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Matthew Sherman (11) quarterback for the Sulphur Springs junior varsity releases a pass during Thursday home action against Terrell. The Wildcats won both sub-varsity games at home Thursday. Photos by Don Wallace -
Luke Caton (left) and Riley Hammons (5) of Sulphur Springs take a Terrell back in freshmen action Thursday evening.
Sulphur Springs | Football
The Wildcats swept past Terrell in Thursday sub-varsity football competition held at Gerald Prim Stadium.
WILDCATS 9TH 27,
TIGERS 9TH 16
The Wildcats won both sides of the ball against visitors from Terrell.
While the fans were thrilled by the 27 points on the scoreboard, coaches were encouraged by the defensive effort in the ninth grade contest.
The Tigers scored 16 points early but were blanked the final three frames as the Wildcats tightened up the ranks.
“We were down 16-14 at the half but came out strong in the second half. We scored two touchdowns but, more importantly, shut Terrell out,” said Jason Meskimen, Sulphur Springs ninth grade coach.
The Tigers scored on a 60-yard run in the opening minute of the game. With the 2-point conversion, the Wildcats quickly found themselves down, 8-0.
Wildcat quarterback Matt Mitchell scored on a 2-yard run. Uriel Santa Cruz was perfect with the point-after kick. Sulphur Springs had reduced the visitors’ lead to 8-7.
The Tigers added another score in the first frame. This tally came on a 67-yard pass from Montae Kennedy to Arius Burton.
Sulphur Springs answered with a Mitchell to C.J. Williams, scoring pass that covered 20 yards. With the extra point, the Wildcats just trailed by 2 points with 16-14 at the half.
The second half belonged to the home team.
Tripp Smith scored on a 5-yard run. The try for a 2-point conversion failed, but the Wildcats had the lead, holding a 20-16 margin in the third period.
Sulphur Springs sealed the win with a short scoring run by Mitchell. The 27-yard drive was set up by the Wildcats defense.
Terrell was held to just 5 yards on three plays and had to surrender the ball after a fourth down loss.
Meskimen listed Mitchell, Landon Fields and Smith as offensive standouts in the game.
The defense was sparked by Nick Cantillo, Smith and Riley Hammons. Matthew Clarke had interception.
The freshmen are 2-1 overall, 1-0 in district.
WILDCATS JV 30,
TIGERS JV 8
This game was fun for the home fans but had little suspense.
The Sulphur Springs junior varsity built a 30-0 lead and cruised by Terrell for the easy win.
“It was a great win for the JV. Matthew Sherman threw a touchdown pass to Cable Glenn. Devin Franklin scored on a strip sack on the defensive side. We also got touchdowns from Brenden Fink and Justin Richards,” said Mike Meador, Sulphur Springs coach.
The Sherman-to-Glenn touchdown pass covered 14 yards in the first quarter. After the extra point kick by Josh Tavera, the Wildcats were up 7-0 with still 4:57 left in the frame.
Franklin’s defensive score resulted in the second touchdown for the Wildcats. The extra point padded the lead to 14-0.
Bad breaks by Terrell, forced by relentless Wildcats play, led to a safety. The Tigers tried to punt from deep in their own territory with a bad snap. The Wildcats took a 16-0 lead into intermission.
Tavera continued to have a great night kicking. He added extra points following short scoring runs by Fink and Richards in the third period.
Down 30-0, the Tigers did not give up and scored on a 51-yard dash by Ta’Nyrious Baker. Baker also got the 2-point conversion to remove the goose egg from the scoreboard.
Terrell now trailed 30-8 with 8:49 left in the game.
The Wildcats ran out the clock to secure the home victory.
“We’re very proud of the team effort and how they played well in all facets of the game. As a team, we minimized our mistakes and capitalized on their mistakes,” said Chris Valdovinos, Sulphur Springs coach.
Coach Kurt McCain was also pleased with the effort.
“Franklin scored a defensive touchdown. L’Kyron Cork scored on a fumble. Carson Fenton had two sacks, [and] Beau Bankston had a sack and an interception. Chace Mitchell played extremely well on the defensive line, and Wyatt Smithson had a very good game at inside linebacker,” McCain said.