By Head Coach Ernest Martinez
The Twentynine Palms High School varsity Wildcat football team moved into a second-place tie in the De Anza league standings with a 34-20 victory over Desert Mirage.
Junior quarterback Cezar Hueso replaced injured starting quarterback D’Shaun Barrett and had an outstanding game, completing 3 of 5 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
The Wildcats scored on the first play of the game as senior running back Hunter Tygart raced 65 yards for a touchdown with only 10 seconds off the opening scoreboard clock. Tygart also scored on a 59-yard pass reception from Hueso, and the ’Cats quickly had a 14-0 lead in the contest.
The second quarter scoring for the visiting Wildcats was a 71-yard touchdown reception from Cody Landry, and a 24-yard interception return by junior Isaiah Castaneda. Castaneda jumped in front of the Desert Mirage receiver on 4th down-and-short and raced into the end zone to give the ’Cats a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter.
On the ’Cats’ next series, Landry caught a short pass and raced 71 yards through the secondary for the score. K.J. Magwood Morton finished the scoring on the ’Cats’ opening drive of the third quarter. Morton ran around the left side of the line and rushed through three defenders on a 28-yard touchdown run. Senior Jason Walters connected on his fourth point-after attempt for the game and the Cats led 34-7. The Rams scored two touchdowns late to bring the final score to 34-20.
Defensive standouts for the Wildcats were Finn O’Brien, Morton, Mac Miller, Tygart and Tristan Carpenter. Morton and Miller had 18 total tackles, while O’Brien had 15 on the evening. Tygart and Carpenter combined for 16 tackles, a quarterback sack, and a fumble recovery. Castaneda had an interception return for a touchdown and a fumble recovery.
Offensive leaders for the Wildcats were Tygart with 170 yards of total offense, and Hueso with 132 total yards passing. Landry had 71 yards receiving for the game. The offensive line, led by senior Casey Allen, and juniors Adam Mapuatuli, Finn O’Brien, Sean Sears, and Brian Thornton had outstanding games.
The Wildcats (2-1) will travel to Coachella Valley High School (3-0) Friday in a key DeAnza league game against the current league-leading team. The important De Anza league game will begin at 7:00 p.m. Friday, with the Frosh-Soph game starting a 4:00 p.m. A win for the Wildcats would give them the lead in the league standings.
