By Head Coach Ernest Martinez
The Twentynine Palms varsity Wildcat football team lost to Beaumont High School in the first round of the CIF playoffs, 62-14. Beaumont was an at-large team from the Mountain Pass league and features a school enrollment that is nearly three times that of the Wildcats.
The first quarter was an early defensive battle as both teams were forced to punt on both of their first two drives in the early part of the first quarter. The Cougars were able to drive 65 yards on their third drive to make the score 7-0 with 2:24 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats would like to have the next two minutes of the contest back, as they had two turnovers, which gave the visitors two scoring drives from inside their own 15-yard line. The ’Cats had very few turnovers in the previous five games, but gave up six turnovers in this game including a punt block, which led to 42 points for the visitors.
The two short drives of two yards and 15 yards led to a 21-0 lead with 8 seconds left in the quarter.
The Wildcats drove 60 yards down to the Cougar 16-yard line on their next series, but were unable to convert on 4 th down and 8. A long punt return set up the next score, and the third interception of the half set up another short field for Beaumont.
The Wildcats did not quit after falling behind 35-0, and made a long drive in the final minute of the first half. A punt block, and another turnover put the game out of reach, and the ’Cats’ season ended in the first round for the second consecutive season.
The ’Cats offense completed 15 of 29 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. The solid Cougar defense limited the Wildcats’ rushing game to only 60 yards, nearly 300 yards below their game average.
The Wildcats stopped the Beaumont passing game, allowing only five completions on 15 attempts, but allowed 290 yards rushing.
Offensive leaders for the ’Cats were Isaiah Castaneda, Cezar Hueso, and Mac Miller. Castaneda caught an eight-yard touchdown pass, and tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to junior Chris Rantzow. Hueso completed six passes for 105 yards. Mac Miller caught seven passes for 99 yards. Defensive leaders were Brett Hope, Jonathan Carson, Jeremiah Kirk, Chris Rantzow, and Larry Martinez.
The Wildcats had an outstanding season, after turning a 0-5 start into a playoff season. The 2018 Wildcats roared back with five consecutive wins, averaging over 56 points a game on their way to a second-place finish, and a 14th consecutive victory in the Battle of the Bell game. The ’Cats made
their 16th playoff appearance since the 2001 season, and have a lot to be proud of this season. They never gave up and continued to battle throughout the playoff game, just as they did in the season.
Congratulations to the Wildcats on another successful season. The 2018 Wildcat Seniors were part of five playoff contests in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons, including a semifinal run in the 2016 season. The 11 graduating seniors will be missed in the 2019 season.
