When the Wildcats defense stopped Gosnell from converting for two points during overtime, head coach Greg White knew the game wasn't going to go into a second overtime.

He was confident that sophomore place kicker Luis Gutierrez would win the game for them.

Gutierrez kicked the winning extra point to give the Wildcats a 35-34 victory in overtime Sept. 26 at Wildcats Field in the conference play opener.

"When Luis was going out to kick, Coach (Scott) Brown said to me that we get the ball in the second overtime," White said. "I told him it's not going to go to a second overtime. Luis is going to make it. Sure enough, he did. It was just outstanding. And for a sophomore to step up, take his time and bang through the game winner, I am so proud of him."

White said the coaches knew going in to the season that having someone on the team like Gutierrez who could kick the football would give them a big advantage in the tough 4-3A conference.

"Heck, yeah it does," White said. "In high school it makes a difference when you have a kid who can hit every extra point for you. That extra point -- you're talking a lot of pressure. Luis is a big part of this football team. He knows his role and he does it well."

The game almost got out of hand early for the Wildcats (2-2, 1-0 4A-3).

Gosnell fumbled on its opening possession on its own 47 yard line but got the ball back when Gosnell blocked a punt and recovered the ball on the Trumann 27 yard line.

Cody Griggs scored on fourth and nine but the Pirates failed on the 2 point conversion to take a 6-0 lead.

The Wildcats came back to take a 7-6 lead when quarterback Blaike Jones connected for 30 yards to Dustin Miller. Gutierrez's PAT was good.

Gosnell re-took the lead 12-7 with :32 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a 27 yard touchdown run by Jevon Smith, but the Pirates again failed to convert for two.

The Pirates struck again taking advantage of a Trumann miscue when linebacker Matt Garner intercepted Jones's pass which set up a 2 yard touchdown run by Smith with 9:15 to play in the second. Smith successfully ran the ball for two points to take a 20-7 lead.

Jones made up for his earlier mistake, answering back with a 53 yard touchdown run to make it 20-14.

Gosnell recovered an onside kick to start the second half but turned the ball over on downs.

Jones then put the Wildcats ahead 21-20 on a 31 yard run with 3:53 to go in the third.

The Cats struck again minutes later on a 28 yard touchdown run by Tommy Harris to jump out to a 28-20 lead.

But the Pirates would tie it on a 2 yard run by Smith who scored on fourth and 2 with 10:43 to go in the fourth and converted for 2 points.

Both teams punted on their next possession and Trumann allowed the clock to run out to send it to overtime.

Gosnell won the coin toss in overtime and elected to go on offense. Quarterback Isiah Love drove the ball in on fourth and one for the touchdown but the Wildcats defense kept Cody Griggs from getting the two point conversion.

"Our defense came up with a heck of a play," White said. "E.J. Bullock flew in there and made a tackled and stopped the two point conversion."

Jones then found the end zone on fourth and five on a quarterback keeper and Gutierrez booted the winning extra point through the upright for the big win in front of a Homecoming crowd.

"This was huge," White said. "I'm very proud of them. Gosnell hasa good team and is going to win a lot of football games. But al year long we preached to our kids that they deserve to be in the mix and they deserve to be one of the teams that people talk about. I think this gave our kids a lot of confidence."

White singled out both lines as having done a particularly good job against Gosnell.

"I can't say enough about our offensive line this week," White said. "They did a great job. And I thought defensively our linemen played outstanding. They got down and dirty and played gritty and tough the way we like them to. I thought our defense did a good job of stopping them and got better as the game went on and that to me is a good sign."

White said he was a little worried when the team fell behind 20-7 but decided to trust his offense and not let up.

"I was like 'here we go,'" White said. "But as a coach you have got to trust your offense and trust your kids. That's what we did. I trusted them and they made the plays they had to. It was a great win. Absolutely fantastic."

Offensively, the Wildcats showed their prowess gaining 434 yards on offense including 367 yards on the ground.

Jones led the team with 18 carries for 189 yards and three touchdowns and was 4 of 11 passing for 67 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

"He took a beating," White said. "Gosnell is a very physical team. He got hit numerous times. He got his bell rung pretty good. When I was helping him off the field I honestly thought we were going to have to go with Dustin (Miller) in overtime. But what a competitor to come back and finish overtime. He is just a gamer. He found a way to make his team win. There are not many kids who can do that."

Zac Thompson had six carried for 88 yards, Tommy Harris four carried for 46 yards and a touchdown and Colton Turner added six carries for 40 yards.

On defense, Harris had 13 tackles, Turner 11, Thompson 10 and Ethan Heavener 10.

The Wildcats travel to Highland this week.

White said he expects a low scoring game with Highland looking to control the clock.

"It won't be like this one," White said. "They are going to try and run and control the clock. Gosnell had the ability to score quick with al that speed. Highland doesn't have that speed but they can keep the ball a whole quarter. But we've got some confidence now and I think our kids responded well and stepped it up and did what we asked them to do. If we can execute our offense and play god, solid defense, I think we'll be okay."