JV Football vs Everett - 9-22-08

The Wildcat JV football team faced off against the Everett Seagulls at Wildcat Memorial Stadium Monday evening, and although the 'Cats played hard, they wound up on the bottom of a 28-14 score.

According to head coach Craig Nurvic, there were some tough matchups, especially along the line, which allowed Everett to rack up a lot of rushing yardage.

The game started with Everett in possession at their own 40 after a 20-yard kickoff return. After an 11-play drive that took 5:10 off the clock, the 'Gulls scored from the OH 5 on a 1st & goal play to take an early 7-0 lead.

OH responded by taking the ball from their own 36 and moving it down to the Everett 17 before the drive stalled. During the drive, Marcus Jordan ran for a short gain, but got another 15 yards due to being tackled by his face mask.

Everett took over on the Everett 17, and used 9 plays and just 3 minutes to increase their lead to 14-0 with 11:13 left in the 2nd quarter.

OH continued to move the ball well in the middle of the field, but had difficultly moving past the opponents 20, and the next OH drive stalled after moving from the OH 17 to the Everett 29 before turning the ball over on downs.

The next Everett drive was stopped when a 4th & 5 Everett pass was tipped away, but OH again was unable to capitalize when the ball was fumbled at the OH 45 during a QB sack. All through the game both quarterbacks, Gabe Dye and Luke Felkner, were under pressure by the Everett defensive line. Our boys gave 110%, but the Everett line was just bigger than ours and pushed their way into the backfield.

Fortunately, the OH fumble did not cost any points, as the half ran out with Everett spotting the ball at the OH 24, and the score still stood at 14-0 at the half.

The 'Cats got the ball to open the 2nd half, but two incomplete passes inside the Everett 5 ended the drive. The OH defense did well in the next series, forcing Everett to punt after only 3 plays, but OH punted back after only 5 playes, giving Everett the ball at their own 37. Two plays later, the Seagull runner broke out of what seemed like a sure tackle, and sprinted 63 yards to the goal to push the Everett lead to 21 with 4:26 left in the 3rd.

Following the kickoff, the Wildcats went 3-and-out, downing the punt at the Everett 31. Everett's next two plays were both from the shotgun, and both snaps went over the QB's head. On the 2nd snap, OH was able to recover the ball on the Everett 5 with 1:40 to go in the 3rd quarter. The first play was a handoff was to Higbee who got stacked up trying to get through the Everett defensive line. After the pile got pushed down around the 1 yard line, the ball was stripped, bounced in the end zone and right into the hands of Dustyn Bull, who was standing just outside the pile, but in the end zone. You can see a clip of the play here. That OH score pull them to within 2 TDs with 1:29 to go in the 3rd.

Everett hit back with another touchdown, returning the kickoff to midfield, then punching it in from 10 yards out with 10:21 remaining in the game after an 8-play drive.

During the ensuing kickoff, the ball was kicked high, and dropped on the OH 26, in an area where there were no OH players, and Everett was able to cover the ball and retain possession at the Wildcat 26. Again, the 'Cat defense stiffened and kept Everett from converting on a 4th & 3 play.

OH now had the ball on the OH 23 with 8:05 left in the game. A long completion to Jason Curles moved the ball down to the Everett 14, and 3 plays later Curles found an open seam and danced into the end zone and continued dancing, as you can see here.

Everett was forced to punt on their next possession, and Oak Harbor got the ball for another chance to close the score with a 1st & 10 on the OH 18 and 4:17 left. The JV 'Cats were able to get the ball down to the Everett 5, but two sacks and a fumble ended the Wildcat chances.

Coach Nurvic said overall he was pleased with the team's performance. They were up against a bigger and superior Everett line, but kept the game from becoming a rout. He also mentioned that there was a good spread on offense, with 5 different ball carriers and 5 receivers with at least one catch during the game. There were, however, several missed opportunities, which will be discussed and practiced before traveling to Mt. Vernon next Monday for the next game.

All 6 video clips can be seen here

The next home sports events are not until Thursday, with the Girls swim team going against Lake Stevens at Vanderzicht Pool, Girl's Soccer looking for a win against Marysville, and Volleyball hosting Jackson in the OHHS gym.