Mistakes prove costly for Wildcats in road loss to Clay Center

CLAY CENTER – A promising start quickly unraveled for the Louisburg Wildcats last Friday, as costly penalties and turnovers doomed their chances in a 34-7 road loss to Clay Center.

Louisburg had two touchdowns called back due to penalties in the first half and committed four turnovers in the game — mistakes that proved too much to overcome against a physical Clay Center squad.

The Tigers struck early with a 2-yard touchdown run from Eisaac Girton in the first quarter. Girton added another score in the second, this time a 38-yard dash to give Clay Center a 13-0 lead heading into halftime.

Despite the early setbacks, Louisburg responded in the third quarter with their lone touchdown of the night. Quarterback Max Amren connected with Martin Soto for a 20-yard score, and Maddox Day added the extra point to cut the deficit to 13-7.

But any momentum Louisburg had was quickly erased in the fourth quarter. Clay Center rattled off 21 unanswered points — including a 2-yard touchdown by Drew Hoffman, another Girton scoring run from 11 yards out, and a 41-yard interception return by Cayden Schwab.

Offensively, the Wildcats showed flashes of potential. Tate McGreer led the ground game with 48 yards on seven carries, while Bryce Thompson added 34 yards on 12 attempts. Amren finished 10-of-22 passing for 83 yards, with Soto, Ayden Filkins, and John Guetterman among the key targets.

On defense, Thompson anchored the Wildcats with a game-high 14 tackles. Johnny Hendrickson and Guetterman added 12 and 11 tackles, respectively.

Still, the Wildcats were left frustrated by missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds.

“This game could be a positive if we can learn from it,” Louisburg head coach Drew Harding said. “I think this game really showed if you have a bad week of preparation you are probably not going to play well on a Friday night.  Unfortunately for us, we didn’t prepare very well and so the result wasn’t where we want to be.”

Louisburg will try and bounce back this Friday as the Wildcats travel to Bonner Springs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

CC      7          6          0          21 – 34

LOU    0          0          7          0 – 7

Scoring Summary

First quarter

CC: Eisaac Girton 2 run (kick good)

Second quarter

CC: Girton 38 run (kick failed)

Third Quarter

L: Martin Soto 20 pass from Max Amren (Maddox Day kick)

Fourth Quarter

CC: Drew Hoffman 2 run (Hoffman run)

CC: Girton 11 run (kick good)

CC: Cayden Schwab 41 interception return (kick failed)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Tate McGreer 7-48; Bryce Thompson 12-34; Cole Heinrich 2-28; Max Amren 5-11

PASSING – Max Amren 10-22-83

RECEIVING – Ayden Filkins 1-29; Martin Soto 1-20; John Guetterman 5-18; Bryce Thompson 2-9; Lincoln Nielsen 1-7

TACKLES – Bryce Thompson 14, Johnny Hendrickson 12, John Guetterman 11, Cole Heinrich 7, Michael Foote 6, Mathias Wright 5, Cole Poindexter 3, Hunter Brotherton 3, Martin Soto 1, Gage Feldkamp 1, Will Norton 1, Freddy Moreau 1, Braxton Koechner 1, Colin Schleicher 1