Coming off of their 35-34 win against the Cy Ridge Rams last week, the Wildcats successfully extended their record to 2-1 with their win over the Jersey Village Falcons 42-35, the first time Wildcat varsity football has held a winning record in the past three years, marking an important milestone for the team. The Wildcats over the past two games have proven that they are a threat in district playoffs and should not be counted out. However, as the saying goes, there is always room for improvement, and the Wildcats are no exception.

One of the big factors that contributed to such a close game was the defense’s issues going up against a passing game. As said before, the Wildcat defense has had problems in defending against a passing game, and the Falcons played a fairly even game with nearly equal rushing and passing yards. Again, this may not have cost them the game, but if the Wildcats do not learn how to better defend against a strong passing team, it could be problematic for them to succeed in future games. This showed tonight with several key passing yard gains by the Falcons that lead to giving up part of the Wildcats’ lead and making the game much closer. However, the defense did show hope that they are fully capable to oppose a strong passing game later on in the game by better covering important Jersey Village wide receivers, crippling part of their offense. If the Wildcat defense can hone this vital skill, more definitive wins could be in the team’s future.

On the flip side, the Wildcat offense struggled to establish a passing game. The offense had a total of 422 rushing yards by the end of the game but only 143 passing yards. This lopsided offensive strategy could prove a major issue for them in future games against teams, especially district front-runners Langham Creek and Cy Ranch, with very strong defensive lines that can shut down a rushing game quickly. In order to prevent this, the Wildcats need to utilize their wide receivers more and practice longer range throwing and receiving to build up a passing game equal to their rushing. In addition, quarterback Jackson Jones showed great potential tonight to be a great passing quarterback along with his already excellent rushing. The offense’s passing has improved over the past few games, but it could still use some more work in evening out their yard gains. Hopefully, with continued improvement, the Wildcats can become a powerhouse offensive team in the future.

Finally, the offensive and defensive lines struggled with adapting to changes made by the Falcons, especially in the third quarter. During halftime, Jersey Village clearly decided to make some significant changes to how they are playing, but the Wildcats did not effectively adjust soon enough to this, giving up key touchdowns to the Falcons and greatly threatening the Wildcats’ lead. This also ties into what was mentioned earlier about better establishing and defending against passing games, but some mistakes made by both lines could have been prevented if they had only adjusted their strategy. The Wildcats did eventually make the necessary adjustments later on in the third quarter and recovered, but the damage was still done. Adapting faster will greatly assist the Wildcats in disabling their opponent’s strategy.

Over the past games, the Wildcats have stormed into this new season with unexpected comebacks and a new strategy that is working very well. Their game against Jersey Village only re-enforced what they showed last week that they are a force to be reckoned with in the district. Conceivably, they will keep up this momentum throughout the rest of the season and into playoffs. Next week, the Wildcats will be taking on the Langham Creek Lobos (3-0 in district) on Thursday at 6:30 at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium and will hopefully bring home another win.