Sports writer: Brent Cook
October 27, 2022
The Whitney Wildcats traveled to Maypearl last Friday night and quickly took care of business, knocking out the Panthers 63-28.
The Wildcats raced into the end zone on the opening kickoff and added two more first-quarter scores to set the tone. Whitney’s offense kept firing, posting two touchdowns in each of the remaining quarters.
In the past four games, the Wildcats have averaged an astonishing 63 points, while on the flipside, the defense has limited opponents to 15 points per game during the same span.
With a 6-2 record on the season, including a 5-1 district showing, Whitney has two regular season games remaining on the schedule and has secured a spot in the playoffs.
The victory against Maypearl set up a showdown with the Grandview Zebras (6-2, 5-1) this Friday night at Wildcat Stadium. Grandview was ranked #3 in the state before falling 38-21 to the West Trojans (7-1, 6-0) last week. West, who had already defeated the Wildcats earlier this season, staked a claim to the district title with the win over the Zebras.
Whitney and Grandview will battle for the second seed from the district in the 3A-Division 1 playoff bracket. Along with identical records, the two teams have had similar seasons on paper. Both lost to tough teams in the first game of the season, and both fell victim to West by similar scores. Additionally, Grandview has outscored its opponents by 278 points, while Whitney’s point differential is 268.
Needless to say, the game should provide four competitive quarters of offensive strikes and defensive hits.
Against Maypearl, Whitney delivered on all fronts and never gave the Panthers a chance.
Seven different players found the endzone as the Wildcats had six scores in the air, two on the ground and one courtesy of the special teams.
Jordan Anderson started the scoring spree with the kickoff return then Jairdyn Anderson began filling the stat sheet with two touchdown receptions in the first quarter. The speedy specialist finished the night with six receptions for 173 and three touchdowns.
Down 21-0, Maypearl pieced together back-to-back scores, but then David Haynes III barreled into the endzone and Kaden Tanner hauled in a 50-yard touchdown reception.
The Wildcats headed into the locker room with a 35-21 advantage and kept the momentum rolling in the second half. Demarion Johnson started off the half with a 15-yard score. Johnson grinded through the Panther defense for 184 yards on 16 carries.
Sophomore quarterback Mason Seely continued his impressive season by adding on three touchdown tosses to close out the game. The first was a 70-yard connection to Anderson, which was followed by a 65-yard pass to Marcus Wilson and a 20-yard touchdown to Jordan Johnson.
Seely was efficient as ever, completing 17 or 23 passes for 353 yards and six touchdowns.
On defense, the Wildcats were up to the same all tricks throughout the night, applying pressure and forcing turnovers to keep the ball in the offense’s hands. The defense was once again anchored by Haynes III (15 tackles), Teagan Winkler (11 tackles, 1 INT) and Nathan Burrows (9 tackles, 1 sack).
Kickoff against Grandview is set for 7:30 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium.
The Lakelander 