Photo Cred: Mike Abasolo Sr.
MHS - Football / October 20, 2021 By Kasey McDowell
The Mulvane varsity football team made the long trip to McPherson last Friday for what was to be the "signature game" of the 2021 season. The Bullpups were coming off the first loss of the season and the outcome of this game would have an impact on the 4A state tournament lineup. The Wildcats, riding on a 4 game win streak, came into the game with full confidence that they could not only compete well with MAC, but come home with the win.
"We preached to our kids all week that all the pressure was on McPherson, and we should focus on having fun playing the game," said Coach Myears. "They bought into that message and played together as a group and played one play at a time. We had ups and downs inside the game but we never got too low or got overconfident. They were 100% locked in the entire night."
The Bullpups struck first and quickly in the first quarter with a 67 yard run at the 8:19 mark (PAT failed). The Wildcats broke open their score with a 13 yard TD pass from Mason Ellis to Hunter Seier in the back corner of the endzone at the 1:53 mark (Dieker PAT good). The second quarter was a defensive battle and neither team found the endzone and went into halftime with the Cats up 7-6.
The third quarter was also a defensive battle until MAC was able to find the endzone again wtih a 2-yard run with 47 seconds left in the quarter. The Bullpups went for a 2-point conversion but the Cats stuffed the run. Mulvane responded right away as Mason Ellis broke free right up the middle for an 80 yard TD-run with 28 seconds left in the third quarter (Dieker PAT no good). The Cats were up 13-12 at the end of the third.
Mulvane's defense took over it the fourth quarter in a "bend but not break" fashion and were able to keep MAC from reaching the enzone. One of they key plays being an interception by Trenton Davis at the midway point as the Bullpups were driving the field. McPherson intercepted a deep pass on the next possession but were tackled on their 1-yard line. The Cats defense went to work again and didn't allow any yards on the first two plays, and scored a safety when the Bullpups had an errant snap out of the back of the endzone. The Wildcats offense was able to run down the clock to 1:40 when Ellis broke free again for a 17-yard TD run. The Cats were able to close out the game for the 22-12 win.
The Wildcats offense racked up 321 total yards with 134 passing and 187 rushing. On the ground, Ellis led the charge with 163 yards on 25 attempts and 2 touchdowns. Julien Myers finished with 24 yards on 9 attempts. Ellis finished with 122 yards passing with 15 out of 25 completed and 1 touchdown pass. Ian Comer led the Cats in receiving yards with 61 yards on 6 receptions and Hunter Seier finished with 57 yards on 7 receptions and 1 touchdown.
VAR 1 2 3 4 Final
MHS 7 0 6 9 22
MAC 6 0 6 0 12
The Wildcats defense had another great performance. They gave up 158 passing yards and 214 rushing yards, but were able to keep the Bullpups out of the endzone for most of the game, allowing only 12 points. The defense was led by Trent Moses and Ian Comer again who both finished with 7.0 tackles (6 solo - 2 assist) and Julien Myers and Trenton Davis both finished with 6.5 tackles (5-3 & 6-1). Hunter Seier finished with 6.0 tackles (5-2), and Josh Phillips with 5.5 tackles (5-1). Trent Moses led the team with 2.5 tackles for loss and Ian Comer led the team with 2.0 sacks. Julien Myers, Josh Phillips, Keaton Herd, Shannon Fuller, and Kaiden Abasolo all had tackles for loss in the game.
Defense Cont: Zach Lanzrath 4.0 (2-4), Keaton Herd 3.0 (2-2), Maurice Fuller 2.0 (2-0), Shannon Fuller 2.0 (2-0), Kaiden Abasolo 1.5 (1-1), and Ethan Kasparek 1.0 (1-0).
Complete game stats can be found here.
The c-team hosted McPherson on Monday and the Wildcats fell to the Bullpups 6-46. The c-team is sitting at 2-6 on the season.
The Wildcats are sitting at 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in league play. The varsity will host the Wellington Crusaders on Friday for the final game of the regular season starting at 7:00 PM at Lyle Couch Stadium. Live stats for Friday's game can be found here.
