The Salem Wildcats overcame a slow offensive start to pull away and knock off Harrisburg on the road 41-22. Salem got on the board early when Caden Bee capped off a 77 yard drive in the Cats first possession with a 4-yard TD run to make it 7-0. Salem went up 2 scores when Caden Harris broke a 37 yard run for a score and then the drive was capped off on a 2-point conversion throw from Jacob Kohnke to Kannon King to make it 15-0. The Cats took a 15-6 lead in to the halftime break.
Salem would go up 22-6 on Harris’s 2nd TD run of the game but Harrisburg answered with a td run of their own cutting the Salem advantage to 22-14. The Cats would answer right back when their sophomore quarterback Sam Greene would find Brayden Smith to cap off the scoring drive with a 51 yard TD reception. Salem then took a 35-14 lead when Smith broke what looked like a short gain, into a scoring run.
Salem’s defense would end it as Brayden Aaron returned a pick 70 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Matthew Sellers recovered a fumble and Connor Tennyson also had a 2nd half INT.
Smith went for 118 yards on the ground and 2 total touchdowns. Harris had 51 yards rushing and Greene was 6-of-10 for 95 yards with a touchdown and a fumble. The Cats are 2-1 and will open up Cahokia Conference play next week at home against East Alton Wood River.
Today, Olney will travel to Red Hill, Cahokia will be at Painstville Johnson Central, Kentucky.
