Wildcats win opener, next game on the road

A second-round home game would have been great for the Abbeville Wildcats (10-1), but the chips did not fall in the Wildcats’ favor.
Instead, they have to travel four hours to Monroe to battle No. 18 Wossman, who beat No. 15 Erath.
Had Erath won, the Bobcats would have played the Wildcats in Abbeville.
Abbeville head coach Roderick Moy would have loved to have a home game on Friday, but he will settle for still being alive for another one.
“We are one of 16 teams still playing,” Moy told his team after crushing Richwood 53-22 on Friday. “Let us go there next week and take care of business. We want to be still playing for Thanksgiving.”
The last time a Wildcat football team won a first-round playoff game was in 2002, which was 19 years ago. There is a good chance no Wildcat player was born the last time Abbeville won a first-round home playoff game.
Abbeville did most of the scoring in the first half. Six minutes into the game, Abbeville led 13-0, and tailback Blake Saddler was on his way to having another great night.
He ran for a 69-yard touchdown at the 6:49 mark to put AHS ahead 13-0.
At the start of the second quarter, the Wildcats jumped out a 28-6 lead and went into halftime with a convincing 34-14 lead.
Abbeville dominated on both sides of the football.
The Wildcats’ offense racked up 261 yards of total offense, while the AHS defense allowed 31 total yards in the first half.
Saddler looked to be on his way to a 200-yard night based on his first-half performance. He had 132 yards on 11 carries, and he scored three times.
However, Saddler finished the game with 165 yards on 15 carries and two scores.
While things clicked in the first half, the Wildcats were not as sharp in the second half. They found themselves making mistakes and committing penalties but still managed to lead 47-14 with seven minutes to play.
The Wildcats' second team played most of the fourth quarter.
“It was not as clean as I would have liked,” said Moy about the play of his team. “It makes us look like a dangerous football team. It was not as clean as I would like, but we put 53 points on the board with the junior varsity team playing the whole fourth quarter. It says a lot about how good we can be. We have to put it together. As the games keep going, the teams are going to get better.”
Moy said with a 20-point lead in the first half, his players looked too relaxed and began making errors. That cannot happen in the next game because each week, the teams will get better, he added.
“We have to be able to knock teams out,” he said.
The Wildcats scored on each possession in the third period.
First, quarterback Tahj Judge connected with Chad Nolan for a 17-yard reception that went for a touchdown. Nolan broke two tackles on his way to the end zone.
Then on Richwood’s next possession, Abbeville defensive back Bredale Turner picked off a screen pass and ran it back 34 yards for a touchdown.
Zaylon Williams kicked the extra point and put AHS head 47-14.
Abbeville completed only three passes. Nolan caught two for 60 yards, and Darrian Washington caught a 29-yard pass late.