HS Football: A Historic Night for Willis During Wildkat Defeat of Cleveland at Home

WILLIS, TX -- The Willis Wildkats (6-0) thoroughly defeated the Cleveland Indians (0-5) on the team’s way to continued perfection on the season.

The tone was clear from the opening snap. Wildkat quarterback D.J. Lagway found a receiver over the middle of the field for a touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage. Continual shots down the field and plays made via broken tackles allowed the Willis offense to rip apart the opposing defense.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Willis Head Coach Trent Miller spoke on his team’s offensive production in the opening half.

“It all starts with the offensive line,” said Miller. “We have dynamic, explosive players all over the field, and it can be challenging to spread the love, especially when you are scoring when you want on drives.”

Willis’ offense sprinted out to a staggering lead following their impressive first quarter. The Indians failed to get on the board until back-to-back strikes through the air from quarterback Ruben Mendez got his team on the board.

Going into the half, the Wildkats sat on the doorstep of history with a lead of 68-7 with a total of 10 touchdowns through two quarters. The number to beat for the most points scored in a single game in Willis program history was 73, and with Laway on the field, the task was well in hand.

A touchdown pass on a slant to receiver Debraun Hampton broke the record, with the Wildkats totaling 75 points on the game. A total of six different Wildkats reached the endzone on this historic offensive night.

“It is exciting for this town,” said Miller on breaking the record. “This town and this community deserve this, they had been looking for that spark of excitement for a long time, and we are excited to be able to deliver it.”

Cleveland's starting quarterback, Mendez went down with an injury midway through the third quarter, forcing the Indians to bring in a backup to spark the offense. He did so with a lengthy drive that capitalized on Willis’ second unit defense before punching it into the endzone on the legs of Isaiah D. Harrison.

The Cleveland touchdown would be the last score of the game as both teams favored the run in the second half to eat as much clock as possible. The final whistle came with Willis taking home a commanding 75-14 win over the Indians.

The win continues the unbeaten streak for the Wildkats but also secures the program’s first 6-0 start.

“I could not be more excited for it,” said Miller on the unbeaten streak. “Enjoy it, celebrate it. We have a short week next week, and we will get back to work tomorrow morning.”

The Wildkats have a short week next week with a Thursday matchup against the College Park Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Cleveland has to turn around and face the Woodlands, still searching for their first win of the year.