After getting just 22 total yards in total offense in a huge loss to Williams the week before, the Joseph City Wildcats bounced back last Saturday afternoon with a 40-22 road win over El Capitan.
The visiting Cats trailed 8-0 after the first period, but battled back to take a 22-14 halftime lead. In the second half they outscored the Eagles 18-8 to move their season mark to 4-2.
Joseph City still didn’t amass huge offensive numbers, but some of that may have been due to playing with a short field for a majority of the game. Joseph City’s defense came up with five turnovers in the game.
Cameron Baldwin completed 10 of 31 passes for 129 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. Rhett Beard eclipsed the century mark with five catches for 103 yards and two scores. Carlos Sanchez had four receptions for a total of 25 yards. Colter Westover had a one-yard reception.
On the ground the Cats finished with 158 yards on 44 carries. Baldwin led charge, picking up 110 yards and three touchdowns on his 17 rushing attempts. Eligh Ashcroft carried 15 times for 33 yards and scored once. Trey Tuckfield gained 15 yards on 12 attempts.
Baldwin not only led the offense, he also led the defense in tackles with seven. Damon Sandoval had six, and Westover and Ashcroft each had five stops. Adrian Baloo had two quarterback sacks in the win. Jesse Hulsey picked off the Eagle quarterback twice, and Beard had one interception. Ethan Hansen and Baloo each recovered an El Capitan fumble.
Joseph City entered Saturday’s game ranked 12th in the 1A power points. With just two games left on the docket, they will need to maintain that mark to make the 1A post-season bracket, which has only 12 teams. The Wildcats will host Fredonia this week, and will put a wrap on the regular season when they host rival and top ranked Mogollon the following week.
