Wampus Cats season ends with loss to No. 4 Deary
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Senior Dakota West looks for daylight in the Wampus Cats’ loss to Deary on Friday night in Clark Fork.
CLARK FORK — The Wampus Cats took the first drive of the second half down to score and cut the lead to a one score game, but No. 4 ranked Deary eventually wore them down, grinding out a 56-24 win over Clark Fork Friday night in a game played with a state berth on the line.
The Wampus Cats (6-3) were plagued by a slow start, falling behind 20-0 before rallying in the second and third quarters, but Deary (6-2) used some ground and pound football to wear the Cats down in the fourth quarter.
“We got off to a slow start, being down 20-0 in first quarter. We didn’t tackle very well in the first quarter. They scored a 70 yard touchdown pass,” lamented Cats head coach Brian Arthun. “In the second quarter we got going a little, we cut it to one score (20-16). It was a game of momentum. We got within a score twice, but just kind of fell apart in the fourth quarter and shot ourselves in the foot.”
Clark Fork quarterback Cameron Garcia scored a seven yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 20-7 in the second, followed by an eight yard touchdown run by Theo Icardo to cut the lead to four points before Deary answered with a pair of score to close the half leading 32-16.
Garcia, an excellent natural athlete and dual threat quarterback, finished with 82 yards rushing and 87 yards passing, with Toben Pincher hauling in 33 yards receiving. The Cats took the first drive of the third quarter down and scored on Garcia’s second touchdown run, cutting the Deary lead to 32-24.
Josh Constantin had two sacks and Garcia an interception, but the Cats could not get the key stops in the third quarter when the game was close.
It was a tough year for the Cats, who thought they’d secured a playoff berth earlier in the year only to find out they didn’t after a misunderstanding with the Idaho High School Activities Association. The young team has a bright future, and figures to be playoff team in the next couple seasons.
“Overall I’m proud of the boys for a good season. It didn’t quite end the way we wanted it to,” said Arthun, whose team was very close to a playoff berth. “It will be good for us moving forward.”
Deary 20 12 8 16 — 56
Clark Fork 0 16 8 0 — 24
CF — Garcia 7 run (run good)
CF — Theo 8 run (Nate Hernandez catch)
CF — Garcia 7 run (Chase Sutton catch)