|
|
|
The first Lawton MacArthur-Ardmore game was about turnovers. The second game was about the weather.
The conditions didn’t favor Ardmore in the first quarter of its Class 5A semifinal. Lawton MacArthur took full advantage of a blistering north-to-south wind, rolling up 22 points in the first period en route to a 56-2 win at Yukon High School on Saturday.
Between the consistent wind in the Tigers’ faces, MacArthur’s unrelenting defense and the leg of Highlanders’ kicker Daniel Schwarz, Ardmore was up against more than just 11 men in the first quarter.
“Field position,” Ardmore defensive back/wide receiver Josiah Reed said of what was the biggest factor in the Tigers’ lopsided loss. “Without the wind, it’s not a 56-2 game.”
MacArthur won the coin toss to start the game and established early control with the elements on its side. With Schwarz logging five touchbacks, the Tigers’ average starting field position in the first quarter was their own 20.
On the other hand, the harsh wind afforded MacArthur average field position at the Ardmore 28.
Lawton MacArthur will face Guthrie (13-0) in the 5A title game Friday. Guthrie defeated McAlester 28-25 in the other semifinal game.
Ardmore finished the season 8-5.
“I thought it was a monumental decision,” Ardmore coach Douglas Wendel said of the coin toss. “Our punt game was totally nullified. When you’re going three-and-out and punting into the wind, it can be 22-0 at the end of a quarter.
“(The wind) obviously played a role in the flow of the game, but certainly not the outcome. They’re a great football team. Not a weakness.”
The Highlanders’ defense was already excellent, never allowing more than 28 points in a game all season. It certainly didn’t need Mother Nature, near perfect special teams and a Division I caliber running back on its side.
The Tigers trailed 29-2 at halftime, but the Highlanders (13-0) put up 20 points in a third quarter dominated by special teams and the power running of junior Darius Graham.
The big back ran for 150 yards on 22 carries, including touchdowns runs of 8, 14 and 22 yards. His 8-yarder in the third quarter made it 48-2, only after Schwarz kicked two field goals of 48 and 37 yards with the wind at his back, and Jake Smith fell on a blocked punt in the south end zone.
Ardmore punter Ashdon Perry said he’d never kicked in such wicked conditions. His first three punts of the game — all in the first quarter against the wind — traveled a combined 47 yards.
The first Lawton MacArthur-Ardmore game was about turnovers. The second game was about the weather.
The conditions didn’t favor Ardmore in the first quarter of its Class 5A semifinal. Lawton MacArthur took full advantage of a blistering north-to-south wind, rolling up 22 points in the first period en route to a 56-2 win at Yukon High School on Saturday.
Between the consistent wind in the Tigers’ faces, MacArthur’s unrelenting defense and the leg of Highlanders’ kicker Daniel Schwarz, Ardmore was up against more than just 11 men in the first quarter.
“Field position,” Ardmore defensive back/wide receiver Josiah Reed said of what was the biggest factor in the Tigers’ lopsided loss. “Without the wind, it’s not a 56-2 game.”
MacArthur won the coin toss to start the game and established early control with the elements on its side. With Schwarz logging five touchbacks, the Tigers’ average starting field position in the first quarter was their own 20.
On the other hand, the harsh wind afforded MacArthur average field position at the Ardmore 28.
Lawton MacArthur will face Guthrie (13-0) in the 5A title game Friday. Guthrie defeated McAlester 28-25 in the other semifinal game.
Ardmore finished the season 8-5.
“I thought it was a monumental decision,” Ardmore coach Douglas Wendel said of the coin toss. “Our punt game was totally nullified. When you’re going three-and-out and punting into the wind, it can be 22-0 at the end of a quarter.
“(The wind) obviously played a role in the flow of the game, but certainly not the outcome. They’re a great football team. Not a weakness.”
The Highlanders’ defense was already excellent, never allowing more than 28 points in a game all season. It certainly didn’t need Mother Nature, near perfect special teams and a Division I caliber running back on its side.
The Tigers trailed 29-2 at halftime, but the Highlanders (13-0) put up 20 points in a third quarter dominated by special teams and the power running of junior Darius Graham.
The big back ran for 150 yards on 22 carries, including touchdowns runs of 8, 14 and 22 yards. His 8-yarder in the third quarter made it 48-2, only after Schwarz kicked two field goals of 48 and 37 yards with the wind at his back, and Jake Smith fell on a blocked punt in the south end zone.
Ardmore punter Ashdon Perry said he’d never kicked in such wicked conditions. His first three punts of the game — all in the first quarter against the wind — traveled a combined 47 yards.
With the wind at his back, Perry’s first punt of the second quarter went 70.
“I was trying to drive a couple of them and I couldn’t do nothing about it,” said Perry, who was also held to 12 yards on 10 carries. Ardmore as a team rushed 28 times for minus-55 yards.
“I felt like coming in we had to run the football and we obviously couldn’t do that,” Wendel said. “(MacArthur) seemed to be faster, stronger. No doubt we didn’t play our best today, but they’re better than they were in September and better than I probably thought.”
Lawton MacArthur missed a field goal attempt from 44 yards on its first possession, but the Tigers were pinned against the wind again, setting up MacArthur with field position at the Ardmore 28.
The Highlanders struck quickly in the first. Taylor Chasteen found Quinton Paras with a 15-yard pass, which the big receiver turned into a touchdown at 7:01 after breaking two tackles.
Graham added a 22-yard touchdown run at 4:01 and Chasteen’s two-point conversion put the Highlanders up 15-0.
Chasteen didn’t have great numbers (3-of-10, 47 yards) but hit for two touchdowns on his three completions. His second TD came after he got the ball back on a double reverse and found a wide open Dewayne Sandford for a 26-yard TD for the Highlanders’ third score. Casteen added a 4-yard run in the fourth for MacArthur’s final points.
With the wind, Ardmore quarterback Travis Galbreath got going in the second quarter. He finished 12-of-26 for 115 yards. The Tigers’ lone points, however, came on a safety.
Perry’s 70-yard punt was downed at the MacArthur 1 and Ardmore linebacker Tray Fish slung Casteen down in the end zone 6:27 into the second quarter.
“I love my team and I’m glad we had the chance to go this far,” said Fish, who also led Ardmore with three catches for 50 yards. “I wouldn’t have done it with anyone else but the people I did it with.”
Erik K. Horne
221-6522
