Paden City’s Zane Yeater hauls in a pass from Ethan Cross for 40 yards.

The much improved Paden City Wildcats drop a 43-34 disappointing loss to the Beallsville Blue Devils on Friday night, but not without a hard fight to the finish. Trailing 19-14 at the half the Cats came out of the locker room to score two third quarter touchdowns and lead by 28-25, but the Blue Devils then outscored the Wildcats 19-6 over the final quarter and a half to get the final result.

Paden City got on the board at the 8:56 mark of the first quarter when senior Ethan Cross ran one in from three yards out and added the conversion run as well. Beallsville however came back with a score of their own to make it 8-6 Wildcats after one.

The Blue Devils scored two more times in the second quarter and looked like they were going to pull away, but Cross hooked up with senior Kyler Wade on a 65 yard pass play with 0:59 seconds left in the half for a score to get the momentum going into the break.

In the third quarter Cross hit freshman Joel Moore for a score at the 9:27 mark and the conversion run by Cross was good to give the Cats the lead. Clayton Thomas also found paydirt with a four yard run in the third. Beallsville wasn’t finished though as they tacked on 12 points in the quarter to take a 31-28 lead into the final period of play. The home team added two more T.D.’s in the fourth quarter while the Wildcats managed another score from Cross on a four yard jaunt.

Leading the way for the Wildcats was Cross with 46 yards on 16 carries and two scores, while completing 9-29 passes for 270 yards and two T.D.’s. He also added two conversion runs for four points. Thomas had a good night on the ground with 11 carries for 51 yards and a score, while Parker Higgins gained three yards on two totes.

Clayton Thomas finds running room against the Blue Devils.

Moore was the top receiver on the night with three receptions for 103 yards and a score, while senior Kyler Wade grabbed two tosses for 84 yards and a score. Senior Bryant McKay caught two passes for 31 yards and freshman Zane Yeater gained 40 yards on one reception.

The Wildcats ended with 370 total yards and 11 first downs but had three turnovers all by interceptions. Beallsville racked up 422 total yards which made the difference with 271 yards passing and 151 rushing while picking up 13 first downs and suffering one turnover on a fumble.

Defensively the Wildcats got a huge lift from Thomas who had 14 tackles. Brad Baker had a great game with 10 solo tackles, plus a quarterback sack and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage for a loss. Jake Amos recored nine tackles, while Jason Anderson had eight and recovered a fumble. Cross added seven tackles to his nights work and McKay added six.

The Wildcats are back in action on senior night Friday against rival Valley in the season finale for both teams. Should be a good game with Paden City getting a 21-20 win.