The De Soto High School football team headed out last Friday for its game against Paola.

After the first quarter, there was a lot of promise for the Wildcats. They got a touchdown within the first quarter but missed the extra point, putting the score at 6-0, Wildcats.

This reign backfired in the second quarter when the Paola Panthers scored a touchdown and had a good extra point kick, leaving the half time score at 7-6, Panthers.

In the second half, the scoreboard heated up with touchdowns flying in from every direction. De Soto and Paola traded off scoring for the remainder of the game with only eight minutes remaining in the game. Paola led the game 20-17.

Finally, the De Soto football team pulled through, scoring the final touchdown and extra point of the game, putting the final score at 24-20, Wildcats.

The excitement of the freezing Wildcat fans was overwhelming as they charged onto the field to create a tunnel for the team to run through on their way to the locker room.

This game left the Wildcats with a record of 2-4, leading into District play the last three weeks of the season.

“The guys came out strong and fought really hard and then they kind of got behind and they showed a lot of strength kind of fighting from behind and coming back with a lead,” assistant coach Ben Cook said.