It was Senior Night at Wilsonville as they bid adieu to an impressive group of kids who would play perhaps for the last time on their home field. Many expected a nice tune-up for next weeks Sherwood game but Glencoe instead pulled rank and behind an impressive second half ran back to Hillsboro with a 35-17 win.

This was a great game that even the football gods smiled upon as they parted the hail, thunder and lightning and monsoons long enough to shine moonlight on two of the top teams in the NWOC. While the score may indicate Glencoe took the Wildcats to the woodshed, there was plenty of high drama to keep the fans entertained. No doubt the main storyline belonged to the "Crimson Crusader,' and his Merry "Men in Tides" (Puckett and his O-Line) as they took the opening kickoff and marched four plays before Puckett went 45 yards for the evenings first touchdown, thanks to a great block from receiver Jordan Hoffert, and a quick 7-0 lead. However Wilsonville would answer back with Morrie Conway busting loose for a 51 yard run to set up a Sean Mackelvie 22 yard field goal to make it 7-3. Both teams traded a couple of possessions before Wilsonville started to move again with a nine play drive when Mackelvie caught a 15 yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jake Jones with 11:16 left in the second quarter to move ahead 10-7. The Crimson Tide got rolling again and moved all the way down to the Wildcat 30 before the drive stalled and they failed to convert a 4th and 10. Wilsonville's Jordan Beltz, who was picking up much of the workload from Jesse Staub's absence, would then blast off for a 60 yard run to give the Wildcats a 17-7 lead and what looked like control of the game with 5:17 left in the half. Glencoe refused to let the game get out of grasp though as they brought in junior running back Kyle Hogan, who on this drive would do the yeomans work with Puckett taking a breather and with 46 seconds left in the half, Hogan would plunge in from a yard out to cut the haltime deficit to 17-14. For the half, WIlsonville would outgain Glencoe 217-179 and also own time of possession and first downs. The second half would be another story.

There were seveal 'tales to the tapes' in this game. The biggest being Puckett continued to get stronger as the game progessed. He would finish the night gaining 283 yard on 29 carries. He might have had close to another 100 called back on penalties with one a 60 yard touchdown run brought back on a holding. Still early in the second half, "The Crimson Crusader" would strike again with an electrifying 40 yard gallop filled with jukes, broken tackles and sheer speed to put the Tide back on top 21-17 and they would never look back. In the second half alone, Puckett would gain 170 yards. It would be a night of miscues and missed opportunites for Wilsonville who had a chance to retake the lead when they moved to the Glencoe 35 yard line when Beltz broke losse for what appeared to be an easy touchdown run only to fumble the ball away. That play may have typified the Wildcat night more than any other play. Between costly penalties and a horrible case of the 'dropsies' (which both teams claimed), the Wildcats seemed suffer with the "Barney Fife Virus." A big assist should be given to the Glencoe coaching staff who made some great halftime adjustments shutting down Conway, who would eclipse the Wilsonville career rushing record on this evening with 95 yards on the night, and Beltz who wouldn't again find much daylight after the fumble. As for "The Crimson Crusdader,' by the end of the game, he looked like a superhero. As Glencoe was rolling late in the fourth quarter, Puckett reeled off a run of 28 yard before taking the next carry in from 26 yards to put the game out of reach for the final score. By then the football gods had seen enough and the rains were returning to chase the dejected Wildcat fans back to their cars while the visitors savored the moment.

If anything, this is the first chink in the armor of the Willy and Wood lovefest that had seen the two schools undefeated in league play against the rest of the conference. It also sets up a round robin for the three top seeds as Wilsonville will greet their leader Jesse Staub back this Friday in hopes of spoiling Sherwoods two year undefeated conference record. If that happens, the final week of the regular season will be a doozy when Glencoe could come into Sherwood playing for all the marbles. Still, a lot of football yet to be played but life is good when your team is backed by "The Crimson Crusader and his Men in Tides."

*rewritten from a feeble and senile memory from what I'd written last Friday! Still, it was a game worthy of rewriting as it tops the LO vs. West Linn game as my 'best game I've watched' this season.