With Louisville dominating its Class 4A, Region 3 schedule routinely over the last several years, head coach Tyrone Shorter has always had another challenge late in the regular season. Mendenhall is a team that has tested the Wildcats most season as the 4A squad from the south helps prepare LHS for whatís to come. That was no different in Friday nightís road game. After building a healthy lead in the first half, the Wildcats had to fight off a late rally to get a 28-20 win over the Tigers. It was something that Tyrone Shorter felt was actually good for his team to overcome after several weeks of blowout wins. ìWe needed that and thatís why we schedule this game late in the season like this,î Shorter said. ìWe schedule that game to keep our kids sharp. Weíve been running through our district, so I wanted to have something tough and different. Theyíre a different style of play and they are talented. They had a really good quarterback and were fast and they brought it to us.î LHS got out to a 21-0 start in the ball game as they scored two of those touchdowns in the first quarter. The first came on a 3-yard run from Zaiden Jernigan and then Kam Triplett hauled in a touchdown pass from Xavier Hunt. After Hunt threw his second touchdown of the night with a 16- yard score to Aiden Coleman, Mendenhall was able to score in the final minute of the half to cut the lead to 21-6. LHS extended that lead out to 28-6 after Jerniganís touchdown midway through the third frame, but the lead was cut down to 28-20 after two scores in the fourth quarter by the Tigers. It wasnít an easy finish, but the Wildcats did find a way to close it out and hold off the late comeback. It was a strong offensive day for the Wildcats as they put up 390 yards of offense with 190 of those coming on 16-of-25 passing from Hunt. The senior quarterback threw two touchdowns, but he also made two big mistakes with interceptions. Hunt also had a fumble in the game. Coleman led the team with three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown and Jernigan had 18 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Corxavier Coleman led the team with nine tackles, Khalin Macon had an interception and Mitchell Turners, Jordan Hunt and TayQuon Mckinney all had 2.0 TFL each. ìOffensively we went into the ball game wanting to establish the run and we did that,î Shorter said. ìAt our best, we can run the football and use all three or four of our running backs and taking shots in the passing game in play action. There are a few things we have to clean up like pre-snap penalties. Itís discipline. ìDefensively weíre playing good football but weíre giving up too many explosive plays. Weíve got to get better. Moving forward, the most important thing for us is not beating ourselves.î LHS (8-1, 3-0 Region 3) will close out the regular season this week when they head to Greenwood to take on the Bulldogs. This is a longstanding rivalry between teams that have each had some critical wins in the series over the years. Coach Clinton Gatewood has had a tremendous career at Greenwood but struggled through the last four years beginning with COVID-19. This yearís team has clinched its best record since 2019 with its 6-3 start and will be back in the playoffs again. ìTheyíre a very athletic ball club. Since 2020, theyíve been down a bit but you can see theyíre getting back on track,î Shorter said of the Bulldogs. ìWhen we play athletic ball clubs, we struggle a little bit. They have a good receiving core and a young quarterback thatís going to be really good. Theyíre having a good season and a good year, and weíve got to go play some good football.î
