The Joseph City Wildcats took care of business in Heber last Friday night and will have to do it again this week in the first round of the playoffs, although this game will be played in Joseph City.
The Cats had dropped their last five games to Mogollon, but this time they proved to be the better team. Joseph City moved from a tie game through three quarters to defeat the Mustangs 22-14 with two fourth quarter scores.
Statistically, Mogollon ran more plays, had more first downs and fewer penalties, and held the ball five minutes longer. The main stat the Mustangs didn’t own, however, was the one on the scoreboard, which belonged to the Wildcats.
Joseph City put up 444 yards on offense and played well on defense, sacking Mustang quarterbacks nine times, including four times each by Matt Fields and Kaden Westover.
The Cats led 8-0 at the half, then Mogollon tied the game at 8-8 with the only third period score. In the fourth the Mustangs found the end zone just once, while the Wildcats put two scores on the board to secure the eight-point win.
Cameron Baldwin completed eight of 11 passes for 192 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Aaron Johnstun had a big night receiving with 122 yards on five catches. Fields caught two balls for 45 yards with one score. Rhett Beard had one 25-yard reception.
Fields also had a big night on the ground, rushing for 163 yards on 22 attempts with one score. Troy Poudrier picked up an additional 74 yards on 17 carries. Baldwin rushed three times for 11 yards and Bryndon Buckley carried twice, gaining one yard.
With this game completing the regular season for both teams, the Wildcats finished the season ranked seventh in power points while the Mustangs dropped to 10th in the rankings, meaning they will see each other again at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, in the first round of the 1A state playoffs. The winner will face No. 2 Superior on Saturday, Oct. 29, while the loser’s season will come to a close.
