The Melrose Golden Wildcats were able to grind out a solid victory over the Bartlett Panthers on Friday, taking the game 20-13. The win was all the more spectacular given the Golden Wildcats' disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee football rankings (they are ranked 130th, while the Panthers are ranked 39th).
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Melrose to victory, but perhaps none more so than Thomas Heffner, who threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. The Golden Wildcats' leading receiver Kyle Aldridge was Heffner's top target yet again, picking up 119 receiving yards and one score.
Melrose didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Bartlett to a completion percentage of just 29.2%. The team can thank Keymond Jones for the heroic effort on defense: he. Given Heffner's standout performance, it's clear Bartlett's secondary just wasn't on the same level.
Golden Wildcats
| 09/05/25 @ Bartlett | 20-13 |
| 08/29/25 @ Fairley | 14-12 |
| 10/31/24 @ Millington Central | 41-6 |
| 10/18/24 @ Ridgeway | 48-8 |
| 10/11/24 @ Ridgeway | 46-0 |
| 09/19/24 @ Wooddale | 40-0 |
Melrose's victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 6.5 points on average over those games. As for Bartlett, they are on a four-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-3.
Looking ahead, Melrose will venture away from home to challenge Bolton at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. This will be the Golden Wildcats' first chance to prove their worth in the conference. As for Bartlett, they will host Overton at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
