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Western Wayne’s freshmen football team turned in yet another stellar performance Monday evening.
The young Wildcats preserved their undefeated record by staging a late rally to tie Riverside. The final score was 30-30 in a thriller at Sharkey Rosetti Memorial Stadium.
“Turnovers just killed us,” a disappointed Coach Gary Enslin told TWI Sports. “Riverside has a very good team, but this is a game we should’ve won...and we just let it slip away.”
Despite the tie, the Wildcats remain undefeated on the season. Western Wayne’s frosh are now 6-0-1 for the year.
Next up for the local lads is a pair of home games that will close out the campaign. The young ‘Cats host Lakeland next Monday afternoon in Varden (4:00 p.m.), then put out the welcome mat for Scranton Prep on November 9 (5:00 pm).
Stay tuned to TWI Sports for continuing coverage of Western Wayne’s freshmen gridders.
Fast Start
The Wildcats wasted no time leaping out to a quick lead in Monday’s showdown.
Robbie Siclari was the focal point of this opening drive. The freshman tailback ran for a pair of first downs before breaking loose on a 48-yard TD jaunt.
Siclari also tacked on the 2-point conversion, giving Western Wayne an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Robbie was on his way to another monster performance in this one. Siclari carried the ball 18 times for an eye-popping 205 yards and two TDs.
“He always runs hard,” said Coach Enslin of his offensive star. “Robbie gets you the tough yards inside, but he also has the speed to get outside. He can score from just about anywhere on the field.”
Western Wayne appeared on its way to an easy win five minutes later. The ‘Cats tallied an-other touchdown en route to a 14-point advantage.
Conner Rosensweet did the honors this time.
A talented scatback who was making his return after missing three games with an injury, Rosensweet scored the first of his two TDs on a short run off left tackle.
The Wildcats failed to convert a try for the conversion, but still led 14-0 with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter.
“We’re very glad to have him back,” Coach Enslin said of his wingback. “Conner was a little bit rusty. He made a couple of mistakes, but he made some big plays, too.”
Pillaging Vikings
Riverside finally slowed the Wildcat momentum early on in the second period.
Western Wayne’s freshmen football team turned in yet another stellar performance Monday evening.
The young Wildcats preserved their undefeated record by staging a late rally to tie Riverside. The final score was 30-30 in a thriller at Sharkey Rosetti Memorial Stadium.
“Turnovers just killed us,” a disappointed Coach Gary Enslin told TWI Sports. “Riverside has a very good team, but this is a game we should’ve won...and we just let it slip away.”
Despite the tie, the Wildcats remain undefeated on the season. Western Wayne’s frosh are now 6-0-1 for the year.
Next up for the local lads is a pair of home games that will close out the campaign. The young ‘Cats host Lakeland next Monday afternoon in Varden (4:00 p.m.), then put out the welcome mat for Scranton Prep on November 9 (5:00 pm).
Stay tuned to TWI Sports for continuing coverage of Western Wayne’s freshmen gridders.
Fast Start
The Wildcats wasted no time leaping out to a quick lead in Monday’s showdown.
Robbie Siclari was the focal point of this opening drive. The freshman tailback ran for a pair of first downs before breaking loose on a 48-yard TD jaunt.
Siclari also tacked on the 2-point conversion, giving Western Wayne an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Robbie was on his way to another monster performance in this one. Siclari carried the ball 18 times for an eye-popping 205 yards and two TDs.
“He always runs hard,” said Coach Enslin of his offensive star. “Robbie gets you the tough yards inside, but he also has the speed to get outside. He can score from just about anywhere on the field.”
Western Wayne appeared on its way to an easy win five minutes later. The ‘Cats tallied an-other touchdown en route to a 14-point advantage.
Conner Rosensweet did the honors this time.
A talented scatback who was making his return after missing three games with an injury, Rosensweet scored the first of his two TDs on a short run off left tackle.
The Wildcats failed to convert a try for the conversion, but still led 14-0 with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter.
“We’re very glad to have him back,” Coach Enslin said of his wingback. “Conner was a little bit rusty. He made a couple of mistakes, but he made some big plays, too.”
Pillaging Vikings
Riverside finally slowed the Wildcat momentum early on in the second period.
Jimmy Odzana led the way, dazzling Varden fans with one scintillating run after another. The Vikings’ tailback rushed for 185 yards and scored all 30 of his team’s points.
Odzana broke the ice on a 40-yard TD run with 5:04 remaining before intermission.
The ‘Cats answered quickly, though. Riverside marched right down the field it next possession, but turned the ball over when quarterback Conner Manley was picked by Rosensweet.
This led to a crowd-pleasing score by Western Wayne just before the break.
Wildcat QB Johnny Rhodes faked a hand-off to Siclari, then faded back to pass. He spotted Rosensweet running free over the middle and hit him on stride with a perfect pass.
Conner hauled the ball in and cruised 40 yards to paydirt with one second left on the clock. Rosensweet tacked on the conversion run, giving Western Wayne a 22-6 lead at halftime.
Down to the Wire
The Wildcats seemed to have this one well in hand, but the Vikes refused to fold.
Riverside scored back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter and tacked on both 2-point conversions to seize the lead.
Odzana did the vast majority of the damage. Jimmy scored on TD runs of seven and eight yards. Both scores came as a direct result of Western Wayne turnovers.
Suddenly, with precious minutes ticking off the clock, the ‘Cats found themselves on the short end of a 30-22 score.
Then, Siclari went back to work. Robbie put his team in scoring range by running over, around and through Riverside’s would-be tacklers.
Finally, on 4th and short at the Vikings’ 12-yardline, Siclari rumbled in for his final TD of the contest. Robbie also tallied to 2-point conversion and, with just 4:48 left in regulation, the game was tied at 30-all.
Riverside took over just inside midfield after a very short Western Wayne kick-off. From there, Manley simply handed the ball off over & over to Odzana. The Vikings’ elusive tailback used his cutback lanes well, dancing downfield.
With less than a minute remaining, Manley dropped back to throw. Riverside’s gunslinger lofted an ill-advised pass over the middle that Rosensweet ran down at the goal line.
Conner’s momentum carried him into the endzone, giving the ‘Cats one last chance from their own 20-yardline.
Siclari caught a swing pass from Rhodes and nearly went all the way. However, safety Nick Killina shoved him out-of-bounds deep in Riverside territory.
From there, Rhodes tried a pair of deep passes, the second of which Killina intercepted to end the threat..and the game.
Score by Quarters...
WW (6-0-1) 14 8 0 8 - 30
RIV (4-3-1) 0 6 16 8 - 30
