The Wildcats move to the second round of playoffs!!

I am so very proud of my little brother, Dustin, for playing such awesome defense last night. Also, I am so thankful my little sister, Victoria, was able to be there to cheer him on! They will take on Vigor next week in the

5A Football State Championship 2008 - Round 2 - Game 2.

GO WILDCATS!!

"Defensively, they've got some big guys up front in No. 40 (Brett Rivers) and 95 (John Ryan)," Davis said. "And then at linebacker, 24 (Dustin Sullivan) and 8 (Robert Feagan) are really good football players. They're the backbone of that defense, along with No. 23 (Frank Watkins) at safety, that can really run."

Andrew McColough kicked a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter to lift Citronelle to a 3-0 win over Charles Henderson Friday night in the first round of the 5A state playoffs at Movie Gallery Stadium.

McCollough had missed a 38-yarder just before halftime but was true on his second try to put the Wildcats (7-4) into the second round of the playoffs at No. 2 Vigor (11-0). The Wolves
beat Citronelle 25-22 in the third week of the season.

"I had faith in him the whole time, even after he missed the first one," Citronelle coach Eddie Stephenson said of McCollough. "That one (in the third quarter) was the biggest kick of his life."

"I was very nervous, and when it went through it didn’t seem real," said McCollough, a senior.

The Wildcats’ stingy defense shut out a Trojans offense that had been averaging 29 points and forced four turnovers. In the first half, Henderson turned the ball over on all four of its possessions on one fumble and three interceptions, two by Lakeeven Noyd. "We challenged our defense all week, and we are very proud how these guys stepped up," Stephenson said.

Henderson (7-4) threatened in the fourth quarter, but Dustin Smith’s 36-yard field goal was blocked. Citronelle’s Ontario Little ran for 121 yards on 21 carries, giving him 1,440 yards on the season.

John Vella
Sports Correspondent