Canadian Trounces Childress

by Canadian Wildcat Sports Network

The lop-sided stats and the final score won’t show it, but the Childress Bobcats gave the Wildcats a solid test Friday night. The Wildcats ultimately spoiled the Bobcat’s homecoming with an impressive 41-14 victory.

Canadian (4-0) jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and was threatening to make it 21-0 when Kaden Keys for the Bobcats intercepted a Tanner Schafer pass at the 5 yard line and returned it 95 yards for a TD. That made it 14-7 Wildcats and Childress seemed to have the momentum.

On the ensuing drive, Wildcat K Benigno Heredia hit a career long 43 yard FG and the Wildcats led 17-7 with 7:02 left to play in the 2^nd quarter.

Canadian would go on to score two more TD before halftime on a 49 yard scamper by Chance Cook and a 27 yard pass from Schafer to Cook. Childress QB Bryce Bowman threw a 12 yard TD pass to Kaden Keys with 2:09 left in the half and the Wildcats would take a 31-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half of the game was a defensive battle as only 10 points were scored, all by the Wildcats. Heredia struck again with a 34 yard FG with 7:13 to play in the 3^rd quarter, and Marc Marquez scored on a 3 yard TD run with 5:17 remaining in the ball game.

It was an impressive night for the Wildcats once again on both sides of the ball. Canadian’s defense forced Childress to punt the ball away on 7 of their 12 offensive possessions.

Wildcat QB Tanner Schafer surpassed the 1,000 yard mark on the season, completing 29 of 41 passes for 297 yards and 2 TD. Braiden Galla racked up 56 yards on 4 catches with a TD and Sawyer Cook had 45 yards on 4 receptions. Chance Cook caught 5 passes for 59 yards a TD.

The Wildcat offensive attack was supremely balanced as Marc Marquez rushed for 128 yards on 12 carries and 1 TD and Chance Cook had 12 carries for 121 yards and 2 TD. Cook alone was responsible for 180 yards of offense and 3 TD on the night. Overall, the Wildcats had 590 total yards on offense.

Final Score: Canadian 41 Childress 14

Next Week: Canadian travels to Claude to take on the (1-2) Mustangs. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM at Mustang Stadium.

CANADIAN at CHILDRESS

By Canadian Wildcat Sports Network

The No. 4 Wildcats will travel 100 miles due South tomorrow night to take on the 3A Childress Bobcats. Childress sits atop district 1-3A Division I with a 2-1 record on the 2014 season. The Bobcats opened the season with a surprising shut-out 14-0 win over reigning state champion Wellington.

The Wildcats are coming off a dominating win against Perryton last week. Canadian, led by QB Tanner Schafer, jumped out to an early 28-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

Schafer leads all area 2A quarterbacks with 13 TD passes and is second in passing yards with just over 900. Four of the top ten in receiving yards in 2A are Wildcat receivers, including Braiden Galla and Sawyer Cook.

The Wildcats got a big boost last week with the return of Jr. Chance Cook. Cook rushed for 50 yards and 2 TD in his season debut. Head Coach Chris Koetting was pleased with his team’s performance against a challenging Perryton team. “I thought we came out ready to play. We got off to a great start and we were able to score often and early and we got them down. The first quarter really decided how the rest of that game was going to go,” said Koetting.

Childress comes in off of a 36-15 victory over 4A Lamesa (0-3). The Bobcats run a balanced attack multiple pro-style offense, which means they typically try to utilize their fullbacks and tight-ends. “I would say they’re more of a running team than a passing team, but honestly it’s really close. They might be about 50/50. They like to run the ball and mix in the pass as well.” Koetting said.

The difference maker for Childress so far has been sound defensive play, giving up only 7 points per game this season.

For the third Friday in a row, weather could be a major issue as heavy rain is expected in the area all day. ▪

□ Canadian (3-0) at Childress (2-1) – 7:30 PM Friday, Childress, TX

□ Players to Watch – Canadian – Chance Cook, Tanner Schafer, Braiden Galla                                                                        Childress – Bryce Bowman, Kaden Keys, Chazten Brown

□ Interesting Fact - The last time these two teams met was the 2007 Area playoffs. Canadian won 43-28 en route to their first state championship.

□ Keys To the Game – Canadian will look to continue their extreme up-tempo style of play in order to wear down a solid Childress defense. The Bobcats can run or pass, but they don’t do either one exceptionally well. Still, the Wildcats will need to be ready for a balanced attack.

□ Harris Ratings Pick – Canadian by 21

□ Our Prediction – 48-7

Canadian/Memphis Recap

By Canadian Wildcat Sports Network

It was a tale of two very different offenses on a rainy Friday night at Wildcat Stadium for the Wildcats’ home opener. Canadian (2-0) employs a no-huddle, extremely fast-paced, spread offense; while Memphis (0-2) is a run-first team who tries to run down the clock as much as possible.

Once again, the Wildcat’s high powered offense was on display early as they had over 30 offensive snaps in the first quarter alone. In contrast, Memphis ran only 40 offensive snaps the entire contest. 

The Wildcat defense was solid as well, allowing only 6 first downs and 1 TD – coming after most of the Canadian starters had been removed.

The Wildcats received the ball to begin the game and promptly went 3 and out and punted the ball off to Memphis. It was immediately apparent that the Wildcats were well prepared for the ground and pound style of running offense that the Cyclones would bring, allowing only 40 rushing yards the entire first half.

After a second 3 and out by both teams, Canadian once again received possession with excellent field possession at mid-field. The Wildcat’s first score of the game came on a long 52 yard pass from Tanner Schafer to Braiden Galla. With 7:33 left in the 1^st quarter, the Wildcats had an early lead of 7-0.

After the Canadian TD it looked as though the Cyclones were putting together a promising drive consisting of several productive runs by sophomore RB David Dickson. However, the Cyclones decided to go to the air and sophomore Wildcat standout Cameron Copley came up with a 

momentum-stealing interception.

Following the Copley interception, the Wildcats took possession at mid-field and scored 5 plays later on an 8 yard TD pass from Schafer to Eddie Paz. The 2 pt conversion run failed and that would do it for the scoring in the 1^st quarter with the Wildcats leading 13-0.

Less than 30 seconds into the 2^nd quarter, Canadian would score on a Cameron Copley sweep around the end. The point 2 pt. conversion run failed once again and the score was 19-0 Canadian over Memphis.

The Cyclones running game stalled on their next drive, failing to convert a 4^th and long and the Wildcats would take over at the Memphis 48 yard line. Two plays later Schafer connected with Galla, this time for a 41 yard TD pass. The Benigno Heredia extra point was good and Canadian led 26-0 with 8:53 to play in the 2^nd quarter.

It was a quick turnaround as the Wildcats forced and recovered a fumble on the first play of the Cyclone’s drive and scored on the very next play on an 8 yard pass from Schafer to Sawyer Cook. Once again, the Heredia point after attempt was good and the Wildcats would lead 33-0 with 7:54 remaining in the half.

The Cyclones couldn’t manage to get anything going on the ensuing drive, and Canadian would take over with excellent field position. Tanner Schafer would eventually connect with Galla on a 5 yard TD pass, capping off a 7 play – 45 yard drive. The point after attempt was good and the Wildcats took a 45-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Canadian HC Chris Koetting removed the majority of his starters to begin the 2^nd half of play. 

Neither team scored in the 3^rd quarter but it was an excellent opportunity for some of the younger Wildcat back-ups to get valuable playing time. At the end of the 3^rd quarter, the score was still 45-0 Wildcats.

As the rain started to fall a bit harder in the 4^th quarter, the officials and coaches decided to keep a running game clock. Both defenses were stingy as time quickly ticked away but the Wildcats were finally able to put more points on the board with a line drive 40 yard field goal by Benigno Heredia. With 7:56 left to play in the game, Canadian held a 43-0 lead.

At that point it looked as though the Wildcats were bound and determined to keep the shutout intact. However, the Cyclones had different plans. Memphis drove it downfield on several runs by Junior RB Michael Alexander. Finally, the Cyclones were able to punch one in on a 6 yard QB keeper by Zack Altman with only :08 seconds left on the clock. Canadian blocked the PAT and would hold for the win by a score of 43-6.

Tanner Schafer led the Wildcats going 16/21 for 270 yards and 5 TD in only 2 quarters of play. Galla, also in 2 quarters of play, led the Wildcats with 130 yards receiving on 5 catches with 3 TD. Canadian piled up 394 yards of total offense compared with only 84 yards total offense for Memphis.

This week, the Wildcats welcome the 2-0 Perryton Rangers to town for Homecoming. The festivities will begin at 5:30 with a tailgate party at Wildcat Stadium, followed by a celebration honoring the 1950 and 1999 Wildcat teams. The Wildcats will also dedicate the field house to former Wildcat and fallen soldier, Miles P. Henderson. Game time will be 7:30PM. 

MEMPHIS at CANADIAN

By Canadian Wildcat Sports Network

Canadian Wildcat Football is back and better than ever. Last week the No. 4 Wildcats grounded the 4A Bushland Falcons in a high-octane slugfest by a score of 44-27. Canadian came into this season as the only Top 10 ranked team in the panhandle in any classification, and it showed last Friday night.

Canadian Head Coach Chris Koetting was pleased with his team’s big win in the season opener, “It was a really good start and honestly the kind of game we needed. They had a packed house and our stands were full and I was curious to see how we would respond in that type of environment. I was real pleased that we came out and played well,” said Koetting.

This week the Wildcats welcome the 2A Memphis Cyclones to town for the 2014 home opener at beautiful Wildcat Stadium. Memphis holds an 0-1 record on the short season after losing their season opener last week to Seymour, 20-12.

The Wildcats go from playing an extremely fast-paced team in Bushland to a much slower paced running team in Memphis.

Canadian is heavily favored in the match-up but don’t expect Coach Koetting to take the Cyclones lightly.

“I’ll be honest, I’ve been very impressed watching them on film. I think we’ll do real well against an offense like that but I’m still interested to see how we stack up against them. They have two big running backs and they like to pound it right at you,” said Koetting, when asked about the Cyclones.

The weather could be the big story in this one as there is greater than a 50% chance of severe weather in the area for Friday night.

□ Memphis (0-1) at Canadian (1-0) 7:30PM Friday – Wildcat Stadium

□ Last Week – Canadian defeated Bushland 44-27

                        Memphis lost to Seymour 20-12

□ Interesting Fact – Canadian ran over 70 total offensive plays last week against Bushland.

□ Keys To The Game – Memphis runs a Wing T offensive variation and doesn’t pass the ball much. The Wildcats will need to adjust to that type of slow ground and pound type of play after playing against a NASCAR offense in Bushland.

□ Harris Prediction – Canadian by 41 points

□ Our Prediction - NL