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The Wildcats dominated the yardage totals at the end of the first half 222-55, but the Red Hawks battled back to make that total 286-214 in their favor by the final whistle.

To open the game, the Wildcats owned any and all momentum. Just under three minutes into the first quarter, Chaz Martin caught a tip-drill touchdown from Mayfield to make the score 7-0. The Red Hawks struggled to make any early strides on offense (hence the aforementioned first- half yardage totals), giving the ball back to Wilson Central in prime field position multiple times.

Only a pair of touchdowns resulted from this, the second being a 2-yard Antuan (Chico) McKethan rush to open the second quarter. Beyond this, the Wildcats sputtered on offense. Mayfield was flushed out of the pocket on several passing attempts and the Red Hawks were beginning to sniff out any rushing attempts by the third quarter.

Rossview stole the momentum after halftime. Despite quarterback Reed Bryant tossing a pair of third-quarter interceptions to Wildcat corner Evan Harwell, the Red Hawks stood their ground on defense during the subsequent drives.

This gave the Rossview offense the field position it needed. The Red Hawks struck paydirt three times within the final 20 minutes of play. Bryant cashed in their first score on a 22-yard rush in the third quarter.

It seemed that the Wildcats would not give up, though. After a failed fourth-down conversion to give Rossview the ball, the Wildcats stole possession right back on Harwell’s second interception of the game.

Once again, the Wildcats were unsuccessful in finding the end zone on the following set of downs. The paved way for a Bryant pass to Kole Phillips to make the score 15-14 after a successful two-point conversion.

With less than 90 seconds left, Wildcat defender Kylan Davis recovered a fumble to give Mayfield and company one last chance at a game-winner. Mayfield was forced out of the pocket and threw an interception on the following drive. After the interception return, Rossview rusher Johnny Cabaleiro made the score 22-14 on a 2-yard carry. However, many failed to realize that there were still 36 seconds in the game.

Do-or-die time for Wilson Central proved fruitless, as Mayfield’s Hail Mary was picked off to end the game.

The Wildcat backfield got its fix of carries as Martin and McKethan split 32 rushes for a total of 161 yards. Mayfield finished his night 5-of-11 for 130 yards, along with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions.

Wilson Central will make the long road trip to Clarksville to battle the Vikings of Northwest on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and all live coverage can be found on the NFHS Network.