By Staff

            MOUNDRIDGE – On Thursday, Moundridge began their hopes of running a while in the 8-Man Division I football playoffs by out slugging visiting Central Burden 48-44.

            With the victory, the Wildcats are now 6-3 for the season and earned the home field advantage next Friday for the regional match up with Lyndon. Lyndon will come into the game 7-2 for the year after scoring a 42-38 upset win on Thursday over previously unbeaten Howard/West Elk. Lyndon is currently ranked number 10 class standings.

            The slugfest in Moundridge on Thursday not only produced a total of 92 points put on the scoreboard, but it also saw 128 plays ran on offense with Central Burden snapping the ball 62 times and the Wildcats 66. With Central Burden picking up 423 and Moundridge getting 494 yards in offense the two teams both averaged over six-and-a-half yards per touch of the ball.

            Of Central Burden’s 423 yards in offense, 304 came from their quarterback Jace Wunderlich who threw for 147 yards and ran for 157.

            As for scoring, Moundridge put two scores on the board in the first quarter on runs of two yards by Henry Hecox and three yards from Joaquin Huff. While the Raiders scored as well, Moundridge still held a 12-8 lead.

            Central Burden put two scores on the board in the second quarter while the Wildcats had just one on a six-yard run from Huff. With the visitors making good on all three of their two-point conversion they took a six-point, 24-18 advantage into the halftime break.

            In the third quarter the Wildcats scored twice more on another Hecox run plus a 12-yard pass play from Hecox to Lane Durst. The Raiders managed to keep up the pace as they put another on the board as well to pull back within two at 34-32 at the end of the quarter.

            Both teams scored twice in the final 12 minutes as Hecox ran in for two more scores, this time from two and forty-seven yards out, giving the Wildcats their final four-point, 48-44 victory.

            Individually, Henry Hecox had a monster game for the Wildcats as he completed eight-of-ten passes for 138 yards while running 25 times and picking up 161 yards with four of those going for touchdowns. Joaquin Huff just missed a hundred-yard game as he ran for 93 yards on 14 carries and Kaden Elmore picked up another 91 on a dozen totes. Barrett Moddelmog was Hecox’s favorite target with four receptions for 85 yards.

            Defensively, Barrett Moddelmog led the Wildcats with 11 tackles while Banky Hayes was credited with nine and Logan Churchill, Joaquin Huff, and Henry Hecox all had seven. The Wildcats dropped a sack on Central Burdens quarterback four times.

MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS hosting Central Burden

SCORING: Central Burden 8-16-8-12=44; WILDCATS 12-6-16-14=48

1st Quarter:

WILDCATS (8:47): Henry Hecox on a 2-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 0-6

WILDCATS (5:02): Joaquin Huff on a 3-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 0-12

Central Burden (2:42): Scored on a 3-yard run (2-Point Conversion was Good) 8-12

2nd Quarter:

Central Burden (9:23): Scored on a 33-yard run (2-Point Conversion was Good) 16-12

WILDCATS (6:53): Joaquin Huff on a 6-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 16-18

Central Burden (5:52): Scored on return fumble (2-Point Conversion was Good) 24-18

3rd Quarter:

WILDCATS (8:44): Henry Hecox on an 8-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Henry Hecox pass to Logan Churchill) 24-26

WILDCATS (4:02): Lane Durst on a 12-yard pass play from Henry Hecox (2-Point Conversion – Henry Hecox pass to Joaquin Huff) 24-34

Central Burden (3:33): Scored on a 5-yard run (2-Point Conversion was Good) 32-34

4th Quarter:

WILDCATS (9:46): Henry Hecox on a 2-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 32-40

Central Burden (7:17): Scored on a 7-yard run (Kick Failed) 38-40

WILDCATS (4:00): Henry Hecox on a 47-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Henry Hecox pass to Barrett Moddelmog) 38-48

Central Burden (00:38): Scored on a 5-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 44-48

TEAM STATS:

Central Burden: 1st Downs – 19; Total Offense – 62 for 423; Passing – 13/20 for 147, 1 interception; Rushing – 42 for 276; Fumbles – 1/1; Penalties – 10/90; Time of Possession – 20:01

WILDCATS: 1st Downs – 28; Total Offense – 66 for 494; Passing – 8/10 for 138, 1 score; Rushing – 56 for 356; Fumbles – 0/0; Penalties – 8/70; Time of Possession – 27:45.

WILDCAT INDIVIDUAL STATS:

Passing: Henry Hecox – 8/10 for 138, 1 score.

Rushing: Henry Hecox – 25 for 161, 4 scores; Joaquin Huff – 14 for 93, 2 scores; Kaden Elmore – 12 for 91; Barrett Moddelmog – 4 for 7; Lane Durst – 1 for 4.

Receiving: Barrett Moddelmog – 4 for 85; Lane Durst – 2 for 31, 1 score; Kaden Elmore – 1 for 14; Logan Churchill – 1 for 8.

Defense: Barrett Moddelmog – 11, 9 solo, 1 sack, 1 for loss; Banky Hayes – 9, 6 solo, 1 sack, 1.5 for loss; Logan Churchill – 7, 7 solo; 1 for loss, 1 interception; Joaquin Huff – 7, 5 solo, 1 for loss; Henry Hecox – 7, 5 solo, 2 sacks, 2 for loss; Lane Durst – 6; 4 solo; Kaden Elmore – 5, 3 solo; Luke Potts – 2, 1 solo; Caleb Ward – 2, 0.5 for loss; Paul Grill – 2; Ty Rains – 2; Weston Miller – 1, 1 solo; Fynn Burge – 1, 1 solo.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)