Published: December 01, 2008 10:52 am      

Wildcats' dream season ends

By JOE DORMAN

Register Correspondent

SAGINAW - The Callisburg Wildcats' dream season ended in Saginaw Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Grandview Zebras. The Wildcats held a 21-20 lead going into the fourth quarter but the Zebras scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth to win 36-21.

Callisburg quarterback Thor Long completed 16-of-30 passes for 147 yards.  Bobby Dorman was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 57 yards followed closely by Quincy Hough with 5 catches for 56 yards. Clayton Love was the leading rusher with 9 carries for 42 yards.

Grandview was led by quarterback Reid Golson who completed 13-of-24 passes for 249 yards. His leading receiver was Justin Burdick with 4 catches for 101 yards. Jerod Cochran led the Zebra ground game with 19 carries for 95 yards.

Callisburg got on the scoreboard first when on the third play of Grandview's opening drive, Wildcat safety Tracey Randle intercepted a Golson pass and returned it to the Zebra 28. Long capped the drive eight plays later with a 1-yard sneak.

Grandview scored early in the second quarter on a 7-play, 69-yard drive. The Zebras found the end zone when Golson found Cochran in the left flat and he streaked in from 9 yards out. The Rolondo Sandoval PAT was good knotting the score at 7-7.

The Zebras once again reached pay dirt late in the second quarter when a shanked Wildcat punt gave Grandview possession at the Callisburg 38. Grandview needed only one play to score when Golson once again found his favorite target Cochran for a 38-yard scoring strike. 

Momentum turned back in favor of the Wildcats in the final minute of the half when linebacker Chris Apala intercepted a Golson pass and returned it to the Zebra 11. On the first play from scrimmage Long found Hough in the end zone, tying the game at 14-14 at the halftime intermission.

On the opening drive of the second half, the Wildcats attempted a fake punt at their own 39-yard line but Apala was tackled one yard short of the first down. Grandview needed just six plays to once again find the end zone with Cochran diving over the line for a 1-yard score. The hold on the PAT was bobbled, leaving the score at 20-14.

Callisburg once again answered on their next possession on an 8-play drive highlighted by 16 and 15-yard receptions by Kevin Bartley and a 14-yard reception by Dorman Love covered the final 15 yards on a run off left tackle.  Dorman's PAT was good giving the Wildcats a 21-20 lead with 3:55 remaining in the third quarter.

Grandview retook the lead on the second play of the fourth quarter, capping off an 11-play, 73-yard drive with Golson going in from 1 yard out. The Zebra two point conversion failed making the score 26-21 in favor of Grandview.

The Callisburg offense was unable to establish a sustained drive the remainder of the game while Grandview scored twice more, first on a 31-yard field goal by Sandovol and then on a 16-yard pass play from Golson to Cochran. 

The Callisburg defense was stellar in the first half holding the highpowered Zebra offense to 14 points. The secondary held Golson in check with interceptions by Randle, Dorman, and Apala. The leading tacklers for the Wildcats were Apala with 11 tackles, Chase McCage with 10, and Love with 7.