After losing to Normandy in the sectional playoff round, the Wildcats look back on a season filled with progress and the advancement of young program. The 8-3 squad finished tied for their most wins in program history and captured their second district title.
The season was marked with big wins, pulling out wins during close games. During the beginning of the season the Cats came back to St. Mary’s after being down 10-0 in the fourth quarter. “The turning point in our season was the decisive drive at St. Mary’s where we drove down the field to take the lead with under a minute to go,” said Zack Dorton, senior.
The Wildcats were led by tough defense, setting a school record by allowing only 120 points during the regular season. The Cats were led by Brett Park, senior, who accumulated 73.5 tackles, 18 for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 2.5 sacks.
Pulling out wins in the midst of hostile environments was a theme of the 2009 season, as the team won at Borgia for the first time in program history. The Cats pulled out the win in dominating fashion led by a strong performance by the offensive line. The Cats amassed 179 yards on the ground in route to a 21-7 victory.
At home, each game was played in sloppy conditions, which fit the Cat’s style. They managed to shut out both Lutheran North and Bishop DuBourg. Finishing out the regular season with Ste. Genevieve, the Cats were all business. They scored 28 points in the first quarter, on the way to getting the victory.
As district play rolled around the Wildcats took down MICDS at home in front of a packed Carnival crowd. The 14-13 victory was a defensive struggle ending on a critical missed extra point by the Rams. The Cats went on the road to St. Charles the next two weeks and beat St. Charles and Duchesne to wrap up their second district championship.
The Cats turned around a 2-8 season marked by frustration in 2008 into an 8-2 finish to the regular season.
“We had a lot of veteran players and we learned from our mistakes last year,” said Karlton Smith, senior.
The senior experience helped the team pull out major wins, in large part to their work ethic. Next season J.D. Perona, head coach, hopes the upcoming players will build on this season.
“We will be a young team, but hopefully we can build on the success. We want to get to a point where we are reloading instead of rebuilding,” said Perona.