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| Wildcats go muddin’ for district title victory |
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| Sports - Louisburg | |||
| Written by Andy Brown | |||
| Wednesday, 04 November 2009 08:02 | |||
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The mud was dripping off the face masks like freshly melted snow, and the surface at Wildcat Stadium felt like you were running on ice. But for Louisburg, the rain, mud and muck didn’t stop its pursuit of a district crown.  The Wildcats captured the Class 4A District 5 title with a 14-0 victory over Paola on Thursday, in what can more commonly be called, “The Mud Bowl.” Rainy conditions the day of the game made for a rain-soaked field at Wildcat Stadium and left a big mud pit in the center. Bad weather certainly didn’t dampen the excitement of the Wildcat players, however. “It is an awesome feeling,” Louisburg defensive lineman Nathan Phillips said. “To beat Paola and win the district title is great. At times it felt like we were playing in three inches of mud out there and it made it difficult to move. But I thought the defense did great and the game was won at the line of scrimmage.” Louisburg’s defense pitched a shutout of a potent Paola offense and limited running back Skylar Hawkins and the rest of the Panthers to just 119 yards rushing and 140 total yards. The Wildcat defensive line was constantly in the Panther backfield and made things difficult. Throw in a big interception by Clayton Houchen in the second half, and big plays from the offense, resulted in the Wildcats capturing their first district title since 2007. “Coach (Gary Griffin) told us all week that we had to win the line of scrimmage and we did that,” senior linebacker Michael Powers said. “I thought everyone on the defense did a great job. The line got a lot of pressure up front and the linebackers and d-backs were right there to fill the holes and make the stops. It was a great win.” As big as the defense was, the offense had its share of huge plays as well — many of which came from quarterback Drew Harding. The Louisburg senior completed two long passes despite the sloppy conditions and broke free for a long touchdown run in the second quarter that changed the game completely. “The two long passes Drew had really changed the field position battle for us and one of them ended up setting up a touchdown,” Griffin said. “I really couldn’t be more proud of these guys. The offense came up with big plays when we needed it and the defense, which has been our strength all year, played really well. Paola is a good team, and to shut them out like we did, really says a lot.” After Louisburg punted on its first possession of the game, Paola put together a 10-play drive, but on a fourth-and-one deep in Louisburg territory, the Panthers were called for holding and eventually turned the ball over on downs.  On the Wildcats’ next drive, Harding found tight end Zach Hildreth on a 37-yard pass, but the Wildcats eventually missed a 27-yard field goal. The field position changed, and after a Paola three-and-out, Harding went untouched on a 57-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put Louisburg up 7-0. “I really got some great blocks in front of me and I wasn’t sure I was going to score because of the wet field, but I was able to,” Harding said. “It really feels good to get the win and everyone played well.” Paola got the ball to start the second half and tried a fake punt, but Hawkins’ pass was intercepted by Houchen, who recorded his sixth pick of the season. Two plays later, Harding found Chris Cook on a 35-yard pass play that set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Alex Gentges in the third quarter. The defense made several key stops down the stretch and the Panther offense never really threatened the rest of the second half. Louisburg (8-1) hosted Anderson County in the bi-district game Tuesday and results from the game can be found at www.herald-online.com. A full story can be found in Friday’s Weekend edition. “I let the guys enjoy this one (Thursday) but after that we will be getting back to work,” Griffin said. “Whoever we play, we are going to have to be ready and I think we will. We seem to be getting better as we go on.” LOU 0 7 7 0 — 14 PAO 0 0 0 0 — 0 Second quarter L: Drew Harding 57 run (Chris Cook kick) Third quarter L: Alex Gentges 1 run (Cook kick) Statistics RUSHING: Drew Harding 12-80, Ryan Roberts 11-42, Alex Gentges 7-15, Garrett Griffin 6-5. PASSING: Harding 2-4-72 RECEIVING: Chris Cook 1-35, Zach Hildreth 1-37.
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