HS Football: Unbeaten Wildkats Continue to Stack Wins By Defeating the Winless Eagles

WILLIS, TX -- The Willis Wildkats (7-0) kept their unbeaten streak alive by thrashing the New Caney Eagles (0-6) in front of the loyal Yates Stadium crowd as part of staff appreciation night.

Willis's undefeated regular season streak dates back to the 2022 season. With increasing pressure to perform to new standards, the Wildkat players and coaches had to prepare in ways that got them ready for whatever test New Caney could throw at them.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Willis Head Coach Trent Miller spoke on how his team’s focus rarely left their side.

“We make the focus on us and how we can continue to build off what we need to work on,” said Miller. “We didn't have a very clean game against College Park, so we had to clean up things like out concepts and finishing tackles.”

After players showed their appreciation to their favorite staff members from Willis High School, they quickly got to work to open the game with a barrage of offense that set the tone immediately.

In just three plays, the Wildkat offense went from their own 40-yard line to the endzone. Efficient passes from Jack Emerson to his receivers pierced the Eagle defense for large portions of the field. These passes led to a quick strike to Jalen Mickens for the opening score and the teams were off to the races.

New Caney’s offense ranked among some of the worst in 13-6A, but their opening drive showed anything but. Asher Price used his arm to pick up first downs and work the New Caney offense down the field to set up a responding score.

The run game was the primary offensive strategy for the Eagles entering the game, and they decided to let it rock for the team’s first score. Corey Johnson rode solid blocking through the Wildkat defense to find the endzone and tie the game at 7-7.

Not wanting the game to be a slugfest, the Wildkat offense resumed their scoring ways through the next four drives. Each of the next four Willis drives ended in a touchdown, with three more Wildkats scoring in addition to Mickens earlier.

“It's a special feeling to know there are three division one caliber receivers out there and that you can only double cover one of them,” said Miller on his potent offensive weapons. “Really, we’re focusing on spreading the ball around to as many of them as possible.”

The steamrolling Wildkat offense pushed the team ahead while the sturdy defense found its footing and began to make stops. New Caney’s drives through the remainder of the first quarter all resulted in the team giving the ball away through punts or turnovers on downs.

New Caney did score on their first drive of the second quarter, but Willis’ awakening left the team with a hefty 34-14 lead as the game carried on.

Willis’ true separation started to emerge when the defense took to the field in defense of their 20-point lead. The New Caney offense was looking to make drastic changes on the scoreboard but needed to go to the air to do so.

On three consecutive Eagle drives, the Wildkat defense intercepted passes from Price to his receivers. Each interception ended in Willis’ defensive backs taking the ball back for pick-sixes, further stretching the Wildkat lead while halting the New Caney attack.

“[Slafka] was over the top ecstatic after those pick-sixes,” said Miller on his defensive coordinator. “He prides himself on bringing pressure and getting to the quarterback, so he’s extremely pleased to see those guys pay it off on the back end.”

Willis’ stranglehold on defense and an insurance score from Daylion Robinson ended the half with the Wildkats enforcing a 62-14 lead going into the locker rooms.

Second-string units played out the stretch for the Wildkats through the final 24 minutes, but the starters remained on the field for the Eagles.

New Caney’s aggressive plan led to the team adding another score late in the game, but Ken Mitchell’s second score was not nearly enough to overcome the massive lead.

Even with backups getting significant minutes, the Wildkats only surrendered one touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The New Caney score and fresh faces did not deter Willis’ offense who tacked on one final score to further drive home the end-to-end dominance put on by the Wildkats.

The final whistle mercifully ended Willis’ 69-21 slaughter of the Eagles to keep the Wildkats undefeated ahead of their anticipated matchup against the equally unbeaten Conroe Tigers next Friday.

“The one good thing we always look forward to when playing Conroe is the fact that the schools are so close together,” said Miller. “Sure, we’ve got to work through the Fall Break with the guys, but with this rivalry against Conroe, it shouldn’t take much to get the guys wheeled in and focused.”

Kickoff between the undefeated Tigers and Wildkats is set for October 18th at 7:00 P.M. in Moorehead Stadium.