WILMINGTON – The defending Class 2A state champions, Wilmington, held off Marengo in the final minutes to secure a thrilling 32-26 season-opening win at home Friday night. Colin James led the Wildcats with 202 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
Marengo marched straight down the field behind returning all-state quarterback Josh Holst, who utilized an uptempo, no-huddle, passing attack to move the ball through the air, before taking off for a 47-yard touchdown with his legs to give his team a fast 6-0 lead a few minutes into the game.
Wilmington responded with the opposite approach, using its trademark slow and steady ground game to churn out yards on the ground with quarterback Ryder Meents ultimately capping the drive off with a touchdown to take the lead 7-6.
Marengo answered back with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Holst to Owen Frederick to take a 13-7 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
After both defenses got stops on the next two drives, Wilmington methodically melted most of the final six minutes of the half on the ground before Meents found the end zone for the second time of the night to deadlock the game at 13-13 heading into halftime.
With the run game starting to slow down in the early second half, Meents kept the opposing defense honest with a pair of play-action passes totaling 63 yards to move deep into Marengo territory.
Sophomore running back Kyle Farrell broke the tie with a 4-yard touchdown run with 4:36 left in the third quarter to give Wilmington a 20-13 lead.
After another stand from the Wilmington defense, the Wildcats re-established the running game, breaking off big gains before James bruised into the end zone from 7 yards out to give Wilmington a two-score lead at 26-13 with 54 seconds left in the third quarter.
Nineteen seconds later, the elusive Holst broke free for a 63-yard touchdown down the sideline for his second rushing touchdown of the game, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 26-20.
“The problem for us defensively tonight was when we dropped into coverage, (Holst) made plays throwing the ball,” Wilmington coach Jeff Reents said. “When we brought the blitz, he escaped and made plays with his legs.
“You’ve just got to keep hanging in there against a kid like that, who’s an all-stater, and just keep battling.”
Wilmington lost a fumble on its next play from scrimmage, giving Marengo the ball inside the Wildcats’ 40-yard line. Holst tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to David Lopez a few plays later to tie the game at 26-26 with 9:27 remaining in the game.
“You tell your kids to give (Marengo) credit for making a play,” Reents said. “And then challenge our guys to make the next one.”
Wilmington settled back down offensively and manufactured another mammoth drive on the ground that James iced with a 6-yard touchdown run, putting the Wildcats up 32-26 with 5:47 in the fourth quarter.
Holst led Marengo one last time into Wilmington territory in their final possession, but it was the Wildcats who were able to make the last play and turn Marengo over on downs to hold on for the win in an instant classic.
“I was really happy that we hung in there with our backs against the ropes,” Reents said. “And came out with the victory. We have a lot of things to work on and a lot of kids to replace from last year’s state team. And I think our young guys grew up a lot tonight.
“What a great game it was tonight. Hats off to Marengo, they came all the way down here and gave us everything we could handle. I think they’re going to be a really good football team this year.”