The 'Cats faced off against their first District 9-5A opponent on Friday night, September 25th, at the Boneyard.

Our opponent was one of the best teams in the state of Texas - the Skyline Raiders.

Skyline is not only one of the top teams in the state, but they are also nationally ranked.

The Raiders have no less than nine players currently committed to play college ball next year.

Judging by the final score alone, it’s easy to be disappointed with the 42-27 loss, but the 'Cats came to play and put up a fight until the very end.

“As I told the team, I’m very proud of the way we competed,” says Head Coach Scott Smith. “Skyline is likely the best team we’ll play all year.”

The offense started out the night moving the ball well and scored on their first drive of the night when Jason Dann kicked a 32-yard field goal.

Dann would add another 42-yard kick to the score in the 2nd quarter, but had his third field goal attempt blocked just before halftime.

Against an explosive team like Skyline, having to settle for field goals will usually cost you the game. This certainly was the case on Friday night.

“You have to give credit to Skyline. They made some big plays on defense to shut down our drives in the first half,” says Smith. “We needed to punch those in for touchdowns, but even so we felt like we were in a great shape at the end of the half.”

With a halftime score of 14-6, the Wildcats had Skyline in an unfamiliar position with only 8 points separating the teams. Skyline has made a habit of blowing teams out early and often.

However, any thought that the game would remain low scoring was quickly dismissed halfway through the 3rd quarter when Skyline scored two quick TDs.

With the score at 28-6, Skyline was threatening to blow the game wide open. However, the 'Cats proved they weren’t going down without a fight.

With 24 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, Wildcat junior running back Desmond Roland scored on a two yard run to bring the 'Cats back within striking distance.

But in the end, Skyline’s explosive offense just wouldn’t be denied. While the 'Cats managed to keep the game close, Skyline continued to pound away with an impressive ground attack that produced 284 rushing yards on the night.

Raider running back, Tony Drake, averaged over 11 yards per carry and ended the night with 219 yards on 19 carries.

Leading rusher for the Wildcat offense was Desmond Roland with 186 total yards - a season high for the junior running back.

“We had a lot to be proud of Friday night,” says Coach Smith. “While we made some mistakes, we left everything on the field and that’s all we ever ask of our players.”

The Wildcats have another short week, facing off against Sunset this Thursday night. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Kincaid Stadium in Dallas.

Game photos (left) of Desmond Roland on the TD carry and (right) of Ricky Zorn are provided courtesy of David Werther.