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NEW BRAUNFELS – The Weimar varsity football team is hoping to return to the playoffs this season after making several improvements across the board due to their increased experience. They are hoping their first game of the season is indicative of their potential this year after dominating on the way to a 53-6 victory over the John Paul II Guardians.
The Wildcats had success at every phase of the ball as they dominated their opponents defensively and had their way on the offensive end as well. The offense started out hot, scoring 16 points in the first quarter before responding with a 24-point second quarter. At the same time, after allowing a touchdown in the first, the Wildcats held the Guardians to a shut out for the rest of the game as they put the finishing touches on the matchup with a few more scores in the third and fourth quarters.
Offensively, the Wildcats racked up nearly 500 yards of offense after a quality performance in the rushing attack. Dreylon McMillian led all rushers with 168 yards on the ground as well as three rushing touchdowns to lead the team in scoring. Derreon Johnson also finished with a touchdown on the ground and finished with 86 yards of his own. Zach Norrell ran for 80 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Huxton Kloesel carried the ball in for six on a nine-yard scramble to the endzone.
Kloesel also had an effective day through the air as the Wildcats look to incorporate the passing attack at a higher rate this season. He threw for 93 yards and a touchdown throw to Norrell who led the team with 45 receiving yards.
On defense, the Wildcats applied plenty of pressure on the quarterback and took advantage of several mistakes. Dalton Turlington took the lead on that end, finishing with 12 total tackles, two pass break ups and two sacks as he performed well for the defense. Ethan Stech finished with double-digit tackles as well, bringing down 11 runners in the game. Buck Bujnoch, Drew Montgomery and Raul Sierra each added a sack as well as Weimar got after the QB in a dominant effort by the defensive line. The Wildcats also won the turnover battle as Jonathon Alamilla forced a fumble that was recovered by Weston Pavlik to give Weimar possession. Leading receiver Norrell used some of his receiving skills to snatch an interception from the John Paul offense as well.
The Wildcats will stay on the road this week as they face off against the Somerville Yeguas on Sept. 8 after starting their season with a 1-0 record.
