By Pat Culverhouse
Wossman’s Wildcats continued their hex over the Minden Crimson Tide Friday, knocking the Tiders out of state playoff competition with a 26-11 first round win in the state’s Division II Non-Select action.
It was the 15th win in 19 meetings between the two schools for Wossman.
Friday’s contest was not a thing of beauty, as the teams combined for five lost fumbles (two for Wossman, three on the Tide side) and inopportune penalties.
Minden’s troubles began almost immediately when a Tide pitchout was dropped and Wildcats defensive back Prestavion Washington dashed 80 yards with the fumble for a score at the 7:09 mark of the first quarter.
Washington’s score halted a promising Tide drive that began at their own 30-yard-line and advanced with the aid of a pair of Wildcats’ penalties.
Trailing 6-0, Minden got a 37-yard Bryson Ranger field goal to cut into the score, making it 6-3 at the end of a nine-play, 45 yard drive. That drive was helped along by a pass interference call, helping the Tide make it as far as the Wossman 17-yard-line before stalling.
Wossman rebounded in the second quarter thanks to a Tide fumble at its own 38. Just one play following the recovery, Richard Wilson, Jr. turned the corner and dashed to pay dirt. A missed two-point try left the Wildcats up 12-3.
Minden got on the scoreboard with just over four minutes remaining in the half when a bad snap sent Wossman quarterback Ja’Terrance Long into his own end zone where he was tackled for a safety, bringing the Tide within a touchdown at 12-5.
Things began to look up for the Tide early in the third quarter when running back Denarius Crowe dashed 10 yards up the middle to score with 9:43 remaining. A missed extra point, however, left the Tide on the short end at 12-11. And that would be the last score of Minden’s season.
Wossman iced the game with 3:30 left in the third quarter on a Long eight-yard touchdown run, ending a long 12-play, 82-yard drive. A missed two-point try left the score 18-11, but the Wildcats forced a turnover on downs on the Tide’s ensuing possession with just under two minutes remaining in the game.
From their 37, Wossman marched to the end zone, scoring on Michael Henderson’s one-yard run with only 48 seconds left in the game and a successful two-point try made it 26-11.
Minden’s usually strong running game was held in check by a swarming Wossman defense which limited Tide runners to only 113 yards on 35 rushes.
Caylien Aubrey, the Tide’s leading rusher for the season, finished the night with 40 yards on 11 carries while Crowe had 35 yards on nine attempts. Freshman Lucas Owens managed 31 yards on 10 tries and Kaiden Shine carried twice for 12 yards.
In the air, quarterback Hudson Brown completed six of 15 attempts for 37 yards as the Tide picked up just 150 yards in total offense.
Wossman gained 283 yards in total offense with 234 of that coming on the ground. Leading rushers for the Wildcats were Henderson with 118 yards on 20 carries followed by Long who had 86 on 12 attempts. The Wildcats were penalized 12 times for 115 yards while the Tide had four for 51 yards.
Minden ends its season at 8-3 while Wossman goes to 6-5 on the year. Next for the Wildcats will be a road game at Iowa (10-1), the fifth-ranked team in Division II.