By Jeff Odom
Through 41 minutes, the Wharton football team appeared set to cruise to victory against Sickles Sept. 7.
The last seven minutes were a different story.
After leading by 15 midway through the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (2-0) watched their advantage slip to two with 3:54 left. The Gryphons (1-1) drove down to the 1-yard line with 17 seconds remaining and looked poised to snatch away victory, but Wharton’s defense had other plans.
Linebacker Jacob Maier forced a fumble at the goal line, which was recovered by the Gryphons as time expired to preserve the Wildcats’ 29-27 win.
“Pressure,” Wharton linebacker Rocky Enos said of the last few seconds. “I believe our defense stepped up, definitely. We basically just kind of did whatever we had to do. … They made a mistake, and we came above.”
The game, originally scheduled at Wharton, was moved to Sickles because of poor field conditions stemming from heavy rain.
The Wildcats ran the ball well in the first half, a surprise after Sickles held Steinbrenner to –31 yards rushing in Week 1.
Between quarterback Chase Litton and running back Jeffrey Keil, Wharton totaled 64 yards in the first two quarters alone and finished with 91 on the night.
Wharton’s defense punished Sickles on its opening possession to give the Wildcats’ offense momentum, but their drive was brought to a halt when Litton threw an interception on the fourth play near midfield.
It would be the junior signal caller’s only error on the night. He finished 13-for-18 with 229 yards and four total touchdowns.
On their next drive, the Wildcats marched from their own 47 and scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Auden Tate to get on the board first.
The Gryphons tied the game in the second quarter, but Litton didn’t let it stay that way for long. The 6-foot-5 quarterback showed off his arm strength and accuracy with a 62-yard bullet to Deon Sampson. Vernon Hargreaves called his own number in the wildcat formation for the two-point conversion just before halftime.
Litton was able to find receivers in the most strenuous situations, which he credited to putting in time studying the opposition.
“I knew (Sickles) would blitz,” Litton said. “We watched film on them all week. We knew they would get us broke down, try to stand with us, throw different (patterns) at us, and it worked for the first half. The first couple drives I was a little rattled, and didn’t know what to do.”
Everything was clicking for Litton after halftime.
Wharton’s offense ate up yardage and the clock during a 10-play, 71-yard drive on its second possession out of the locker room.
Litton tore through the Gryphons’ secondary, completing passes of 15 and 10 yards before hitting Keith Hopkins on a 40 yarder on third-and-eight from the 47 to set up his own 5-yard rushing touchdown to go up 21-6.
Sickles quarterback Nate Mills, who was pulled in the first quarter, returned to action and immediately made himself known with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Bilal Salat to cut into the Wildcats’ lead. But, offensive mistakes and penalties killed the Gryphons’ momentum and their shot at the win.
Litton would add another touchdown on a 20-yard throw to Sampson with 9:27 left in the game.
“We’ll take the W, but the one thing, and most important, is you got to finish,” said Wharton coach David Mitchell. “It was great. I’m proud of the guys, but still you want to work on the little things. … Right now, we got two wins; we want more.”
Wharton travels to Chamberlain Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
