Swansong for the Cats vs. the Streamwood Falcons

Last week's victory over Glendale Heights proved to be the only win of the 1-7 season for the Wildcats. A result of one solid and one lucky pass, today's 15-0 loss will keep the Cats out of the playoffs and effectively end the 06 season.

In a last-quarter-of-the-last-game surprise, the coach put in a series of offensive players not normally ball carriers and ended up with a string of first downs. Individual skills trumped strategy as the Cats began to progress downfield more steadily than ever, but too late. "I don't know what we're doing, but it's working," said QB Travis Kuhlmann. The main thing, said head coach Rohrdanz, also president of the Bill George Youth Football League, is that the kids had fun.

And of course they did.

Wildcats Win! vs. Glendale Heights

Today's 35-26 win under the lights put the Wildcats on the board this season and put fourth quarter smiles on all five coaches. In the first quarter, Glendale Heights scored quickly, but Dean Pauley came back with a Wildcat touchdown to tie. A kickoff return for a second TD put Glendale Heights back on top.

In the second quarter, Nick Turner ran in to tie again, but Glendale Heights went to 18-12 with two minutes to go. After a great run by Ben Trygar, Nick ran in again to tie at 18's with 9 seconds on the clock.

Ben Trygar took it the ball again in the third quarter to bring the Wildcats to 25-18 with the extra point, but Glendale Heights answered and made the two-point pass to put them back in the lead.

In the last quarter Travis Kuhlmann ran in up the middle and gained the extra point again to make it 32-26. For a moment it looked as if Glendale Heights might reply again after the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs, but an interception by Jimmy Rizzo in the last minutes sealed the game.

With 1-6 now on the season, the Wildcats could still see the playoffs if they win next week's game and the coin toss. In the words of head coach Eric Rohrdanz, "it's up to them."

Game Six vs. Hanover Park Hurricanes

Today's game had a few bright plays -- a well-timed pass from Travis Kuhlmann to Gordon Behr and a great run by Zach Burghardt put the cats within the 10. The Hurricanes blew through the first half with two end runs for 12 and doubled the lead to 24-0 by the final whistle, putting the Cats at 0-6 on the season.

No practice tomorrow -- we'll be at the shooting range fields on Tuesday at 5:30.

Wildcats vs. Hinsdale Falcons

After the record-setting rains at the end of last week, both teams were wearing a lot of mud within minutes of the starting whistle. Good Wildcat blocking allowed Dean Pauley to make two good runs and get the Cats within scoring range and off to a quick lead of 6-0. Hinsdale responded a decent trek through the mud of their own to tie it up again. Just before the half, a pass by Travis Kuhlmann found Zach Burghardt and paved the way for a 12-6 lead. Going into the second half, the Falcons came back with a second TD and added the extra point as well. Both defenses held through the remainder of the game and the final stood at 13-12, our closest game yet. The loss brings the Wildcats to 0-5 on the season.

Practice resumes tomorrow at 5:30 at the firing range field.

Game Four vs. South Elgin

Game four vs. the South Elgin Patriots ended within striking distance at 14-20 to put the Wildcats record at 0-4. Gordon Behr made a great reception from Travis Kuhlmann which led to a touchdown run by Ben Trygar, but left the Wildcats down 20-6 at the half. A 25-yard run by Nick Turner gave the Cats some yardage as did an interception and run by Jimmy Rizzo. Zach Burghardt made another touchdown run to bring the Wildcats to 12 and an extra point pass to Chance Coats put the team within six as the final minutes of the game wound down.

Practices this week will resume with the Monday/Tuesday/Thursday schedule at 5:30 to dark, which is getting earlier every day (!)

The remaining game schedule looks like this:

9/24 - Away at Hinsdale Falcons
10/1 - Home vs. Hanover Park Hurricanes
10/7 (!) - SAT-7 p.m. - Away at Glendale Heights Spartans
10/15 - Home vs. Streamwood Falcons

Practice on Saturday

No practice today, but on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. with full pads. The game is on Sunday at home vs. S. Elgin at 11:30 a.m. -- meet at 10:00 a.m.

Practice Tomorrow in Carol Stream

There will be a practice tomorrow at 5:30 at the field in Carol Stream.