Following the 'Cats 68-0 win over Sunset last week, the celebration was short-lived.

Coach Smith turned the page on the easy win for good reason - district 9-5A rival Berkner was next on the schedule.

While Friday night's game ended up in the LHHS win column with a final of 20-10, it began without the ‘Cats offense or defense firing on all cylinders.

By the end of the 1st quarter, the Cats offense had not registered a first down and the defense had given up a rushing TD.

However, by the middle of the 2nd quarter, the ‘Cats offense started to click and the defense found its footing against Berkner's triple option attack.

“We knew coming in it was going to be a dog fight,” says Wildcat Head Coach Scott Smith. “Berkner is a good football team but we had a great week of preparation. We started out slow, but we weren’t going to panic.”

With just under six minutes to go in the first half, the Wildcats were finally able to move the chains when senior quarterback Ricky Zorn reeled off an 11-yard run.

That play triggered the passing attack, and on the next play Zorn hit sophomore wide receiver, Michael Wright for a much needed 42-yard gain.

While it looked like the ‘Cats were poised to tie the game, their first sustained drive of the night stalled out after a couple of critical penalties. Wildcat senior kicker Jason Dann came in on 4th down and put the ‘Cats first points on the board with a 23-yard field goal.

However, Berkner would strike back just before halftime when Jason Dann’s kickoff was returned for 75 yards.

The big return set-up a Berkner field goal with just 11 seconds left in the half. Berkner went into the locker room leading at the half, 10-3.

The ‘Cats were not only behind on the scoreboard, but the second half would see them playing without two of their starters for the rest of the night.

Junior defensive back David Green and senior offensive lineman Scott Hanks were done for the night after both suffering injuries during the 1st quarter.

“Going into halftime, we just wanted to be in a position to win the game,” says Coach Smith. “Berkner had switched up a couple things on us, but we adjusted well. It was simply a matter of executing and finishing.”

Berkner received the second half kickoff, and in what turned out to be a preview of the rest of the game, the Wildcat defense gave up very little ground and forced a quick punt.

While the ‘Cats went three and out on their first offensive series of the second half, huge plays were right around the corner.