WJ couldn’t find a way to win in the first game in their new stadium. The team couldn’t come home with a victory after homecoming. But on senior night, senior running back Michael Pitsenberger and senior defensive back Garrett Schiponi, along with a crew of other inspired seniors, stepped up.


After a change in coach and change in mentality, the team finally earned their first victory of the season in the Wildcat stadium on Friday night against the Blair Blazers.

After the modest pre-game ceremony honoring the seniors, WJ came strong out of the gate with a running game that featured a completely healthy offensive line.

“We finally had all of our starting line able to practice,” said Pitsenberger. “Three out of the five, [senior offensive & defensive lineman Tristan Plunkett. junior offensive lineman Tyler Phelps and offensive & defensive tackle Nick Taylor], have been out of practice because of injuries.”

With the line healthy and conditioned from a week of practice, Pitsenberger and junior running back Ryan Davis were able to run all over the Blazers early, as Davis ran the ball in for a score with 9:34 left in the first quarter. With a missed extra point, the touchdown put the score at 6-0.

The key to WJ’s defense throughout the night was their run defense, which proved itself early, forcing a 3-and-out on the Blazers’ first possession.

“We got great penetration from our D-line and the backers filled the holes,” said Schiponi.

But after a couple of penalties and insufficient runs, the Cats faced a 3-and-out of their own, and were forced to punt.

The WJ defense continued its inspired play and forced the Blazers to punt from deep in their own territory. The resulting punt return put WJ on the Blair 15, giving the Cats great field position to start the drive. Junior quarterback Cole Ahnell hit Pitsenberger in the flat, and Pitsenberger made a move and slipped into the end zone. After a two-point conversion, WJ was up 14-0, and the score would remain the same by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, things got a little sloppier. Consecutive WJ fumbles, the first recovered by the Cats, the second recovered by the Blazers for a turnover, seemed to be a bad omen for a Wildcat win. But the defense stepped up once again. Senior linebacker Connor Gleason got to the Blair quarterback on consecutive plays, batting down each Blazer pass as soon as it left the quarterback’s hand. After three tries and no first down, the Blazers attempted a fourth-down conversion, and succeeded, or so it seemed. The yellow laundry on the field meant holding, and brought the Blazers back 10 yards. The Blazers tried to convert once again, but failed, as WJ got the ball back.

After a big gain on a pass from Ahnell to Pitsenberger for a first down, WJ was hit with a costly penalty, which brought the play back from the Blazer 25 to the Blazer 40. WJ continued their effort to get points before the half, but Ahnell threw an interception. The play could have been called for pass interference, but the referee saw nothing of the sort, and WJ went into halftime with the score at 14-0.

After battling back and forth in the third quarter, Blair’s offense began to break the WJ defense with the running game of a Blazer running back, with jersey number “2”.

“They changed their blocking scheme,” said Schiponi. “And it took us a few series to adjust to it.”

Blair was able to score on these series and took control of the game and the momentum. Midway through the third quarter, Blair’s running game was able to get in to the end zone for the first time. After a missed extra point, the score was 14-6.

The momentum continued to build for the Blazers, as they quickly forced a WJ punt and tore through the WJ defense with the speed and agility of #2. Blair would punch it in with a quarterback sneak before the end of the third quarter, and succeed on a 2-point conversion, tying the score at 14-14.

Then, early in the fourth quarter, WJ fumbled the ball on their own 2-yard line, and the Blazers took advantage and recovered. Blair ran it in on the resulting possession, and WJ was down 20-14 early in the fourth quarter after another failed 2-point conversion.

But this was the last time the Blazers would score. After the touchdown, Pitsenberger, quite simply, took over. And a win wasn’t his only inspiration.

“This season I have been playing for my dad who got hurt about a month ago,” said Pitsenberger. “And also I was playing for my new baby sister who was born on Thursday.”

Pitsenberger took the kickoff following the Blazer touchdown, and returned it all the way out to the 50-yard line. On the next play, Pitsenberger took a handoff and ripped through the Blazer defense for about 45 yards. Pitsenberger then finished what he started as he took a handoff on a sweep to the left and slipped into the end zone and over the pylon for a 5-yard touchdown run. Ahnell kicked the extra point through the uprights and put the Cats ahead, 21-20.

Now it was the defense’s turn. After a long kickoff by senior kicker Daniel Garay, the Blair quarterback threw an errant pass to one of his receivers. Schiponi leaped up and snatched the ball, securing it on his way down for an interception, all to the uproar of the Mad Cows.

But WJ’s offense failed to ride this momentum and was forced to punt. Senior punter/linebacker Garrett Robinson wasn’t about to do Blair any favors, and pinned the Blazers on their own 10-yard line with his punt.

Blair took the ball with seven minutes to go looking to put themselves ahead, but the Wildcat defense was having none of it, and didn’t allow any significant yardage, as WJ took the ball with good field position after a bad Blair punt. It was a trend that held steady throughout the game.

“Our offense knew that we needed to score, but really the momentum started to change after our defense was able to cause turnovers in the fourth quarter,” said Pitsenberger. “That allowed our offense to have good field position.”

Pitsenberger would strike again, this time on an electrifying run from 28 yards out. After a two-point conversion by Pitsenberger with 4:40 to go, the Wildcats had a two-possession lead at 29-20, and the countdown to WJ’s first win in the new stadium began.

And as the crowd began to feel it, the neat square formation of the student section began to flow and spread into a long line of black green and white along the fence at the edge of the stands, ready and amped for a win. Every student in the house was grappling at the fence and screaming his or her heart out, bouncing up and down and in a state of absolute jubilation.

The mass of students watched as Blair made a key fourth-down conversion, a play that could have sealed the game for good had the Cats gotten a stop. But it didn’t matter. With 2:47 left in the game, the Blair quarterback tossed a pass out to his right, and junior defensive back Sean Montgomery went up and robbed the receiver of the ball by jumping over top of the Blazer player.

The result was downright pandemonium, a truly unbelievable scene that did not cease for as long as the last two minutes and 47 seconds went on. The only thing left to do was jump the fence when the clock hit zero and bask in the victory with those who delivered it on the field.

“It’s hard to explain the emotion you go on to that field with,” said Schiponi. “It was our last home game ever, and finishing it with a win meant a lot.”