0 lead.
The Wildcats then capitalized on their first play from scrimmage, picking up a first down out near the 30 with sweep a to the left. Senior quarterback Leon Champagne wasted no time in unleashing a 30-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Matthew Timmons. Timmons adjusted his speed, let the ball drop into his arms, and scampered another 20 yards unhampered into the endzone for six. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, and the Wildcats trailed by just one point, 7-6.
A litany of miscues, penalties and turnovers by the young squad in its first game of the season allowed Poplar to take a commanding lead by halftime that threatened to activate the mercy rule.
Poplar's returner received Harlem's kickoff at his own 18-yard line and promptly scurried 38 yards to the Wildcats' 24-yard line.
The Wildcats' defense stiffened under an impressive array of gang tackling. The Indians were forced to pick up four yards on fourth down in order to stay alive. Their quarterback avoided the swarming 'Cats on a keeper to the right, slipping a couple of would-be tacklers on his race to the endzone. The score stood at 13-6 when Poplar teed up the ball again.
The Wildcats' offense looked strong after sophomore Miles Fetter's kick return to the 27-yard line. Sophomore Cody McCabe opened with a three-yard run, which he followed up with a nine-yard jaunt to the 'Cats' 39-yard line.
Champagne then fired another strike for a first-down at Poplar's 11-yard line. The next shotgun snap soared over Champagne's head, leaving his team with a second-and-24 at the 25-yard line.
Champagne's seven-yard keeper was called back via a holding penalty, which put the ball at the midfield stripe. A motion penalty on the next play moved the ball into Wildcat territory at the 35.
Sitting at fourth and 44 yards to go, the 'Cats were forced to punt.
Poplar capped its next drive with a nine-yard romp up the middle with just 21 seconds left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the score stood at 19 to 6 going into the second stanza.
Early in the second quarter, Harlem moved into Poplar territory again. A 15-yard face mask penalty moved the ball down near the 10. A second face-mask violation placed the 'Cats near Poplar's two-yard line.
A pile up at the one-yard line on a fourth-and-goal play turned the ball over to Poplar on downs.
Poplar went on to beef up its lead to 44 points, 50-6, before McCabe unleashed a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Harlem successfully completed a two-point conversion to close the gap to 50-14.
Poplar got another score, and McCabe made another attempt to go the distance to the Indians' goal. His run came up short and it was Poplar 56 and Harlem 14 at the half.
"We came out really flat (to start the game)," Wildcat head coach Trenton Woodward said. "The first half, we weren't really ready to play.
"It was a lot of things, big turnovers that went for them, and it got them going."
After the two long completions, Poplar's defense realigned to break up the precision connections.
"They found a weakness," Woodward said. "We had a trap and they exploited it. And we didn't have an answer for that."
Just as he had last year after the 'Cats had fallen behind the Shelby Coyotes in the first half, Woodward used the half-time break for what it's intended -- get the team back on track.
"Last year after we got down to Shelby, I said we had to come out and win the second half."
And this year's team did just that. In a near reverse of the first half, Harlem score 22 points to just 8 for Poplar.
"That was a big thing I took away from that gme last night: no one gave in, no one gave up," Woodward said. "That's what I try to install in my players, to never give up."
Next up for the hometown crowd is an invasion by the self-same Shelby Coyotes the young Wildcats have their eyes on.
"We'll be ready next week, I'll tell you that," he said.
Kick off this Friday, Sept. 1, is slated for 7 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium.
