The boys have been putting in the sweat and the sacrifice to get them success for the season. Coming out strong, the Greater Latrobe Wildcats took on the Derry Area Trojans for their first game of the season, winning 56 to 14 at their home opener at their home stadium with such a rivalry. With the Wildcats on top of their game, according to Maxpreps. They had a total of 373 yards. The Wildcats were on top of their running game and had a total of 249 rushing yards. The captains John Wetzel and JaTawn Williams had 4 touchdowns together, with Wetzel having 3 touchdowns and a total of 106 passing yards, and Williams having 1 touchdown and 2 receptions. Junior Jack Drnjevich had 2 touchdowns and 3 receptions. Williams was voted player of the game.
Next, the boys took on the Franklin Regional Panthers. The boys fought hard in this game, but the Panthers won by a score of 28 – 21. With a total of 278 yards, 184 yards were passing, and 94 yards were rushing. The top 3 players of this game on offense were Wetzel, Williams, and Alex Tatsch. Wetzel with 1 touchdown and a total of 184 passing yards. Williams had 4 receptions and 1 touchdown. Tatsch had 4 carries, 48 rushing yards, and 1 touchdown to get the boys to a score of 21. The top 3 defensive players of the game were Ben Stratton, Tatsch, and Wetzel. Stratton had 4 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception. Tatsch had 8 tackles, and 1 forced fumble. Wetzel had 8.5 tackles and was voted player of the game. This game was a tough loss for the Cats but they are putting in the work at practice to get more team chemistry.
The cats then took on the Hempfield Spartans. The Cats bounced back from a loss last week with a big win against the Spartans. The Wildcats won with a score of 27 – 7. The Cats completely dominated on the field, not letting the Spartans get a score on them. Junior Brady Prohovic had 10 carries and a total of 69 rushing yards. Prohovic had the leading amount of rushing yards for the Cats. Tastch was voted player of the game and had 2 carries and 2 touchdowns. He led the cats to victory. Wetzel was also a key player in this win, with 19 passing yards.
The most recent game against the Thomas Jefferson Jaguars was a hard game for the Wildcats. The final score was 14 – 34, with the Jaguars getting the win. Wetzel had 1 interception and 1 touchdown on defense, on offense he had 52 passing yards, and 1 interception. Tatsch had 1 touchdown on offense and 29 rushing yards. Williams had 2 receptions. The Wildcats fought hard, but Thomas Jefferson having a total of 362 yards and the Cats having a total of 152 yards is a difficult loss for the boys.
The Cats plan to come back this season and get a better team dynamic. During practice, the team has been working to get to their fullest potential. The cats have been working on drills, and conditioning to get them to where they need to be.
On 9/20/23, the Wildcats were working on their teamwork and drills to better prepare them for their game this Friday. We were able to talk to key player Alex Tatsch. Alex said, “We are going to bounce back after a bad week, and we will keep climbing the hill and get better every week.”
Cody Krall talked of the tightness of the team. “All of us, most of the guys that are starting this year. Have been playing with each other since a young age, and I really think that it transfers onto the field, because we all have so much trust in each other. And what are coaches have for us to do,” said Cody Krall.
The Greater Latrobe Wildcats are planning to kick it into high gear and hopefully with hard work and determination make it to the playoffs.
