On Friday Oct. 18, the Millard West Wildcats hosted their final Home football game against the Lincoln North Star Navigators at Lyle Buell Stadium.
The Wildcats came into the game at 3-4 and undefeated in district play giving them second place in District A-6 going into Senior Night. On the other side of the field the Navigators came in with a strong 5-2 record and were also undefeated in district play. Both teams were playing with a chance to seal their District title.
“I thought the offense played well but the little mistakes hurt us, ” senior wideout Michael Coleman said.” “This week we need to focus on getting better to play our best football so that we can start a run for the playoffs and keep our season alive.”
The Wildcats started the game on offense but weren’t able to get anything going which would lead to a three and out. Lincoln North Star was able to get a first down on their first drive but would end up punting right back to the Wildcats. Both teams would punt on their next offensive drive which would lead to a 17 yard return for Coleman along with a 15 yard facemask penalty. The Cats would go nowhere on the drive and turn the ball over on downs. The score after one quarter 0-0.
“When I go onto the field to kick a field goal all I focus on is the ball and the goal post,” said junior kicker Carter Chapp.” I have done much better this season than I thought since I have been able to drill some field goals 50 plus yards away but I do need work on being more consistent with my kicks that may be pretty important points like in a game like last Friday.”
The Navigators started the second quarter finding a way to get into Wildcat territory, but ended up punting and pinning the Wildcats inside the four yard line. The Cats would get the ball with 7:25 in the quarter. The offense was starting to find a rhyme as senior quarterback David James Schiemann would connect with Coleman for multiple catches. Junior kicker Carter Chapp would come out and kick a field goal to send the teams to the half with the score 3-0 Millard West.
“We knew going into the game who their playmakers were on offense,” senior defensive back Chance Roberts said. “North Star had a mobile quarterback and good wide receivers. So we wanted to shut down the quarterback run game and force him to make the throws.”
The Navigators got the ball to start the second half and went three-out and gave the Wildcats good field position around the midfield strip. The Cats would find a way to get a few first downs but then settle for a 53 yard field goal from Chapp to boost the lead to 6-0 with 7:05 left in the third. On the next Wildcat drive Schiemann would throw an interception inside the Wildcat 30 yard and gave the Navigators the ball at the 16 yard line. The third quarter would end with Millard West ahead 6-0, but the Lincoln North Star in the redzone starting the fourth.
The Wildcat defense would come up with a crucial goal line stand starting from the one yard. The Gators would go on to miss a 33 yard field goal after the offense went backwards 15 yards starting with a first and goal at the one. The momentum of this defense match-up seemed to be in the Wildcats favor but on the next offensive play Schiemann would take a QB run for 20 yards but fumble at the 40 yard line recovered by Lincoln North Star. The Navigators would get one first down followed by a Interception from Roberts at the 15 yard line and return 56 yards to the Gators 29 yard line. Junior Logan Kracht would be put in the final two drives for Schiemann and would lead the Cats to the end zone with a four yard run to give the cats a 12-0 lead with a minute left in the game. With triple zeros finding the scoreboard in the fourth the Cats would win Senior Night 12-0.
The Wildcats found a way to get back to .500 on the season heading into their last game of the season. They will travel to north Omaha to play Westview on Friday Oct. 25 with a playoff spot on the line.
