Cardinals Survive Late Wildcat Rally to Post First Win of Season
Contact: Paul Worstell, 816-415-5959
November 9, 2009
After eight weeks of disappointment, the William Jewell College Cardinals registered their first football win of the season defeating Culver-Stockton College 20-13 at Greene Stadium in Liberty.
Senior Mike Heggie knocked down a fourth-down pass in the end zone in the final minute to preserve the win. Jewell entered the fourth quarter with a seemingly comfortable 20-6 lead, but this season a lead has been anything but comfortable.
Jewell seemed in control and when senior Daniel Johnson, who had scored earlier on a 29 yard catch-and-run pass from junior Drew Witman, caught a ball in the flat and had a first down as he crossed the Jewell 25 yard line. As he was being tackled, however, the ball was stripped loose and the Wildcats took possession deep in the Cardinal end with under nine minutes to go.
An end-around option pass thrown up for grabs by the Wildcats was pulled down in the end zone by Stacjuan Kelly, and with the extra point Culver-Stockton and pulled to within seven points. With their next possession, the Cardinals moved to midfield before the drive stalled; the punt went into the end zone giving the Wildcats the ball back at their own 20 on the touchback.
It didn’t take Culver-Stockton long to threaten. After several successful running plays and a short pass, the Wildcats had a first down at the Jewell 11 yard line with less than two minutes to play. The Cardinals defense gave up only three yards over the next three plays, and the contest came down to a 4th and seven call from the Jewell eight yard line to settle the game.
After a play fake, quarterback Jake Harnacke rolled to his left and looked for a target in the end zone. Williams seemed to come open as the pass was lofted his way in the deep corner, but Heggie sliced in to knock the ball down with one hand to effectively end the game.
Junior Zach Traphagen, playing again with a cast on his left hand, led the team with 10 tackles, two and a half sacks and a total of four tackles for losses. Junior Dave Diener had nine tackles and a fumble recovery.
Offensively, junior Jake Lynch returned from an ankle injury and had 104 yards rushing and a touchdown. Jewell rushed for 188 yards as a team and threw for 161 more yards behind Witman. Freshman kicker J.R. Reynolds had two field goals.
The Cardinals will conclude the 2009 season at Lindenwood on November 14 with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.
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