Western Wildcats hold on to beat Miramar Patriots in final test before playoffs
Western defensive back Websley Etienne knew Miramar was going to try to make a big play. Miramar was down to its last chance — fourth and 11, 35 yards from the end zone, down by four points with about two minutes left.
Quarterback Travis Delaney Jr. dropped back, looked over his options and fired a pass toward the middle of the field.
Etienne was waiting. He anticipated the double move by the receiver, jumped the route and recorded the game-sealing interception to cap Western’s 13-9 win on Friday night.
“It just came straight to me,” Etienne said, “so I had to make a play.”
The play stymied Miramar’s bid for a second-half comeback and all but assured Western will be the top seed in Region 4-8A when the playoffs begin next week. The Wildcats went 8-2 during the regular season, their lone losses coming to Chaminade-Madonna on Aug. 27 to begin the season and to St. Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 24.
And the gritty, grind-it-out win the Wildcats had on Friday was exactly the type of game Western wanted to close out the regular season. The Wildcats had blown out each of their past five opponents, giving up just a field goal in the process and working running clocks each of the last three weeks.
They wanted their final tune-up before the playoffs to be a challenge.
They certainly got one on Friday.
Western jumped out to a two-touchdown lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Collin Hurst to Tyreik Thorpe and a 21-yard Nelson Walker rushing touchdown before Miramar’s Desmond Reid broke off a 90-yard touchdown run with 12 seconds left in the first half to make the score 13-7 heading into the break.
The Wildcats had to rely on their defense in the second half to keep the lead intact.
And the defense was busy.
Miramar (6-3), which will be the No. 4 seed in Region 4-7A, ran 27 plays in the second half to Western’s 17.
The only points the Patriots recorded in the second half, though, came on a safety with 11:39 left in the game.
A 13-play drive, featuring a fourth-and-1 conversion near midfield and two more third downs after that to get just outside the red zone? Zero points.
A short field after recovering a fumble? Zero points.
Getting the ball back at midfield after the safety? Zero points.
“Our defense just kept coming up big every time we put them in a bad situation,” Western coach Adam Ratkevich said.
Western’s offense had the opportunity to put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter. The Wildcats marched 84 yards down the field in 12 plays to set up fourth and goal from the 2-yard line. Hurst faked the handoff and ran up the middle, appearing to cross the goal line for a touchdown, but the ball was jarred loose. Miramar recovered, giving the Patriots one final chance to drive 80 yards to complete the comeback.
“It gets anxious back there,” Hurst said about having to watch the final drive unfold. “You can’t control what the defense does, but I trust my guys.”
They showed why in the end, with Etienne’s interception finishing it off.
“This is huge,” Etienne said. “We haven’t had a team that punched us in the mouth in a long time. We’re out here blowing teams out 91-0, 45-0, 50-0. This right here is going to prepare us for the playoffs.”
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