Wildcats wrap up first half of season with Homecoming win

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After back-to-back road games in Week’s 3 and 4, the Sulphur Springs Wildcats were back home Friday night, excited to play in front of their home crowd. It wasn’t just any regular home game, however, but Homecoming night, which came with a lot of excitement and a packed crowd. 

Entering the game with a 3-1 record and coming off a 41-15 road win over Van Alstyne, Sulphur Springs certainly had a lot of momentum going into the game. The Wildcats were looking to pick up their fourth win in five games, something they haven’t done since the 2018 season.

The Wildcats won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, putting their defensive unit out there to start things. The Sulphur Springs defense, or as Chad’s Media color commentary man Ryan Humphries has coined ‘The Blue Barrage’ had only allowed 72 points in their first four matches. 

Liberty-Eylau started with the ball, and immediately took the opening kick past the 50-yard line. The Leopards were able to take advantage of the good field position, driving down to score in just a handful of plays. 

After the score, the Leopards went for the 2-point conversion, giving themselves a chance to take a quick 8-0 lead. The pass was incomplete, however, keeping the Wildcats trailing by just six points. 

Sulphur Springs was looking to answer back quickly, though their opening drive didn’t get off to a great start. The Wildcats were able to gain just eight yards on their first three plays, bringing up a 4th-and-2 from their own 33-yard line. Rather than punting, Sulphur Springs ran a fake punt, in which Matt Mitchell kept the ball and ran for a first down. 

The momentum propelled the Wildcats down the field, quickly making their way inside the red zone after a couple of plays, including a 15-yard penalty on the Leopards. Making their way further down the field, the drive ended with CJ Williams taking a direct snap six yards, for a touchdown. 

Kicker Uriel Santa Cruz knocked down the PAT, giving the Wildcats a 7-6 lead with 4:52 left in the opening quarter. After allowing six points on the opening drive, the Sulphur Springs defense never allowed another point for the remainder of the game, keeping Liberty-Eylau at just six points on the night. 

Santa Cruz had a big hand in that, pinning the Leopards down inside their five-yard line on three different occasions. Needing 95+ yards to go, Liberty-Eylau was never able to drive the distance of the field. 

Meanwhile, the Wildcats offense looked just as good, quickly adding to their lead on just their second offensive drive. After the defense did a great job of forcing a three-and-out, the Wildcats started their second offensive drive inside opponent territory, with the drive starting on the Leopards 38-yard line.

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On the first play from scrimmage, the Wildcats started in shotgun formation, with Williams acting as the running back. Quarterback Brady Driver tossed the ball backwards to Williams, who faked like he was going to run and threw the ball. 

Williams threw the ball to a wide open Jackson Haire, who faked the defense into thinking it was a run play. Haire caught the wide open pass and scored, pushing the Sulphur Springs lead to 14-6 late in the first quarter. 

After yet another stop, Sulphur Springs got the ball back early in the second quarter, once again with great field position, after Williams returned the punt all the way up to the Leopards 36-yard line. The Wildcats were able to once again make their way to the red zone, getting as close as the 17-yard line before facing a fourth down situation. 

Looking at a 34-yard field goal, coach Faircloth and company called on Santa Cruz to attempt the field goal. Santa Cruz knocked it down, pushing the lead to 17-6 with 9:04 still left to play in the first half. 

Liberty Eylau’s best chance to score came later in the quarter when they were able to pick off Driver in Sulphur Springs territory. They were able to return the interception all the way to the five-yard line, giving themselves a great chance to put points on the board and make it a one-score game. 

On 1st-and-goal, a bad snap sent the ball all the way back to the 17-yard line. Liberty-Eylau was unable to recover from the mistake and turned the ball over on downs, giving Sulphur Springs the ball back with their 17-6 lead still intact. 

Driver and the offense got the ball back with 3:47 left, looking to go 91 yards and make up for the turnover on the drive before. A rush by Malachi Roland gave the offense a first down, getting the drive out to a hot start. 

Just a couple plays later, Driver dropped back to pass and kept it himself, picking up a first down and getting the ball closer to midfield with 1:30 left in the half. On the following play Driver passed to Matt Mitchell, who gained a ton of yards, moving the ball past midfield and all the way to the Leopards 39-yard line. 

With momentum fully on their side, Driver dropped back to pass once again on the following play, finding Williams who beat a pair of men down the field. Williams caught the ball in the end zone, catching his third score of the night and giving the Wildcats a 24-6 lead. 

After an exciting first half which saw a combined 30 points scored, neither team was able to find any offense in the second half. The Sulphur Springs defense held on strong, making sure the Wildcats won by a final score of 24-6.

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Williams was named the Slaughter’s BBQ Player of the Game by Chad’s Media, after an excellent outing. Williams threw a 38-yard touchdown pass, as well as ran a six-yard touchdown and caught a 39-yard touchdown, giving him one passing, one running and one receiving touchdown.

“Every day [we practice that play],” Williams said, in reference to his trick play touchdown pass. “I just smiled, saw him wide open, and threw it.” 

Williams also spoke about his play since returning from an injury before the season. “Had to come out with it, I had too. Being out for two games and not playing like that, is was kind of bothering me a little bit, so, I just had to step up [when I came back].”

Despite not having a touchdown, Roland finished the game with exactly 100 rushing yards for the second week in a row, as he finished exactly at the 100 mark in the 45-15 win over Van Alstyne as well. 

Driver threw for a touchdown in the game as well, pushing his season total up to 10 passing touchdowns. He also has four rushing touchdowns, giving him a total of 14 touchdowns to just two turnovers, through the first five weeks of the season. 

The win pushes Sulphur Springs record to 4-1, a mark they haven’t reached through the first five games of the season since 2018. After the game we were able to catch up with coach Faircloth. 

“I’m so happy [for our team] and happy for our fans,” Faircloth said. “It’s maybe been a long time coming, but man, for our hard work to payoff and to give the seniors this experience and to give our fans a fun Homecoming win, nothing really beats it. I’m proud to be a Sulphur Springs Wildcat.”

“I feel great,” Faircloth added, about his team’s 4-1 start. “I’m just so proud of the kids. It’s been a long five weeks and they’ve worked so hard, they’ve practiced so hard, so, to see their hard work pay off is really special.”

The Wildcats will get a much-needed bye week this week, before beginning district play next week. With two full weeks to prepare, they will open district play Friday, Oct. 7 at home against Community. 

To see our live broadcast of the game, go to Youtube.com/ChadsMedia or visit the Front Porch News Facebook.

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