Wampus Cats fall in battle of Clark Forks
—Photo by ERIC PLUMMER Clark Fork junior receiver Bryant Moore looks back after burning the defense for a 15 yard touchdown catch in the first quarter on Thursday night.
—Photo by ERIC PLUMMER Clark Fork’s Jensen Heisel comes up to make a tackle as the Wampus Cats fell to the Mountain Cats in nonleague action.
CLARK FORK — Playing shorthanded and facing off against a roster that featured five players over 230 pounds, it was tough sledding for the Wampus Cats on Thursday night, as they fell 52-18 to the Clark Fork Mountain Cats in nonleague football action in Clark Fork, Idaho.
The Wampus Cats (1-1) were missing four starters in Dakota West, Noah Bova, Theo Icardo and Conner Hensley, and against the Mountain Cats from Superior, Montana, a team with solid size and speed, they needed all hands on deck.
“They were big and physical and just wore us down. We didn’t have the beef to match up with them,” said Wampus Cats head coach Brian Arthun. “They were quick on the outside, and we couldn’t contain the fly sweep.”
After the Mountain Cats converted a 33 yard touchdown pass on a 4th and 10 on the first drive to take an 8-0 lead, the Wampus Cats answered with a slow and steady drive of their own, culminating when Bryant Moore hauled in his fifth touchdown pass of the season from quarterback Wade Stevens to cut the lead to 8-6 in the first quarter.
The Mountain Cats would then reel off 28 unanswered points in a dominating second quarter, capped off by a 25 yard touchdown pass to Sterling Reece, as the 305 pound tackle caught everyone off guard by running a corner route and rumbling into the end zone after a nifty catch.
Stevens answered with a tough two yard run to cut the lead to 36-12 at the end of the half.
Stevens would add a five yard run for a score in the second half, his third touchdown of the game, but it wasn’t enough as the squad from Montana was simply too much. Despite the loss, Arthun felt his team competed and learned a lot in the process.
“In nonleague, you want to play better teams. It gives you an idea of how far you have to go,” said Arthun. “It was an eye opener for the kids to see where we need to be to play at that level.”
Hunter Boudousquie had a nice catch on a deep fade, and Drew Hammack earned some hard yards between the tackles while filling in at running back for Bova. Once the Cats get everyone healthy and eligible, they figure to be one of the teams to beat in the White Star League.
Clark Fork hosts Lakeside in WSL action next Friday, their third straight home game to start the season.