RICK ROGERS: Rathmann taking throne a year earlier

For the majority of the summer, Neosho junior Tyler Rathmann was preparing to catch passes, not throw them, for the football Wildcats.

That was until an injury changed everything, including Rathmann’s role on the football Wildcats.
Instead of catching touchdown passes, Rathmann is now throwing them as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback.

And on Friday night, Rathmann and the Wildcats’ offense pounded Rogers, Ark., 32-0, providing a rude welcome back for former NHS head football coach Shawn Flannigan, who returned to Bob Anderson Stadium for the first time as a visiting coach with Rogers. Flannigan led Neosho to back-to-back district titles the past two seasons, his only two seasons with the Black and Gold, and on Friday night he watched as his former team’s defense, led by defensive coordinator Corey Roy, put up a shutout to the delight of the hometown crowd.

After the game, Rathmann had little time to reflect on his first victory as a starting quarterback for the Wildcats. He was too busy receiving hugs and high-fives from family, friends, coaches and teammates on the field. He was too busy singing the fight song at the top of his lungs with teammates and along with the crowd. And he was too busy sprinting to the bell and ringing it 32 times in celebration of the victory.

Rathmann was supposed to be the heir to senior quarterback Alex Wise’s throne next year, but that has all changed.
Now, Rathmann has been thrust into the limelight, and in only his second game ever at quarterback, he managed to lead his team to victory. Rathmann provided a dual threat the Wildcats are used to at quarterback, rushing for 80 yards on 12 carries and throwing the ball for another 78 yards. He is fortunate to have several weapons at his disposal. Senior Blake Stauffer is quickly proving he can carry a big load at running back, and was also featured as the quarterback out of the Wildcat offense, moving Rathmann to wide receiver. If Stauffer is the Wildcats’ ying, then senior Will McDaniel is their yang. McDaniel possesses deadly speed both at running back, and as a slot receiver.

Add receivers Jared Brown, Johnny Lowe, Sam Parks and Carter Boatright to the mix, and the Wildcats are not short on players who can find the end zone.

But what the Wildcats possess on the line is even more impressive, led by junior Gavin Rainwater, Riley Plew, Silas Bonhannon, Dalton Harris, Anthony Bates

“We have some great senior leadership on this team,” Rathmann said. “That first fumble that we had, the seniors came and kind of picked me up. Our running game really stepped up tonight. We have a bunch of speed with Will, Blake, Jared, Johnny, and Carter. We have a great line, too. They protect us a lot and it is good.”

Rathmann has been the Wildcats’ quarterback for a month now, and in his first game he threw two interceptions, but called that “a learning experience.”

“If I can’t find an open receiver, I am comfortable just tucking the ball in and running,” Rathmann said. “I do kind of have a hard time throwing the ball away. I am a scrapper, and I want to get every yard that I can get.”

Rathmann admitted the team wanted to win this home opener to not only bounce back from last week’s season opening loss against Bolivar, but to also prove to their old coach that the Wildcats would continue their winning ways.

“I wanted to win this game bad,” Rathmann said.

Stauffer, who rushed for 102 yards on 15 carries, said the Wildcats needed the win more to get the team rolling going into COC play than the fact it was against their old coach in Flannigan.

“This win gives us confidence going into the rest of the season, especially since the win is against a big 7A school coming from Arkansas,” Stauffer said. “We were kind of looked at as the underdog, and to put up a goose egg against (Rogers) is kind of exciting.”

Stauffer also brought some excitement to the game Friday night when he ran the offense out of the “Wildcat” formation. Neosho used the combination of Stauffer at quarterback and a receiver, mainly McDaniel, in motion to confuse the defense.

“We have been working on the “Wildcat” for awhile, but we just didn’t want to put it in that first game,” he said. “I am pretty comfortable back there, and it worked pretty well for us tonight.”

Rick Rogers is the publisher of the Daily News.