Elgin edged, 7-6; Marlow, Apache, Tipton advance

During the course of a normal season, running from summer pride through fall workouts and then a full schedule of games, football coaches and players prepare for almost every scenario they might see during the season.

But nothing the Elgin coaches and players did during those many hours of time together prepared them for the punch in the stomach they suffered when Claremore pulled out a 7-6 victory Friday in the Class 5A quarterfinals before a huge crowd at Owls Stadium.

Dealing with any loss is tough enough but after winning 11 straight games this was something the Owls hadn’t had to endure until the clock clicked off the final seconds with Elgin unable to do anything to stop it.

But 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. Tonight, though, it was a time for hugs, tears and raw emotions.

While the Owls bowed out of the state playoffs, three other area teams cruised to easy victories and moved a step close to that prized gold ball.

Marlow went on the road to Tulsa for the second straight week and got a big win, crushing Cascia Hall, 45-7, to earn another shot at No. 1-ranked Heritage Hall which blanked Berryhill, 49-0, Friday. The time and site will be announced Sunday by the OSSAA. Marlow came close to beating HH two week ago before losing, 35-28.

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. That game is expected to be at Hominy since it and Apache have both played two games at home. Now the pre-drawn bracket will determine the host, which is expected to be Hominy. Official notice will come Sunday from the OSSAA.

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.

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 struggled and it started from the first possession. The Owls took the opening kickoff and rattled off first downs of 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, 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 snakebit 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.