Wildcats keep ball away from Penney late, holding on for quarterfinal win at the Pit

The Milan Wildcats and Penney Hornets each scored two touchdowns on Friday night, with the Wildcats hitting one of two PATs, while keeping the Hornets scoreless on a pair of two-point conversions in a 13-12 victory broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3 and KGOZ FM 101.7.

The GRC champion Wildcats opened the scoring with 7:40 remaining in the first quarter, with senior halfback Ahmet Niasse scoring on a 15-yard run.  Tom Johnson had the radio call: 

Milan’s PAT was blocked, leaving the lead at 6-0.  The score stayed at that level until the visitors from Hamilton tied the score on a three-yard touchdown run with 5:03 remaining in the half, tying the game at 6.  The Wildcat’s final points came in the final minute of the half, with running back Carlos Cotto going into the end zone:

The lead, with the Gonzalez PAT, stayed at 13-6 until the early stages of the fourth quarter, as a surging Penney offense got to within striking distance of the end zone, and climbed to within one point on a race to the goal line by Clay Finch: 

A two-point conversion run that would have given Penney the lead was stopped by the Wildcat defense, giving the ball back to the Milan offense with a one-point lead: 

Frustratingly for the Hornet’s defense, Milan kept the football for the final 8:18.  Penney used its remaining time-outs late in the game, but ran out of time as Milan kneeled on the football in the final minute of regulation.

For Milan, Carlos Cotto had 27 carries for 143 yards, with Niasse adding 16 carries for 60 yards.  The win pushes Milan’s winning streak to 10 and sends the Wildcats to Dearborn, Missouri to play the North Platte Panthers on Saturday afternoon at 1 o’clock.  The Class 1 semifinal contest will be aired on KTTN FM 92.3, with pregame at 12:30.

Other Class 1 scores from the state quarterfinals were: Marionville 17, Portageville 14; North Platte 42, Windsor 6; and St. Vincent 45, Crystal City 14.

Here are the remainder of the quarterfinal results from Friday night and Saturday afternoon: 

8-Man: 

Archie 82, Lockwood 42

Braymer 84, St. Paul Lutheran 51 

South Holt 60, Plattsburg 58  

Worth County 70, Schuyler County 16

Class 2: 

Valle Catholic 47, Lift for Life Academy 14

Fair Grove 27, Tolton Catholic 13

Lamar 41, Lafayette County (Higginsville) 7

Bowling Green 50, East Buchanan 22

Class 3: 

Central (Park Hills) 50, St. Francis Borgia 28

Blair Oaks 47, Westminster Christian Academy 29

Seneca 56, Ava 8

St. Pius X (Kansas City) 42, Odessa 7

Class 4: 

Hillsboro 48, Pacific 35

Lutheran North 70, Hannibal 61

Jefferson City 31, McDonald County 28

Kearney 35, Nevada 0

Class 5: 

Central (Cape Girardeau) 32, Eureka 29

Cardinal Ritter 68, Fort Zumwalt North 14

Republic 28, Helias Catholic 21

Webb City 49, Grain Valley 35

Class 6: 

CBC (Christian Brothers College) 35, Jackson 23

De Smet Jesuit 23, Columbia Rock Bridge 16

Rockhurst (Kansas City) 38, Nixa 14

Liberty North 38, Oak Park 7