On paper, wildcat vs. wildcat sounds like a fair fight. But on Friday, when the Cats from Marmaton Valley met the Cats from Yates Center, the two teams seemed a species apart.
Let’s start with the boys.
Yates Center jumped out to an early lead, notching two quick buckets in the game’s initial seconds before applying a full-court press that produced an instant Marmaton Valley turnover. The game, at this point, appeared destined to go the way many had predicted, with the Wildcats of Woodson County running away with the easy W.
But the team from Moran wasn’t cowed. The next time up court sharp-shooter Caiden Elliott banged home a three-pointer and, on the subsequent possession, his classmate Isaac Heskett bodied his way to the basket for a lay-in, bringing Marmaton Valley within a bucket of the heavily favored home team.