Wildcats win wild one at Pass Christian

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Two defensive touchdowns lead GCHS to win in region opener

By RUSSELL TURNER

Herald Editor

Photo courtesy of AIMEE CRONAN / The Gazebo Gazette
Greene County senior quarterback Coby King is shown looking downfield to pass while avoiding pressure from the Pass Christian Pirates last Friday on the road. King had his least productive outing of the season passing the football, but made up for that with some big plays with his legs, including two rushing touchdowns, in the Cats 33-25 win.

On a night where the Greene County Wildcats’ offense uncharacteristically sputtered, the defense came up big, leading the way to a gutsy 33-25 road win over Pass Christian in the region opener for both teams.
Wildcat defenders gave up some big plays to the Pirates last Friday on the Coast, but came up with more of their own, including a scoop-and-score touchdown and a last-minute pick six to seal the win.
“After the game, I did highlight the defense,” GCHS Head Coach Mike King said of his post-game message to his team. “Two defensive scores was the difference.”
“We gave up some plays, but with the aggressive nature that we’ve implemented (defensively), we realize that that is always going to be a possibility and we are okay with that. To be able to turn it over four times and still win proves that we have a good football team.”
The Wildcat defense had struggled early in the season, but a high-octane offense had helped the Cats get off to a fast start to the season. But, the Pirates’ defense held GCHS senior quarterback Coby King to a season low in passing yards, stripped away a fumble and intercepted him three times. The Cats also had several costly penalties and missed opportunities.
“We had a dropped touchdown pass and a holding call that negated a touchdown that would’ve sealed the game at the end as well,” Coach King said. “We need to clean some things up but give credit to Pass Christian. That was probably the best game plan anyone has had defending us, coupled with the most athletic secondary that we have played.”
“They made us run the football and thankfully the 1-2 punch between Lakeus (Franks) and Coby proved to be effective.”
One week after posting their first shutout of the season, the Wildcat defenders did have a few lapses that resulted in touchdowns for the home team. But, that defense also baled the offense out after each of its mishaps, forcing punts or turnovers of their own to keep the Pirates from getting easy points off turnovers.
GCHS came out of the gates in typical fashion, scoring on the seventh play from scrimmage. Junior Javon Watts followed great blocking on the edge by classmates Lakeus Franks and Gage Stinson for a 31-yard TD and with the PAT by junior Maison Tribble the Cats led 7-0 two minutes into the game.
The Pirates answered with a 65-yard scoring drive of their own to pull to within 7-6 with 3:49 left in first quarter.
Neither team scored again until a 22-yard pass from Coby King to Franks set up a 1-yard QB sneak for a TD with 1:50 left in the first half. But, one of the GCHS defensive lapses came on the last play of the half as a blown coverage allowed a 30-yard TD as time expired. The Wildcats shut down the 2-point conversion to maintain a 14-12 lead heading into the locker room.
They didn’t keep the lead long after returning to the field as the Pirates marched 68 yards to open the third quarter. A 9-yard TD run by junior Amarie James and the PAT put Pass Christian ahead 19-14 wtih 9:35 left on the third quarter clock.
An interception by Pass Christian at its own 30 ended a promising drive by the Wildcats. But, sophomore Noah McLeod got a sack and a forced fumble on the next play and junior noseguard Dai’Jon Franks scooped up the loose ball, shook off a tackler and rumbled his way into the endzone for a 12-yard touchdown. The 2-point-conversion was ruled short, but GCHS retook a 20-19 lead with 8:43 left in the third quarter.
The Pirates took little time getting back on top. Sophomore quarterback Paris Travillion found a crack in the middle of the Cats’ defense and broke free for a 58-yard TD run. Cordarius Molten broke up a 2-point-conversion pass, but with 7:17 left on the third quarter clock, Pass Christian was back on top 25-20.

Photo by AIMEE CRONAN / The Gazebo Gazette
Pass Christian had a good game plan against the Wildcats, but GCHS found a way to win anyway. Shown making a catch in the game is junior Jase Mathews.

Each of the next two GCHS possessions ended in interceptions, but each time the GCHS defense held. The next time the Cats had the football, King kept it on the ground and busted free for a 62-yard quarterback keeper. The conversion failed, but GCHS held a 26-25 lead midway through the final quarter.
After the defense forced a Pirate punt, the Wildcats put together a 15-play drive. The drive was stopped short of the goal line, but took the game clock under a minute. With 90 yards to go, the Pirates went quickly to the air and senior Tylan Watts took advantage, jumping a route along the Wildcats’ sideline and turning it into a 15-yard pick. The PAT by Tribble put GCHS by eight with just 18 seconds left to play.
“The character of our team was probably the thing I was most pleased with,” Coach King said. “We probably had three or four times we could have laid down when things did not go our way, but we continue to battle in a way that we haven’t had to do all year.”
Coby King finished with 149 yards on 15-of-31 passing, with a TD and three interceptions. He led the team in rushing, however, with 140 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Lakeus Franks had another 100-yard game with 74 rushing yards and 32 receiving. Javon Watts had 42 receiving yards, while Mathews followed with 41.
Defensively, GCHS was led by junior defensive backs Cordarius Molten and sophomore safety Noah McLeod. Molten finished with 11 tackles and a pass breakup, while McLeod tallied 10 tackles, a sack and the big forced fumble.
Seniors Josh Williams, Tyland Watts and Cam Kelly, along with junior Danon McLeod, each had seven tackles. Williams was also credited with four pass breakups from his linebacker position. Freshman Tyrian McLeod add five tackles and two pass breakups, while senior Tylan Blackston rounded out the stat leaders with four stops and an interception.
With the win, GCHS improved to 5-1 overall as they roll into this week’s ‘bye’ week. More importantly, the Cats are 1-0 in Region 8-4A and have two weeks to prepare and get everyone some much needed rest prior to the Bay High Tigers coming in to Wildcat Stadium / Johnny Ainsworth Field for another region battle on Oct. 18.
Pass Christian fell to 3-3 and 0-1, respectively.