Elgin nips MWC for 5A-1 title, Mac third; Cache playoff bound

Elgin claimed its first district title since 1986 with a 13-3 victory over Midwest City Friday giving the Owls a 10-0 season record and an opportunity to host two playoff games if they win the first one.

That game will be Friday and the opponent will be Piedmont which battled No. 1-ranked Carl Albert on even terms for a half before the Titans took charge.

One of those games running late was at Cameron Stadium where MacArthur was trying to punch its playoff ticket by beating Noble. While the Highlanders won their game, 68-26, they needed help from the Owls and a missed extra point by Elgin wound up knocking Mac down to third in District 5A-1 and sending it to on the road to Guthrie for the first round of the playoffs.

There was big news for Cache as the Bulldogs used an 81-yard TD pass from Tyler Harbin to Kyree Coleman with 6:31 left in the third quarter and then the defense did the rest, forcing a couple of turnovers and making some big hits during the final quarter to hold on for the victory, 21-16.

The Elgin-MWC battle was an old-fashioned defensive struggle as the Owls held the Bombers to a lone field goal that came with 9:19 left in the second quarter to make it a 7-3 game.

The first Elgin score was a dandy as big Shay Spencer intercepted a MWC pass and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown at the 6:15 mark of the first quarter. Gabe Dittmeyer tacked on the PAT.

After the teams traded a couple of punts, Elgin got the ball back after a short MWC punt and immediately went to work. The Owls earned one first down to the MWC 8-yard line and then went to the air to penetrate the tough Bombers’ defense.

Quarterback Tres Lorah made a good fake and found a wide-open Colyn Donnelly in the left flat, got him the ball and the talented senior got into the end zone with 25 seconds left in the half. The Owls set up for the PAT kick but the snap was high and Lorah tried to find a receiver but to no avail.

The missed PAT was heard with a big groan at Cameron Stadium as the Highlanders needed a combination of plus-26 from the Owls and Highlanders and it wound up being plus-25 in the OSSAA playoff points system.

After that the Owls did what they had to do, making some adjustments on offense and finally opening some holes for Matthew Lund who had little success in the first half but eventually wound up with 170 yards.

“They were really crowding the box and trying to stop the run,” Elgin coach Chalmer Wyatt said. “I think we were able to wear them down a little; it was a war of attrition there in the second half. I think when I see the video the offensive line did a pretty good job against all those guys they had in the box.”

The Owls struggled at times to throw the ball.

“We missed a few throws and we had a couple of big drops,” Wyatt said. “We make a couple of those completions and I think we would have gotten rolling a little better on offense. They did bring a good deal of pressure on Tres (QB Lorah) and he had to rush a few throws.”

The rest of the time the Elgin defense was making stop after stop and most often it was linebacker Donnelly coming up with numerous big hits to lead the way. And the versatile player also boomed some big punts, including one that was downed at the 1-yard-line and another inside the 10-yard-line.

“Collyn just has such great instincts,” Wyatt said. “He is a very physical player and he just kept making big plays. And then he really made a difference with his punts.”

Two big stops came on the first two MWC possessions of the second half. Ritson Meyer was in on a big 4th-down stop on that series and then on the next one Jack Angelly had a big stop to force a 4th-and-goal from the Elgin 2-yard-line.

The Bombers never got a chance to run the play as a bad snap sent the ball well upfield where it was downed by the MWC quarterback and Elgin took over at the 18.

Later in the game the Bombers got conservative, knowing that the 10-point margin was working in their favor and they didn’t figure they could score twice so they held their final two timeouts in their pocket and accepted the second-place finish.

For Cache it was great defense as well but it was a special teams play that got the Bulldogs going as Case Hardzog picked up a blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown for the Bulldogs’ first score with 1:35 left in the first quarter. Ben Angiel tacked on the PAT to set up a 7-7 tie.

After the Bulldogs forced a fumble and recovered at the Chicks’ 32, Josiah Thomas took a jet sweep to cover the final 12 yards and Angiel toed the 14th point as Cache surged ahead.

“Again, our defense played lights out,” Cache head coach Faron Griffin said. “The blocked punt was huge with that scoop and score. Our kids just kept fighting. These seniors are just great leaders and have helped us get better each week.

“Those who know football knew we had a great deal of inexperience early on but these guys just kept improving each week.”

But the Bulldogs still had worked after taking their first lead after the Chicks connected on a long TD pass to go ahead 16-14.

It stayed that way until midway through the third quarter when Harbin hit Kyree Coleman on an 81-yard bomb where he simply outran the defense down the sideline to give Cache the big TD. Angiel kicked the PAT and the Bulldogs had all they needed with 6:31 left in the third quarter.

By that time the Chicks were forced to go with a backup quarterback after their starter injured an ankle and that gave the Bulldogs plenty of chances to make stops.

Late in the game after another turnover the Cache offense started moving the ball and eventually got close to the red zone but a holding call forced Angiel to try a field goal and it was short.

The Chicks were out of timeouts at that point but were able to get a couple of first downs before the Bulldogs broke up a desperation heave that ended the game and started the celebration on the Cache sideline.

The trip back to the playoffs is a sweet one.

“We’re back in the playoffs where we need to be,” Griffin said. “Now we come back and get ready for Blanchard. We know they have a good club but we’re excited about the opportunity.”

While Lawton High has had a sub-par season, the Wolverines took a 54-6 victory over Capitol Hill to advance to the Class 6AII playoffs but they will hit the road to face a district champion next week.

In Class 3A, Marlow came close to a huge upset, leading No. 1 Heritage Hall for a time before falling by a tense 35-28 score. The Outlaws had already clinched third in their district and will be on the road in the playoffs.

In Class 2A Frederick rode a staunch defensive effort to edge Community Christian, 12-7, to make the playoffs as the fourth-place team in District 2A-3.

There wasn’t much left to decide in Class A as Apache had already claimed the A-2 title but the Warriors showed no letdown by routing Carnegie, 50-0, Friday. Also in that district, Walters finished second and Empire fourth to also make the playoffs.

In Class B, eight-man action, Cyril beat Waurika, 42-32, to clinch third in its district to advance to the second season.

And in Class C, Tipton capped a perfect regular season with a 52-0 mercy-rule win over Temple and Mt. View-Gotebo routed Grandfield, 62-0 to finish third in District C-2 behind Tipton and Ryan.