Wildcats advance with 39-26 playoff win over Breese Central

The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School football team jumped ahead early Saturday afternoon and forced top seeded and host Breese Central High School to rely on their passing game.

The No. 4 ranked Wildcats used that to their advantage to upset the Cougars 39-26 in second-round action of the Class 3A high school playoffs.

The Cougars had relied on both their passing and running attacks this season but fell behind early.

“We got ahead of them and made them play from behind,” A-J football coach Brett Detering said. “They had to throw the ball a lot more than they thought they would.”

Cougars quarterback Austin Rickhoff had a stellar performance and was 28 of 43 passing for 333 yards.  Receiver Nick Grapperhaus had 13 receptions for 170 yards.

“We did a good job at times (on Grapperhaus) and gave him too much space on other times,” Detering said. “But we probably gave up more yards on him than I wanted.”

The fired up Wildcats defense had four quarterback sacks of Rickhoff and one pass interception.

One of the keys to the win was shutting down the potent running attack of Breese Central’s Jordan Lobb and Nathan Poekler.

“Our kids did a nice job of stopping the run early,” Detering said.  “Our special teams really played well.”

The Cougars were limited to 26 net yards rushing on 22 carries by the stingy Wildcats defense.

The Wildcats first drive  didn’t start well and was stalled by a lost fumble. After a short drive, Rickhoff connected with Grapperhaus on a 29-yard TD pass. Poelker’s extra point kick put the Cougars ahead 7-0 with 7:01 remaining in the first quarter.

The Wildcats bounced back when quarterback Brady Wright scored on a 10-yard run. Ayers’ extra point kick knotted the game 7-7 with 2:29 remaining in the first quarter.

A-J’s next drive was kept alive by a 16-yard pass on fourth down from Wright to Brent Taylor. Ayers capped the 6-play drive with a 14-yard TD run. Ayers’ extra point kick hit the bar and bounced off. The Wildcats still held a 13-7 lead with no time remaining in the first quarter.

The Cougars were forced to punt after A-J’s Andrew McMahan sacked Rickhoff,  thwarting the next drive.

After a nifty run by Austin Noble and a 16-yard pass from Wright to Damien Reed, Reed scored on a 4-yard run. Those plays fueled the lengthy 16-play drive. The conversion pass was incomplete and A-J led 19-7 with 2:31 remaining in the second quarter.

McMahan recovered a Cougars fumble to set up A-J’s next score. Wright connected on the sixth play of the drive with Ayers on a 15-yard TD pass. Ayers’ kick boosted the Wildcats to a 26-7 lead with 1:09 remaining in the first half.

The Cougars came back to score on a fourth down play when Rickhoff passed  to Grapperhaus for a 10-yard TD strike. Poelker’s extra point kick pulled Breese Central to 26-14 with no time remaining in the first half.

“We felt if we were going to win we had to have a halftime lead,” Detering said. “And, we still had a 12-point lead at halftime against a good team.”

  A short kick by the Cougars to open the second half put A-J in good shape when Dylan Sturgeon recovered the ball for the Wildcats to gain good field position.

However, the drive stalled after a lengthy time consuming drive.

Breese Central took over and appeared to be on the move again after Grapperhaus snared a Rickhoff pass that moved them downfield.

The drive ended thoughwhen A-J’s Michael Calhoun picked up a Cougars fumble and ran 33 yards to score. Ayers’ kick was off the mark.  The Wildcats were led 32-24 with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter.

“That was a huge defensive touchdown by Michael,” Detering said. “I believe it kind of made the difference in the game.”

The Cougars answered back with the third TD reception of the game for Grapperhaus. It was on a 15-yard pass from Rickhoff. The conversion pass failed and Breese Central pulled to 32-20 with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Reed intercepted a Rickhoff pass to set up the final score for the Wildcats.

Taylor scored on a 12-yard run following a brief drive. The conversion pass was incomplete and the Wildcats were ahead 39-20 with 4:15 remaining in the game.

With 2:24 left in the game, Lobb closed out the scoring for the Cougars on a 1-yard run.

“It was certainly a hard fought game,” Detering said. “We had to battle for everything we got.”

Wright led the rushing attack for A-J with 122 yards on 33 carries. Taylor added 38 yards on 8 carries and Dalton Baker had 31 yards on 3 carries. Wright was 9 of 19 passing for 94 yards.

“It’s the first time we’ve qualified for the quarterfinals since 2006,” Detering said. “It’s certainly a big bench mark for us. We thought all along we were one of the good teams in Southern Illinois this season.”

The Wildcats, 9-2, now advance to the semifinals to play Mount Carmel at “The Pit” Saturday. Breese Central finishes its season  9-2 overall.

The game, which kicks off at 1:30 p.m., will be aired on WIBH radio in Anna. The game also can be heard online by visiting <a href="http://www.annanews.com">www.annanews.com</a>.