Football 2010-10-08 Varsity @ Mt. Vernon

Two big plays. That's all it took for the Wildcats to beat the Mt. Vernon Bulldogs last Friday in Mt. Vernon.

Mt. Vernon got the ball first, returning the opening kickoff to their own 16. After a long pass play into Oak Harbor territory, the Bulldogs had a 3rd and 2 at the OH 22, but big Kyle Frank recovered a fumble and the Wildcat offense was in business.

The first play was stopped for a 2-yard loss, but on 2nd down Josiah Miller found a hole and sprinted 81 yard to the end zone.

Four plays later, Justin Counts was in the right place at the right time and picked off the MV pass at the OH 31 and returned it to make the score 14-0 with 5:19 left in the first.

However, that was it for Oak Harbor scoring

Mt. Vernon got on the board after a 10-play drive that started with a fumbled OH snap on a 4th down play. The drive finished with a 6-yard run. The half ended with the score 14-7 in favor of Oak Harbor after Sam Wolfe batted away a long MV pass as time expired in the half.

The third quarter was filled with 3-and-outs by both teams and ended with the same 14-7 score, but with the Bulldogs looking at a 4th down on the OH 11 yard line.

Mt. Vernon attempted a field goal to start the 4th quarter, but the kick was wide right and Oak Harbor took over at the 20 but wound up punting. MV also punted, but their kick, aided by a strong wind, rolled down to the OH 1-inch line. Two plays later the Wildcat runner ran into a wall and was stopped in the end zone, giving MV 2 points.

After the free kick, MV took the ball at their own 34 and moved the ball deep into OH territory. With a 1st and 10 on the OH 35, Aaron Boesch was able to get a hand on the runner and knock the ball loose and Zack Ayer jumped on it at the 37 yard line. While OH wasn't able to move the ball on the series, they stopped the MV drive and ate up valuable time.

After a final defensive stop, Oak Harbor had the ball on their own 38 yard line and 3 minutes left in the game. After a couple of first downs and 30 yards there were only 25 seconds left on the clock and the Wildcats took a knee to win the game 14-9.

The 4-2 Wildcats finish out the season at home. This Friday Shorecrest comes to Wildcat Memorial Stadium with the winner having a decent shot at a playoff spot. The following Friday it's Lethbridge from Alberta, Canada in town and the season ends on a Thursday night, Oct 28th with Meadowdale.

Video highlights from the game are posted HERE.