Trojans drop tight one in battle of C2 titans

OAKLAND — A couple of Class C2 football powers butted heads on Sept. 22 when Cedar Catholic traveled to Oakland to take on the Oakland-Craig Knights.

The Trojans never led in the game, but, what a contest it was.

When the final second ticked off the clock, the scoreboard read the Knights 24 and the Trojans 21, but until an Oakland-Craig interception late in the game sealed the Trojans’ fate, Cedar Catholic was on the move to grab its first lead and come away with the win.

“They (Cedar Catholic) just kept coming and coming at us,” Knights coach Joe Anderson said. “That was a very good football team we beat — we were fortunate to get out of here with the win.”

After Oakland-Craig returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to go up 24-13, quarterback, Braeden Reifenrath and the Trojans began a comeback.

A nifty return by Breiton Whitmire of the ensuing kickoff and a personal foul on the return by the Knights set Cedar Catholic up with a first-and-10 at its own 45.

A holding penalty by the Trojans set them back 10 yards, but Reifenrath went to work completing a pass to Matt Loecker and one to Whitmire.

Reifenrath ran the ball on third down for seven yards, setting up a critical fourth-and-three at the Oakland-Craig 47.

He spotted Jaymison Cattau between Knight defenders, which was good for 18 yards and a first down.

“We really made some plays when we needed them,” Cedar Catholic coach Chad Cattau said. “We matched their physicality; we made a lot of progress as a team.”

The Trojans lost a yard on first down before Whitmire gained seven yards. An Oakland-Craig off-sides penalty gave the Trojans a first down at the Oakland-Craig 21.

Reifenrath hit Keyton Arens for eight yards and then covered the final 14 yards himself to get his team to within 24-19, and after he found Cattau on a two-point conversion pass, the Trojans were within three, 24-21.

“We could have folded up after that interception,” Cattau said. “I was happy with the way we responded and got back in the game with a chance to win it.”

The Cedar Catholic defense stiffened on Oakland-Craig’s drive after the Trojan touchdown and halted the Knights at their own 48.

With 2:24 left in the game, Cedar Catholic took over at its own 26-yard line.

After three incomplete passes, the Trojans got an interference call, which set them up at their own 40 with a firstand- 10.

Reifenrath hit Matthew Loecker for an eight-yard gain and then ran for 12 yards to get into Knight territory at the 41.

Cedar Catholic was called for holding and then Reifenrath hit Nolan Becker for a seven-yard gain.

After an incomplete pass, the Trojans were facing a third-and-14 at the Oakland-Craig 43.

Emmett Johnson stepped in front of a Reifenrath pass, and with 1:01 left in the game, the Knights took the ball over at the Cedar Catholic 43 and ran out the final minute of the game.

“We made a few too many mistakes to beat a team like Oakland-Craig,” Cattau said. “But I was extremely happy with the way we competed. I couldn’t have asked for more effort.”

The Knights scored first in the opening quarter and it seemed the half might end with Cedar Catholic trailing 8-0.

Reifenrath had other plans, completing four passes and running the ball once for 10 yards to complete a 74-yard drive that ended with a pass to Jaymison Cattau from seven yards out with just 27 seconds left before the intermission.

Bodie Hochstein added the extra-point kick and the teams headed to the locker room with the Trojans behind by a single point.

Cedar Catholic answered the Knights again in the third frame after Oakland-Craig scored when Reifenrath and Cattau hooked up again, this time from five yards away with 1:06 left in the third to make it 16-13 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Trojans will remain on the road this week when they travel to Atkinson Friday to take on the Huskies.

Cedar Catholic (3-2) 0 7 6 8 - 21 Oakland-Craig (4-1) 8 0 8 8 - 24

FIRST QUARTER

OC: Braylon Anderson 9 run, Anderson run. 1:00. 8-0.

SECOND QUARTER

CC: Jaymison Cattau 7 pass from Braeden Reifenrath, Bodie Hochstein kick. :27. 8-7.

THIRD QUARTER

OC: Mason Pearson 1 run, Corbin Guill pass from Anderson. 5:35. 16-7. CC: Cattau 5 pass from Reifenrath, kick failed. 1:06. 16-13.

FOURTH QUARTER

OC: Brady Johnson 37 interception return, Guill pass from Anderson. 9:45. 24-13. CC: Reifenrath 14 run, Cattau pass from Reifenrath. 5:51. 24-21.

Cedar Catholic Oakland-Craig First Downs 17 18 Rushing 19-91 45-182 Passing 18-35-200 9-18-99 Total Yards 291 281 PASSING: Cedar Braeden Reifenrath 18-35200 2TD 4INT.

RUSHING: Cedar Braeden Reifenrath 8-59 1TD; Breiton Whitmire 7-25; Ty Thoene 3-7; Brady Hochstein 1-0.

RECEIVING: Breiton Whitmire 5-63; Jaymison Cattau 5-58 2TD; Nolan Becker 3-51; Matthew Loecker 2-14; Keyton Arens 1-8; Jared Rutar 1-8; Logan Eickhoff 1-(-1).

TACKLES: Jacob Steffen 0.5; Andrew Heimes 1.5; Hunter Bensen 2.5, 1INT; Breiton Whitmire 4.5; Nolan Becker 5.5; Brady Hochstein 7.0; Keyton Arens 4.5; Sam Wiebelhaus 0.5; Logan Eickhoff 0.5; Matthew Locker 0.5; Ty Thoene 7.5; Jaymison Cattau 4.0; Jared Rutar 1.5; Karsan Albers 4.0; Ryan Pick 6.5.