Tigers escape Bear trap with 35-28 win
By Rob Kauffman
For The News-Record

COMMERCE -- Wyandotte gave Commerce all it wanted Friday night, but the effort by the Bears fell short of a major upset as the Tigers pulled out a thrilling 35-28 victory.

Wyandotte rallied from a two touchdown deficit in the first half to take a one point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers showed why they are Class A's No. 2 team in the state.

Following the go-ahead score by Wyandotte with just over seven minutes to play in the game, Commerce mounted a 16-play, 89-yard scoring drive that would keep the Tigers undefeated and atop District A-5.

Sophomore running back James Sullivan capped the game-winning march with a 1-yard plunge with 39 seconds left in the game to preserve the win for the Tigers.

The Tigers overcame three penalties and a fourth-and-16 near midfield during the drive to end any thoughts of an upset by the Bears on this night.

It looked as if Wyandotte would get a shot at running the clock out if they could hold the Tigers on a fourth down play from the CHS 40-yard line.

But junior quarterback Josh Kelly, who started for an injured Klint Reading, found senior tight end Logan Cawyer for a 28-yard pass-and-catch to keep the drive alive.

From there, the Tigers used the running of Sullivan and junior Jared Dopp to move the ball to the Bears' end zone.

Commerce (5-0, 2-0) struck first early in the opening quarter after a short WHS punt gave the Tigers the ball at the Bear 39.

Junior Nathan Webb got the call from the 7-yard line to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 7:43 to play in the first.

Commerce gained a 14-0 lead after marching 53 yards in four plays. The big play of the drive was a 32-yard run by Sullivan that moved the ball to the Bear 2.

Freshman Josh Pilkinton hit paydirt from the 2 to give the Tigers a two-TD cushion with 1:32 left in the opening frame.

Wyandotte's first score came following a fumble recovery by Bear senior Torrey Warren at the Tiger 14.

Sophomore Frankie Lewis scored from the 8-yard line on the second play following the CHS turnover to cut the Commerce lead to 14-7 with 10:02 showing on the second quarter clock.

Commerce's Dopp gave the Tigers a 21-7 lead late in the first half after a 33-yard jaunt capped a six-play, 58-yard drive. But the Bears closed that gap before the end of the first half.

Junior quarterback Jared White hit senior Tom Handrich with a 18-yard pass from the Bear 26 before White found senior Jake Kirk for a 41-yard toss on the next play, moving the ball to the CHS 15.

White hit senior Justin Crosswhite on the third play of the march with a 15-yard scoring strike to pull the Bears to within 21-14 of the Tigers heading into halftime.

Commerce wasted little time in extending its lead at the start of the second half.

The Tigers drove the football 65 yards in 10 plays to raise their lead to 27-14. Two plays after a 21-yard toss to senior Micah Littlejohn on a third-and-11, Sullivan bulled over from the 1 for the score.

But, Cawyer's extra-point kick missed its mark giving the Tigers a 27-14 lead at the 7:57 mark of the third.

Wyandotte (1-4, 0-2) answered with an eight-play, 72-yard scoring drive, which included a 33-yard pass to junior Tyler Burleson and a 32-yard toss to Lewis from White. Four plays later, White scored on a quarterback sneak to cut the CHS lead to 27-22 with 4:39 to play in the third.

The Bears got their only lead of the night following a Crosswhite recovery of a Tiger fumble at the CHS 43.

White hit Warren with a 36-yard pass on the first play, moving the ball down to the Tiger seven. White then hit Handrich in the back of the end zone with a 9-yard TD strike to give the Bears a 28-27 lead with 7:09 to play in the game, setting up the game-winning drive by the Tigers.

Dopp and Sullivan paced the 390 yards of total offense for the Tigers as both rushed for over 100 yards on the night. Dopp led all rushers with 126 yards on 18 carries, while Sullivan worked his way to 107 yards on 20 totes.

Kelly completed 6 of 11 passes for 110 yards, but used just two receivers. Cawyer hauled in four of Kelly's passes for 56 yards, while Littlejohn caught two passes for 54 yards.

Although Commerce held the Bears to 42 yards rushing, White and his receivers picked up the offensive slack by completing 16-of-31 for 284 yards and a pair of TDs. Wyandotte amassed 367 yards of offense on the night, which included a 31-yard play on a halfback pass from Burleson to Handrich in the second quarter.

Handrich led the WHS receiving corps with five catches for 68 yards and a score, while Crosswhite had three catches for 51 yards and a TD.

Wyandotte hosts Picher-Cardin while the Tigers play at Ketchum on Friday.