Wildcats win 19-0 in mistake-filled game

By Idris Garcia

Correspondent

There were not many tricks for the Hixson Wildcats football team, but they managed to collect a few treats at home in a 19-0 District 6-AA win in a frigid Halloween contest Friday night against Brainerd.

The Wildcats scored all of the game's points in the first half and then used a steady run game to keep the clock moving in the second half. Marshall Cooper did his best to stay warm in the biting wind, amassing more yards on the ground (111) than the Panthers team (87) in the first half.

"We blew opportunities," Brainerd coach Brian Gwyn said. "We turned the ball over about five times, and when they turned the ball over we didn't capitalize."

Cooper, who finished with 164 yards rushing on 15 carries, was responsible for the first Hixson touchdown, taking a handoff 42 yards in the first quarter. Four minutes later, Preston Wilkey punched one in from 3 yards out to give his team a 13-0 lead. James Cole picked off a Panthers pass less than a minute into the second quarter and scored two plays later for the game's final end-zone trip.

Neither team could find a rhythm in the second half, and turnovers started to mount on both sides. The teams combined for 10 fumbles and eight turnovers.

"Well, it was a win. They played hard," Wildcats coach Dan Duff said. "The defense played well, but our offense had too many mishaps. We can't turn the ball over like that in the playoffs, or we're not going to be playing very long."

Was it the weather?

"I hate to blame it on something like that," Duff said. "I think we were just careless. We have to work on the fundamentals."

Although they did not manage to score, the Panthers ran the ball effectively, with two rushers over 100 yards. Quarterback Malik Beavers had 113 yards on 17 carries and speedster Kaylen Stewart accumulated 103 yards on nine touches.

Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com

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