MULVANE, KS - On Saturday, the Holton Wildcats ended the season for the Mulvane Wildcats at Lyle Couch Stadium in Mulvane with a final score of 35-14.
After a 28-6 loss by Mulvane last year against Holton, this year’s Mulvane Wildcat seniors were determined to erase the doubters and do what last year’s seniors couldn’t. However on a sunny afternoon, the Holton Wildcats proved to be too much for the Mulvane Wildcats.
The outcome was not really in doubt after Holton rang up a 28-0 lead by halftime. The points were put up by Drake Ewing, Brenden Hampton, and Mason Barta, including a 74-yard run by Hampton, who also executed all four PATs during the first half.
Holton rushed for a total of 543 yards during the game. The Holton defense limited the Mulvane Wildcats to only 92 rushing yards.
The Holton O-line is made up of seniors Dylan Wheeler, Cooper Zeller, Bradley Hooper, Jake Riederer, Daniel Gorden, Andrew Aeschilman, Kyle Mick, and junior Cooper Allen. Most of the Holton offensive line is over 200 pounds, and most are over six feet tall. Size, discipline, and chemistry seem to make this bunch of players unstoppable.
After halftime, Mulvane graced the field ready to put some points on the board to make an attempt at a comeback, but did not score until the latter half of the third quarter on a 1-yard run by RJ Reiger. After a successful PAT by Trevor Wayman, the third quarter ended with a score of 35-7.
Mulvane senior Michael Mason scored the final touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run. Mason racked up 77 yards on 25 carries during the game. Overall, Mason had 2,232 rushing yards on 296 carries in his final season as a high school player.
“Target makes it sound like we’re trying to hurt him, but we knew he was the key to their offense and the key to stopping them,” said Holton quarterback Ethan Holaday about Mason. Holaday scored a 36-yard touchdown for the Holton Wildcats during the third quarter of the game.
Mason has topped several school records, including season touchdowns and season rushing yards.
“It feels good,” said Mason. “I did a lot of off-season work to get ready for this season and it feels good to know that the hard work paid off and that my team could always rely on me to carry the ball. Although my name goes down in the books, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without the offensive line and receivers blocking for me.”
There were a few questionable plays and calls during the game. Mulvane had a few scores called back by penalties and the game got overly physical at times.
“I knew it was going to be hard to win without any points,” said Mason. “I knew we had to find a way to score. We were getting good plays going, but not good drives. We knew it was gonna be tough and we did everything we could to make things happen.”
Senior Shane Sullivan, one of anchors of the Mulvane defense, led the Wildcats with two fumble recoveries.
“It was very disappointing,” said Mulvane senior Isaiah Evans. “We had opportunities, but didn’t capitalize. We had a great group of seniors, and it will be disappointing not playing with them anymore.”
The defending 4A state champion Holton Wildcats will host the Andale Indians for the chance to advance further into the playoffs on the road to the state game in Salina on Friday, Nov. 15.
“We need to play our best game of the year in order to get past them,” said Holaday.
