Wildcats shut down by Joaquin

Mt. Enterprise 6, Joaquin 30

By BRANDON OGDEN
Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel Staff

Saturday, September 26, 2009

The Mount Enterprise Wildcats met their match Friday night.

Entering District 19-A play averaging 44 points per game and sporting a 4-0 record, the Wildcats got a taste of Joaquin Ram football.

Like Mount Enterprise head coach Louie Johnson had stated earlier in the week, the Rams were content with getting a few yards at a time and using a lot of the clock. That strategy combined with shutdown defense helped Joaquin take a 30-6 win over Mount Enterprise in the 19-A opener at Ram Stadium.

Joaquin (3-1, 1-0)) didn't throw a single pass and rushed for 329 yards on 54 carries, keeping Mount Enterprise's offense off the field.

And when the Wildcats did get the ball, the Rams had an answer.

Joaquin held Mount Enterprise to 166 yards, including only 62 rushing yards on 18 carries by Kevin Pope.

The Rams jumped on the board early, using nearly seven minutes of clock on their opening possession and scoring on an 8-yard run by Shane Taylor. Jeffrey Rico ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Rams the 8-0 advantage. Joaquin quickly got the ball back and tacked on another score, an 8-yard run by Cole Leflett, but the conversion failed to make it a 14-0 contest.

That score stood until late in the fourth quarter as Joaquin held Mount Enterprise to only one first down in the first half.

Mount Enterprise finally found an offensive rhythm in the second half with the "Wildcat" offense that featured Pope receiving the ball on a direct snap from the center. The Wildcats moved the ball, but were stuffed on a fourth-and-1 in Joaquin territory.

The Wildcats once again found success with the offense in the fourth quarter, but coughed of the ball at the Joaquin 27-yard line, one of three fourth-quarter turnovers for the Wildcats.

Those turnovers all but ended Mount Enterprise's chances, mixed with a 12-yard run by a helmet-less Leflett with 2:54 to play. The 2-point conversion was run in by Tyler McSwain.

Mount Enterprise finally scored on its first play from scrimmage on the next possession. Larry Solomon found a wide-open DT Bryant for a 52-yard scoring pass and catch. But after an unsuccessful onside kick, Joaquin's Taylor went 38 yards to the house, followed by the 2-point run by McSwain to wrap up the scoring.

Rico led the Rams with 126 yards on 17 carries. Taylor rushed for 94 yards and two scores on 15 carries. McSwain had 51 yards on the ground, and Leflett added 42.

Mount Enterprise will try to get back in the win column when it hosts Timpson next Friday. Joaquin will travel to Tenaha (5-0, 1-0), a 52-21 winner over Beckville Friday night, looking to get an inside track toward the district title.