Despite a valiant effort by Shelby County, the Wildcats fell short to the McAdory Yellow Jackets 16-6 on the road Friday night.

Huge Region 3 playoff implications were on the line for both the Wildcats and Yellow Jackets, as both teams looked to reserve their spots in the post season.

The Yellow Jacket offense struck first for the night, when running back Jarvis Carter infiltrated the Wildcats&8217; defense on a 44-yard run en route to its end zone.

With a missed Justin Hollon PAT, McAdory claimed the early 6-0 first quarter lead.

As halftime drew near, the Wildcats&8217; offense marched down the field and managed to put one in the end zone when Aaron Howard connected with Darion Sutton on a 13-yard touchdown toss.

Kicking woes still haunt the Wildcats&8217; as the PAT failed and the score was all knotted up 6-6 going into the half.

&8220;We knew that we had to get the ball in the red zone in the second half and when we got there, we had to score&8221;, coach Ryan Herring said about second half adjustments.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the second half wouldn&8217;t provide a much-needed boost offensively, since the team was held scoreless by the Yellow Jackets&8217; defense.

However, McAdory managed to chalk up two more scores on a 40-yard fling from Marcus Jemison to Darrius Phillips and a 24-yard field goal courtesy of Hollon&8217;s foot.

The stars didn&8217;t align for the Wildcats Friday night as giving up the &8220;big plays&8221; crippled the energetic, go-getting, Shelby County defense.

By the numbers, SCHS somewhat mirrored the likes of the Yellow Jackets&8217; offense going for 192 yards of total offense with McAdory gathering 190 yards.

&8220;Offensively, we moved the ball decently, but we&8217;ve got to execute better.&8221;

The Wildcats&8217; defense was lead with another standout performance by senior linebacker, Richard Sutton, racking up 12 tackles, accompanied by Justin Blankenship and Michael Trice adding six each.

&8220;We played some of the best defense I have seen us play all year. We played good, sound defense, holding them to only five first downs. Our kids played hard.&8221; Herring said praising the defense&8217;s effort.

This week, the Wildcats welcome Wilcox Central for the final Region 3 contest of the season. With a win, SCHS would be in the driver&8217;s seat to claim home field advantage in the first round of the postseason.

&8220;This week will be a serious week of preparation. There is a lot on the line and we have to be ready to play.&8221;