Elgin comes up short; Marlow, Apache, Tipton advance

There is never anything easy about winning playoff games; those matchups can bring out the best or worst in the game of football.

Coaches and players can scheme and prepare for days, however, during the game the tiniest of mistakes can come back to ruin that big play that worked so well time-after-time in practice.

This week there was a strange contrast between two of the area’s teams, Marlow and Elgin. Marlow produced 540 yards total offense and 45 points in a 45-7 victory over Tulsa Cascia Hall. Elgin racked up 370 yards against Claremore but managed to put just six points on the scoreboard. While so many fans are driven by statistics, there comes a time when none of that matters. 

Getting the ball into the end zone is what decides a winner and loser.

All five of the area teams that played Friday in second-round contests had their chances at victory and three of them found a way to advance. This writer had a hunch all five would win but after visiting with some of the players my confidence was the highest with Apache, Marlow and Tipton, which all advanced with big wins. 

Marlow will now battle No. 1-ranked Heritage Hall which blanked Berryhill, 49-0, Friday at 1 p.m. at Newcastle Racers’ Stadium.

In Class A, Apache came up with another big offensive effort, whipping Stratford, 48-13, at Chandler Field in Apache. The Warriors will battle Hominy which beat Wyandotte, 49-7, Friday at 7 p.m. at Hominy since it and Apache have both played two games at home. When that happens the pre-drawn bracket has the team on the odd side of the bracket hosting on odd years, which gives the edge to Hominy since this is the 2023 season.

Walters saw its Class A title hopes dashed after the Blue Devils lost to Dibble, 40-26, at Dibble in a game that featured some big plays on both sides.

Once again Tipton is on the verge of playing for another state title as the Tigers whipped Graham, 56-6, in another playoff mercy-rule win for Travis White’s club that has now won 26 straight games dating back to last season when the Tigers went 14-0 while getting the Class C title. The Tigers will face Waynoka Friday at 1 p.m. at Alex High School.

Outlaws post big numbers

Marlow coach Matt Weber was obviously upbeat after his Outlaws had another great effort on the road.

“This is a special group of kids,” Coach Weber said. “They set some lofty goals this season and they have carried that workmanlike attitude to this point. This is my 27th year of coaching and this is the best bunch I’ve ever put on the field when it comes to hard work and dedication.”

Coach Weber said the key has been a bit strange to explain. 

“It seems a bit crazy to say but we had not had a great offensive identity until Week 10,” he said. “This week we ran the ball for 420 yards which was by far our best output of the season. And we threw for 120 more. That helped open up the running game. And, it helps to play from in front.”

The Outlaws scored on their first three possessions and it came down to good execution as quarterback Cade Gilbert and three different backs kept the Cascia Hall defense on its heels all night.

“Balance has been our strong suit all season but we look back and it’s been our defense that has been a big part of this,” he said. “I think our defense really played well against Plainview. Sure, we had played other good teams but in that game it was just a different level.”

Now the veteran coach gets to do something special.

“Now we get to practice on Thanksgiving Day which is the goal of every high school team at the start of the season.” he said. “We practice and then go up there Friday and play a day game. I haven’t done that in many years.”

He knows it will be a challenge once again.

“Heritage Hall has the best back in the state (Barrett Travis) and they also have a great quarterback,” Coach Weber said. “The thing I can tell you for sure is our kids will get on that bus expecting to play hard and not be intimidated by anyone. These kids have a great deal of faith in their own ability and they play well together.”

While Coach Weber was excited about his team advancing, he was sad to hear about the loss by Elgin.

“Those coaches at Elgin are a class bunch of guys and I hated to hear they lost,” Weber said. “It’s tough to lose one like that after moving the ball well most of the game. They have something good going on there at Elgin and they will be back at it again next fall.”

What left the Owls so devastated was that they hadn’t been pressed except for a couple of times, the closest call being a 13-3 win over Midwest City. And while they were unable to make the big plays late to rally, this wasn’t a game the Owls lost at the end; they had plenty of chances to score and gain some momentum but the longer the Zebras stayed close, the more confidence the visitors seemed to gain.

Nothing the coaches would say in the locker-room was going to ease the pain, especially for the 13 seniors who played their last game together. However, when they come back for their 10-year reunion they will understand this bunch helped put Elgin on the Class 5A football map. Friday, though, it was a time for hugs, tears and raw emotions.

Owls let chances slip away

This will be one video that the Elgin players and coaches won’t want to see but like any good program will do, the Owls will look at the video to see how they can take that next step in 2024.

It was one of those defensive struggles and it started from the first possession. The Owls took the opening kickoff and rattled off first downs on their first three offensive plays. They eventually faced a 4th-and-6 at the Claremore 28 but the Owls got the Zebras to jump offsides setting up a 4th-and-1,

Elgin tried the right side with Matthew Lund but despite stretching out to try and get the first down the officials marked it short by a matter of five or six inches. On this night that would be how things seemed to go whenever the Owls got on the Claremore side of the field.

The next two Elgin possessions ended on interceptions but late in the first half the Owls were facing a 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard-line. A false start penalty was a bad omen to start that series deep in the red zone and things went sour at that point as a pass fell incomplete, Lund was stopped for no gain and on a fourth-down try Lund was unable to corral a pass in the right flat as the Zebras dodged another bullet.

While the Owls were not able to convert offensively, their defense was doing the same thing to Claremore and the second half started with zeroes still under both teams.

And after two possessions of the third quarter, one by each team, it was still scoreless. The Zebras missed a 27-yard field goal and that seemed to fire up the Owls’ offense as it earned four first downs, the last at the Claremore 16-yard-line. Two plays netted little and on third down Elgin quarterback Tres Lorah was picked off in the end zone with 3:42 left in the third quarter.

Once again Elgin’s defense came up big, stopping a 4th-and-1 at the Owls’ 43.

Then it seemed the Owls were ready to explode, giving the ball to Lund on three straight plays, the last a dandy 35-yard touchdown run on the outside zone with 11:11 left in the quarter. But the PAT was off-target and that left the door open.

After that the Owls seemed to be snake-bit as the kickoff bounced between three Zebras and Elgin’s coverage team converged, hoping to grab the fumble. Instead they left a seam down the sideline and by the time the Owls caught up the ball was at the Elgin 43.

This time the Zebras were able to put together their best drive of the night, picking up four first downs, the last at the 3-yard-line and from there, quarterback Braxton Ethridge carried around the left side and got into the end zone. The PAT was true and Claremore owned a 7-6 lead with 4:49 left in the game.

That was time for the Owls to have a pair of possessions but after a nice start on the first drive that got to the Zebras’ 32, Elgin was unable to gain another yard and a 4th-and-17 failed to pan out despite some contact in the end zone that the officials didn’t see as a violation.

Elgin did hold the Zebras again and got the ball back at the Owls 24 but there was no magic left as reality set in on the packed home bleachers and on the field.

Apache impressive again

The Warriors actually gave up a long TD pass in the first quarter but Apache didn’t stay behind for long as Reese Sylvester returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and after the PAT it was 7-7.

Apache broke that tie when quarterback Houston Herrin fired a 15-yard completion to Dom Scott for a 14-7 lead.

Stratford put together another good drive and paid it off on a 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard-line but the visitors missed the PAT and Apache was ahead for good.

On Stratford’s next possession, Scott stepped in front of a Bulldogs’ pass to give the Warriors a short field. Scott was given the chance to score and he converted a 7-yard run for the touchdown and a 21-13 halftime lead for the Warriors.

After that Coach Tanner Koons saw his defense put together a great effort in holding the Bulldogs off the board in the second half.

Herrin tossed a key third-down pass to Scott to the Stratford 11 and Herrin ran the outside zone for the touchdown and a 28-13 lead.

Scott followed with another interception and for good measure he scored on a 53-yard run on the next play as the Warriors gave their huge crowd plenty to cheer about.

Scott then proceeded to put on a great show, scoring on runs of 26 and 42 yards to arrange the final score. The senior back wound up with 241 yards rushing on 16 carries, four of which went for touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 50 yards and another TD.

Herrin had a strong outing as well, rushing for 137 yards on 22 carries, one that went for a TD. He hit 7-of-8 passes for 97 yards and another TD.