Altus proves spoiler with upset of LHS

After having been in front 14-7 at halftime, Lawton High lost its lead and in the end Altus rallied for a 29-28 victory that prevented the Wolverines from clinching a playoff berth.

Altus’ second half defense got the stops it needed to create chances on offense.

With four minutes off the clock after halftime, Altus had tied the game at 14. However, the Bulldogs allowed another Wolverine touchdown two minutes later to give Lawton the lead again at 21-14

With 30 seconds elapsed in the fourth quarter, Lawton forced a turnover on downs and took possession. Lawton High had some trouble communicating on second down and threw a pick-six to Altus’ Khamden Lane. After the kick was called good, the game was tied at 21.

Lawton needed to come back strong on their next possession if it wanted to regain the lead. After moving up to the Altus 21-yard line, on second down, the Wolverines attempted a flea-flicker. Pene Vaisagote pitched the ball to running back Nate Jones, who found Vaisagote again who threw it to the end zone and into the hands of receiver Braeden Burrell. With nine minutes left in the game, Lawton was in the lead 28-21.

Altus wasn’t going down without a fight, forcing Lawton to punt the ball with four minutes remaining. On its last possession of the night, it was only right that running back DJ Wilson made a play as he did all night. On first down on Lawton’s 42-yard line, Wilson split the defense and made a 41-yard run where he was tackled at the 1-yard line. Quarterback Brodie Rogers would shove his way into the end zone from there to make it 27-26, setting up a huge two-point PAT try with just over a minute remaining.

Altus opted to go to the air on the two-point conversion and converted with a bullet pass from Rogers to receiver Kelby Bates to give the Bulldogs a one-point lead at 29-28.

Lawton was unable to respond in the short amount of time and lost a heartbreaker.

Vaisagote had a good night from the pocket, converting on 12 of his 22 passes totaling 198 yards. Jones also had a good game, running for 122 yards on 13 carries.

However, no one had as good of a night as Wilson did for Altus. He carried the ball 40 times for 283 yards, as well as making the big play at the end to set up a touchdown for his team.

Following a scoreless first quarter, Lawton forced Altus into a turnover on fourth down and took over possession at their own 31-yard line to start the second. A pass from Vaisagote to receiver Tavaris Deans moved the ball 25-yards down the field and set Lawton up at midfield.

Altus put Lawton in a tight spot on fourth down and three to go from the Altus 20-yard line but running back Nate Jones was able to find a block and put the Wolverines in scoring position at the four-yard line. Vaisagote would lob it to receiver Braden Burrell in the endzone for the first points of the night.

With just under five minutes to go in the half, Lawton had the ball on their own 42-yard line on third down. Vaisagote found Jones on the screen play for an 11-yard gain. On first down from the opponent’s 47-yard line, Vaisagote found Deans with acres of space to run it in for another touchdown on back-to-back throws from the reliever.

Altus didn’t lose hope, however. Lawton’s defense got three straight stops within scoring range and now the Bulldogs had a fourth down from the five-yard line. On a reverse pass play Rogers pitched the ball to Lane, who found receiver Jamele Alexander in the endzone for the touchdown. Going into halftime, Lawton held the lead at 14-7.

Lawton High’s next matchup will be at Guthrie. That game will determine where Lawton will place in district rankings heading into the playoffs. Following tonight’s game, the Wolverines hold a district record of 4-2.