Wildcats run through Falcons in Marawood decider
By Nathaniel Underwood
In a clash that would decide the fate of the Marawood/CWC-Small title and likely have a significant impact on playoff seeding, the Abbotsford Falcons battled the Edgar Wildcats at home last Friday evening. While the Falcons took an early lead and were able to stick with the visiting Edgar squad for a decent portion of the contest, the Wildcats offense proved to be more than Abbotsford could handle as they dealt the hosting Falcons a 42-21 defeat.
Three unanswered touchdowns between the second and third quarters for the Wildcats put Abbotsford in a tough position. After leading early on in the contest, the Falcons suddenly found themselves down 26-14 and with momentum completely shifted away from them. It felt like the home team would need a big play on their next drive in order to stick with an Edgar offense that had found its stride.
Quarterback Irvin Aguilera provided that boost. On the sixth play of the possession, facing a third and long, the junior took the ball straight up the gut, trusting his blockers to push back the Wildcats’ line. While they had an initial push, Aguilera had to break through a pair of arm tackles to make it through to the second level. There he was met by several more Edgar defenders, who seemingly had him stopped a yard or two short of the line to gain. But Aguilera muscled his way out of the pile, somehow appearing on the other side of the scrum and sprinted towards the end zone. While he was eventually tracked down inside the Wildcats’ five-yard line, the nearly 60 yard run seemed to be exactly what the Falcons needed to get back into the contest.
Christian Fuentes punched it in two plays later from a yard out and Abbotsford only found themselves down by five points. However, a lengthy kick-return set up Edgar with excellent field position and, on the first play from scrimmage, Wildcats running back Maverick Butt broke away for a 51-yard touchdown run. The play put the visitors back up by two scores with just under five minutes left in the third quarter and the Falcons could not recover.
While Abbotsford managed to convert on two consecutive fourth downs, a fumble on a handoff exchange after a low snap resulted in a turnover around midfield. The Falcons defense stopped Edgar from scoring, getting a turnover on downs, but they were trapped deep in their own territory. Abbotsford could not get anything going on their next drive, going backwards instead, and on a fourthand- 13, they opted to punt the ball away. Edgar drained the clock down to just over three minutes before Butt found the end zone again in what would be the conferenceclinching dagger. The Falcons had some big plays early on that allowed them to set the pace. On their first possession of the game, AJ Brodhagen took the ball on a counter that went for a 40yard touchdown. Abbotsford then came up with a huge defensive stop on Edgar’s opening drive, as Grayson Totzke recovered a fumble in the end zone to end the Wildcat threat.
While they were unable to move the ball following the turnover and Edgar scored on a short field on their next drive, the Falcons marched right down the field on their third possession, turning to Fuentes to convert on fourth-and-four to keep the drive alive and then again on fourth-and-two. The second run not only helped the Falcons retain the ball, but also set them up at the two-yard line, where Aguilera was able to score from on the next play.
The Abbotsford defense could not hold Edgar in check, and the Falcons watched their 14-6 lead evaporate as the Wildcats scored on their next four possessions. The visitors averaged 9.9 yards per carry on Friday night, amassing 338 yards on the ground as Abbotsford struggled to contain the conference rivals.
Aguilera led the team with 83 yards rushing and a touchdown on 14 carries and completed all three of his passes for 15 yards. Fuentes had 53 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and Brodhagen’s one carry went for the 40-yard touchdown. Fuentes also caught two balls for 13 yards and Brodhagen had a catch for two yards. Emilio Escalera also added nine carries for 36 yards.
Fuentes led the team with eight total tackles. Brodhagen, Aguilera and Irvin Davila each added five tackles and Chase Boller, Dan Davila and Angel Tzintzun all had four tackles.
With the loss, the Falcons finished the regular season with a 7-2 record, going 5-2 in the Marawood/CWC-Small conference. They ended up third behind the undefeated Edgar squad and Auburndale and received a four-seed in the upcoming WIAA playoffs. They will host a 7-2 Nekoosa squad on Friday, Oct. 25 for their first round matchup. The Papermakers have largely focused on a multi-faceted running attack on offense this season, accumulating over 2,300 yards on the ground while only passing for 532 yards. In their most recent game, the Papermakers lost a 16-6 halftime lead, falling to Wisconsin Dells 26-16.
Kickoff for the first round matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m.
FALCONS BACKS GO TO WORK - Irvin Aguilera, left, breaks away from the Edgar defense for Abbotsford’s longest play of the evening while Christian Fuentes, right, breaks a tackle for a key fourth down conversion.
STAFF PHOTOS/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
