Sept. 30 was a beautiful day for homecoming festivities, including a 66-14 victory for Wild Rose over Families of Faith Academy of Illinois (FOFCA).
The visitors went through one series of downs with their first possession of the game, fumbling the ball on 48th and 2 which was recovered by Jonah Williams for Wild Rose.
It didn’t take long for the hosts to get on the board, with Evan Tratz getting 27-, 11-, and 1-yard runs to the end zone. Tratz added a 2-point conversion for an 8-0 Wildcat lead with 8:19 yet to play in the first period.
FOFCA didn’t fair so well on its’ second possession as a fumble on the first play from the visitors own 42 was recovered by Wild Rose.
It only took one play, a 41-yard pass to Tratz to give the Wildcats a 16-0 lead, capped off with a 2-point conversion run by Tratz with 7:53 left in the period.
Penalties didn’t help the visitors on their third possession of the game as they picked up a little yardage. The Wild Rose defense put up big stops, including for a loss. Despite a running into the kicker penalty, FOFCA still had to punt the ball away.
After an incomplete pass, Brett Wilbert found Brett Mueller for a 45-yard score. Another toss to Mueller gave the hosts a 24-0 lead with a 2-point conversion and 4:22 to play in the first quarter.
The visitors were unable to get anything going with their fourth possession experiencing yardage losses.
The hosts, however, got on the board again with just one play, an 18-yard run by Tratz, this time the 2-point conversion attempt was no good, but the Wildcats possessed a 30-0 advantage with just 1:49 remaining in the period.
FOFCA didn’t take that lying down as Jeremiah Terrell-Bedell took the ensuing kick all the way to the house. The extra point attempt was no good, but the visitors cut into the deficit a bit, 30-6, with 1:34 still remaining in the first quarter.
Wild Rose got in another score in the period when a 65-yard strike to Mueller led the Wildcats to the end zone. Jonah Williams added the 2-point conversion for a 38-6 lead with 1:18 still to play in the period.
The visitors couldn’t gain much ground with their final possession of the period.
Wild Rose started the second quarter with the ball on the FOFCA 46. Elijah Storms was given the ball for a 24-yard scamper, followed by an 11-yard run by Cohen Deschler. A pass found its way to Mueller for 12 yards before Storms took the ball a final 9 yards for a score. Tratz added a 2-point conversion for a 46-6 score with 9:43 remaining in the half.
FOFCA started its first possession of the second quarter deep in its own territory. An interception by Deschler left the visitors with no opportunity for advancement, and ran the ball nearly to the goal line. A block to the back penalty put the Wildcats back to the 27 yard line.
From that point Williams put in 9- and 18-yard runs to find paydirt. Williams added the 2-point conversion for a 54-6 Wild Rose advantage with 8:31 remaining in the half.
The visitors couldn’t get anywhere with a second possession of the second quarter, and relinquished the ball to the hosts.
Wild Rose started out in FOFCA territory, and received 5- and 6-yard runs out of Tratz and Mason Olsen, respectively, before a penalty and a fumbled snap put the Wildcats back a ways. Tratz put in a 19-yard run before halftime arrived.
The second half started with Wyatt Bowen returning the FOFCAA’s kickoff 70 yards to the house. A 2-point conversion attempt was no good, but Wild Rose possessed a commanding 60-6 lead with 11:20 to play in the third quarter, with a continuous clock being in effect.
The visitors couldn’t get much of anything going with their possession of the period. The hosts basically used up a good chunk of what remained in the period, starting in FOFCA territory. Bowen put in an 8-yard run before Tratz ran 28 yards on a broken play to score. The 2-point conversion attempt was no good, but the Wildcats possessed a 66-6 advantage with more than 2 minutes left in the third quarter.
FOFCA was to start at the 50 with its’ next possession, but time ran out and the fourth quarter was soon to start.
The fourth quarter started with a 10-, 12-yard gain for the visitors, and a Wild Rose penalty put them on the hosts 23. That was all the further FOFCA would get.
Bowen put in a 9-yard run for Wild Rose from its own 24, and picked up a first down as well. After a loss of 4 yards, Bowen put up a 7-yard run, and a first down was soon to be acquired to keep the drive moving. After a few timeouts and a couple of short gains the Wildcats’ progress was stopped.
FOFCA took advantage of what little time was left and completed a long pass to a receiver who nearly reached the goal line before fumbling, with a teammate picking the ball up and finishing the drive in to the zone. A 2-point conversion closed the deficit a bit more, 66-14 with :23 left in the game.
Wild Rose took a knee at its own 48 to run out the clock for the 66-14 win.
Wild Rose had 349 total yards off offense, with 206 coming on the ground.
Evan Tratz had 11 carriers for 113 yards, 3 touchdowns, and three 2-point conversions. Elijah Storms had 3 carries for 32 yards and a touchdown, while Jonah Williams had 4 carries for 27 yards, a touchdown, and two 2-point conversions. Wyatt Bowen had 7 carries for 27 yards, while Cohen Deschler had 1 carry for 11 yards, and Mason Olsen 1 carry for 9 yards.
Brett Wilbert completed 5 of 7 passes for 163 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 2-point conversion.
Brett Mueller caught 4 passes for 122 yards, scoring 2 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. Evan Tratz caught 1 pass for 41 yards and a touchdown.
