Wildcats tackle ups and downs of football season

by Diane Stamm

Grant tribune-sentinel

From start to finish, every week was a challenge for this year’s Wallace football team.

The Wildcats started the season at number three in Class D6, but faced tough opponents each week, starting with preseason number two Cody-Kilgore. The Cowboys were one of five teams Wallace faced that made the playoffs. Those teams included the playoff’s second seed, Arthur County, as well as #12 Southwest and #14 Brady. The Wildcats played number one Sumner-Eddyville-Miller in the first round of the playoffs.

Both SEM and Arthur County are in the semifinals of the playoffs.

Wallace Head Coach Eric Miller said the Wildcats changed a lot through the year.

“We started off with a very difficult non-district schedule and got off to a 1-3 start.  After that, our experience had grown and we tweaked some positions and style of play and it helped us win three in a row to get into the playoffs. Hats off to the players for always being willing to do what needed to be done to benefit the team,” Miller said.

Wallace’s game against Southwest was huge for the Wildcats, he added

“We knew we needed to win it to get into the playoffs. Southwest came in with a great team and record and we were able to play great defense, and smart offense to get that victory,” he said.

A Sept. 22 home loss to Brady, which gave Wallace a 1-3 record, was Miller’s low for the season.

He said the Wildcats knew they weren’t playing as good as they could be.  

“We knew if we wanted to end up being a good team, we needed to get back to work and try adjusting a few things.  Again, hats off to the kids for having an open mind and being willing to do what’s best for the team and not always themselves. A great game against Wauneta-Palisade got us to 2-3 and brought back a lot of confidence,” Miller added.

Seniors Carson Glunz and Kyler Flaming may have only had three years on the field after their freshman year in eight-man was forfeited due to lack of numbers, but Miller said he is proud of them for what they have done for the program.

“They have been through the ups and downs. Carson and Kyler have represented Wallace in a positive manner and helped the program get where it is today,” Miller said.

Glunz paced the Wildcats’ offense with 1,415 yards rushing and set a school record with six rushing touchdowns in one game. In his three years, Glunz rushed for 4,164 total yards of offense and 68 offensive touchdowns, as well as finishing with 304 tackles defensively. 

Flaming was the team’s leading receiver and also made his mark on the record books with six receptions in one game. Overall in his career, Flaming had 38 receptions for 741 yards and 10 TDs, while on the defensive side of the ball he had 177 tackles and 25 tackles for loss.

Miller also pointed out that Trey Robertson gave the team three great years before injuries forced his switch to cross country.

“He needs to be mentioned for what he gave to the football program when he was able to. He would have been right there with us if not for health concerns,” Miller said.

Junior Matt Lungrin finished with the team high in passing and sophomore Masen Messersmith was the team leader in total tackles. Messersmith was closely followed by Glunz and junior Riley Strawder.

Also playing in all nine of the team’s games were freshman Ivan Aceves and sophomore Conner Kennicutt, while junior Chase Martin saw action in seven games.

Miller said he is fortunate to be able to lead the Wallace football program and very grateful for all of the support that they have been shown.

Wallace football (4-5)

Aug. 26 @Cody-Kilgore, 6-2 24-25

Sept. 8 Garden Co., 6-2 8-20

Sept. 16 @So. Platte, 3-5 58-8

Sept. 22 Brady, 4-4 12-32

Sept. 30 @WP, 3-5 56-14

Oct. 7 Paxton, 2-6 48-34

Oct. 14 Southwest, 5-3 28-20

Oct. 21 @Arthur Co., 8-0 40-71

Oct. 28 SEM, 8-0 31-77