The Big East Conference matchup between Latrobe and Woodland Hills had nearly everything in a football game.
There was just one big piece missing for the Wildcats: Coach Ron Prady made the decision late in the week to sit star running back/linebacker Alex Tatsch.
"It was something we let play out during the week,” Prady said. "He just wasn’t ready.”
Latrobe (4-2, 1-2) fought on without Tatsch, who was out with a shoulder injury, but came up short in a 30-20 loss to Woodland Hills (4-2, 2-0) at Memorial Stadium in Latrobe.
Even without Latrobe’s big running threat, Woodland Hills coach Brian Tarrant knew his team’s defensive strategy wouldn’t change.
"We knew they were going to run the ball either way,” Tarrant said.
Down 23-20 with two minutes to go, the Wildcats were driving to tie or take the lead, but on fourth-and 8 after a false start penalty, senior quarterback John Wetzel got pressure in his face and threw up a desperation pass.
Wolverines senior defensive end Jaden Estes plucked it out of the air and rumbled 52 yards, getting a block form senior linebacker George Hill to ice the game.
"I’m a big guy. I’m 256,” said Estes. "But I’m athletic. I can move.”
The penalty cost Latrobe on that play, and penalties were a theme for both teams throughout the contest. The Wildcats were flagged 12 times for 100 yards, and the Wolverines had 10 infractions for 85 yards.
"We still have a lot of things to work on,” Estes said. "I think we did pretty good, but there are things we have to fix. We’ll watch film and get back to it.”
Added Prady: "We can’t have 10 to 12 penalties and expect to win. We had first-and-goal at the nine and three penalties put us back to the 24-yard line. Another time we got inside the 5 and came away with no points. Those penalties didn’t bode well for us, don’t bode well for anyone. We have to be better in those areas.”
Latrobe can hang its hat on the running duo of Wetzel and senior running back Brady Prohovic. Both took some shots, but carried the ball well in the absence of Tatsch.
"John is our leader, and he’s the toughest kid I’ve been around,” Prady said. "He takes and beating and just continues to fight his rear end off.”
Wetzel finished with 34 carries for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He threw just five times for 25 yards. Prohovic ran the ball 16 times for 82 yards.
"Brady gets us those tough yards, he really get low, falls forward and gets those extra yards,” said Prady.
Latrobe opened the scoring on a Roman Agostoni 38-yard field goal that cut through the cross wind and split the goal posts.
The Wildcats didn’t score again until the second half when Woodland Hills was flagged for holding in the end zone, and Latrobe got a safety.
On the ensuing drive, Wetzel passed once for 6 yards and ran for 53 yards and cut the Wolverine lead to 17-12 with a 2-yard run.
Woodland Hills return man Malik McCloud fumbled the kickoff, and Latrobe recovered to start the fourth quarter on the Woodland Hills 26-yard line.
The Wildcats ran the ball four times, and Wetzel punched it in again from 4 yards and converted the 2-point conversion to give the Wildcats their first lead of the night, 20-17.
"The safety gave us some momentum. The next two scores were big. We needed a stop at the end, and we didn’t get it,” Prady said. "Give credit to Woodland Hills, they have some great players and are probably the most talented team in the conference. We have to be better in the area of penalties.”
For Woodland Hills, their offense didn’t see the field much as Latrobe chewed up clock all night with possessions of 16 plays twice in the first half and two 10-play drives in the second.
Latrobe could not stop senior tailback Mikail Connor, who was called upon one more time while starters Elijah Nesby and Ziggy Moore were out with injuries.
"We got some of our starters, and I just have to step up, do my job and take care of what I need to,” Connor said. "If I do my job and everybody else does their job, we’ll be cool.”
Connor was cool as ice on this humid night, dancing and dodging Wildcat tacklers all night. He even pulled a Houdini act on his 34-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
"I saw a lot of linemen and small gaps. It’s good that I’m a small back and get through those holes,” he said. "I acted like I was going through one hole and cut back through the other. I kept doing that all night.”
Connor finished with 117 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns.
"I can’t speak enough about the heart and determination of these kids,” Tarrant said. "We made mistakes, but we came back fighting. I can’t be prouder of these kids.”
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