BELLEVILLE — The Wildcats stayed neck-and-neck with Lancaster from the get go in Week 1, and late in the second half made the plays they needed to defensively to cap the come from behind victory.
The Flying Arrows led 22-14 entering the fourth quarter and forced a turnover on downs at the Lancaster 15. Belleville’s defense needed to make a handful of plays to keep the Flying Arrows from making it a two-score game — and they did just that.
“Our defense just realized that we had to put our nose down and just get dirty,” senior QB/LB Rayden Taylor said. “We started going all-out, just rush as hard as we could; tackle stronger.”
The Wildcats forced a three-and-out, and a bad snap had Lancaster punter Lukas Weber trying to scramble out of his own end zone, where he fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Belleville’s Dawson Smith for a touchdown. Belleville’s offense trotted out to convert a two-point conversion and tie the score. QB Rayden Taylor perfectly executed an option pitch to Jackson Fahey, who darted untouched into the end zone along the right side to even the score at 22 with 10:22 remaining in regulation.
The Flying Arrows went back to work on offense, with QB Toay Ragatz leafing the way, marching down the field. Despite penalties for taunting and holding, Lancaster still had a fresh set of downs from the Belleville 26. After a five-yard rush, Ragatz was sacked on three straight plays to end the threat — first by Jesse Luchsinger on second down, then a split sack by Landon Yarbough and Taylor, then, on fourth down, Ragatz ran backwards trying to open things up downfield, only to be caught at midfield by Luchsinger and Yarbough for a 22-yard loss.
The Wildcats had 4:16 to work with when play resumed, and they wasted little time aggressively working down the field. With 30 seconds left, Marcus Hebgen gave Belleville its first lead of the game on a seven yard rumble into the end zone. Brody Funseth’s extra point made it 29-22.
A perfect squib kick scooted by the Lancaster returner, and the coverage team tackled Arrows returner Sawyer Hollander at his own 13.
After an incomplete pass on first down and 15 seconds remaining, Ragatz needed to scramble on second down, and threw awkwardly across his body. Luchsinger made a bee-line to the ball, intercepting the pass just feet in front of its intended target and dashed 15 yards for the game-clinching touchdown.
“Everyone stepped up. We played really good as a team, especially in that second half,” someone said.
Lancaster had never trailed for the first 47 minutes, 30 seconds of the game. Ragatz made it 7-0 Lancaster after just five plays of offense, breaking a tackle and juking a defender en route to a 24 yard touchdown run on an option play. He would score again on a 25-yard draw in the third quarter. Ragatz finished the day with 145 yards rushing and another 42 passing.
“We had a lot of mistakes that we need to clean up, but we just gave it our all the whole game,” Taylor said. “It was just grit. I think people really just settled in and realized that we have nothing to be afraid ofl.”
Belleville matched Lancaster at 7-7 in the first quarter, as Taylor connected with Funseth on a 63-yard pass down the middle of the field. Lancaster went up 15-7 following that, converting a two-point conversion on a broken play on the extra point attempt. Belleville made it 15-14 just before halftime on a 9-yard pass from Taylor to Tyler Miyamoto.
Taylor ended the game with 231 yards and two TDs on 14 of 20 passing. He added another 38 on the ground. Funseth had six catches for 163 yards — after having just one catch as a sophomore last season. The Wildcats out-gained the Flying Arrows in offensive yardage 341-275.
“We did a lot of good things, but we did a lot of bad things, too, and honestly, that’s why I think it was somewhat of a struggle for us,” said head coach Mike Nolden. “Nobody’s perfect in Week 1, so you kind of expect some mistakes, but you hope to limit them, and we limited them enough tonight and made enough plays to win.”
In Week 2, Belleville will travel just down the road for the Highway 69 Rivalry game at New Glarus (1-0).
“This was our first Week 1 win in a couple of years, so we have a lot of momentum going into this game,” Funseth said.Warriors bag and tag WarCats 38-20
