Junior running back Bobby Dowdell heads around end for one of his several big gains Friday night.

  The Tullahoma Wildcats almost saw their homecoming waltz turn into a Halloween nightmare Friday night, but in the end they hung on for a 33-25 win over a Stratford Spartan squad that was as hard to kill as a scary movie villain.
  Not only did the win insure the Cats could enjoy the post-game festivities at the homecoming dance, it struck a major blow in favor of their playoff hopes. The Wildcats are currently in fifth place in Region 5-4A and only four teams make the playoffs, but the schedule could lend a big hand next week.
  First off, the Wildcats (3-3 in region games) must win their home game against Hickman County. The four teams that are ahead of them in the standings all play each other. According to Wildcat coach John Olive, if Hillsboro (6-0) defeats Stratford (4-2) on the road, and Maplewood (5-1) defeats Whites Creek (4-3) at home, the Wildcats could finish third in the region due to the tie-breaking procedures. That, again, is contingent on the Cats beating Hickman County (2-4). If they don’t, their season is over.

The Wildcat offensive line looks to the sideline during the first half of Friday night's win.

  For a good bit of Friday night’s homecoming contest against the Spartans, it looked like the Wildcats would not only beat the visitors from Nashville but demolish them. Stratford proved to be harder to demolish than Freddie Krueger.
  The Wildcats marched right down the field on their first drive of the second half, and when Cass Barnes hit Chance Askins on a 13-yard TD pass and Craig Roper made the kick, the Cats took a commanding 33-7 lead. From that point, however, it was all Stratford.
  The Spartans took the next possession and ran the ball right down the field for a touchdown drive that took 3:26 off the clock. That made it 33-13. Early in the fourth quarter, they struck for a 64-yard touchdown pass to make it 33-19, then after intercepting a long Tullahoma pass on third and long, the Spartans completed a bomb to the Wildcat 20 and added a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 33-25. The only time Stratford was successful on an extra-point attempt, either kicking or going for two, was on the first score. The two-point attempt failed after the final TD, leaving the score 33-25.

Jack Thoma heads off the field after blocking a punt leading to a Wildcat touchdown in the first half.

  But, the Spartans recovered an onside kick at the Tullahoma 46 with 3:49 left, and it looked like a Wildcat lead that looked insurmountable just a bit earlier was now in real jeopardy. The Spartans, however, self-destructed at that point. On the first play, a holding penalty behind the line of scrimmage plus an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a player for taunting the Tullahoma bench backed them all the way up to their own 22 where they had 42 yards to go for a first down.