NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Greenland's Wilson shines on both sides of the ball

Wilson
Wilson

Friday's game between Cedarville and Greenland was built as a showdown between the top two rushing leaders in the state.

Darryl Kattich and Jett Dennis each gained over 120 yards, but it was quarterback and linebacker Gabe Wilson who provided the biggest plays in Greenland's 28-26 victory.

Wilson completed 16 of 20 passes for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns and added 102 yards rushing on 19 carries. That's a good night for any player, but Wilson also added 11 tackles while trying to help contain Kattich, who leads the state with 1,582 yards rushing. Dennis is second in the state with 1,449 yards rushing.

Wilson normally plays safety on defense, but he moved up toward the line of scrimmage and became a linebacker against a Cedarville offense that is among the best in running the football in Class 3A. For his effort, Wilson is the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week.

"I love being on the field," said Wilson, who has thrown for 1,159 yards and contributed 24 tackles on defense for the Pirates. "I was tired after the game Friday, but it's hard to be too tired and down after a big win like that. Cedarville is a great team and beating them is huge."

Greenland (6-2, 4-1) moved into second place behind Charleston in the 3A-1 Conference standings. The win over Cedarville (6-2, 3-2) also provides momentum for the Pirates heading into their final two conference games against Hackett and West Fork.

Performing at a high level is nothing new for Wilson, who was a Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week last season after he led Greenland to a 31-20 victory over Elkins in his first start at quarterback. He's continued his success as a senior and provided the highlight of the season so far for Greenland when he led the Pirates to a game-winning drive against Lincoln on Oct. 10.

Lincoln had just taken a 35-27 lead when Wilson drove the Pirates 65 yards and hit Ethan Gilbert with a 33-yard touchdown pass with seconds left in the game. Wilson then ran around right end for a 2-point conversion to give Greenland a 36-35 win over the Wolves.

Greenland coach Lee Larkan said Wilson's ability to make clutch plays on both sides of the ball should warrant him more looks from college recruiters.

"Gabe is a very good football player who knows how to win games," Larkan said of Wilson, who's received interest for Lyon and Hendrix College in Arkansas. "He's 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, and he's smart. Some college team is going to miss out by not taking him."

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Rick Fires can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWARick.

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