Harris, Mac rout Ike, 57-20

Macarthur had trust in the running game and displayed a dominant second-half defense that held Eisenhower scoreless as they beat the Eagles, 57-20, before a large crowd at Cameron Stadium.

“We felt like coming in, we could run the ball,” said MacArthur head coach Brett Manning. “Our offensive line had a great week of practice and played well tonight. I’m really happy with our run game, and that’s what they were giving us so that’s what we stuck with. But, we threw the ball well too when we had to.”

MacArthur had two players score three touchdowns in Friday night’s matchup; senior running back Marquise Harris and junior quarterback Aivan Locklin. Harris had 25 carries, and more than 200 rushing yards. Locklin had eight carries totaling 44 yards along with converting on five of his seven pass attempts.

For the Eagles, the first half was respectable and led most to believe the final score of the contest would be closer than it was. Eagles head coach Javon Harris said that there’s still some molding to do with his team, but that they’re ready for what comes next.

“I saw some fight out of the guys. We’ve just got to play overall better and come together as a team,” said Harris. “Second half we were running out of bodies and guys have to step up. Put it all together and clean it up; find where we are as a team and go from there.”

Eisenhower showed glimpses of promise in the running game in the first half. Senior Rashaud Hurts had four rushing chances tallying 78 yards with a 55-yard carry with around nine minutes left in the first half. His effort put the Eagles at the 25-yard line where they were eventually able to score off a pass from the senior duo of quarterback Charlie Trachte to Serrie Sheridan in the end zone to get the touchdown. With 6:23 left in the first half the score was 20-13 with Ike in the lead.

Harris had a productive first half for the Highlanders with 134 yards in 14 attempts on the ball. He also made a huge 49-yard run on third down to give Mac the lead with 40 seconds left in the first half. The Highlanders gained their lead going into halftime with a score of Mac 28-20 and after that Mac never looked back.

“The first games are really to build and figure out who’s going to help you in districts,” said Harris. “We’ve got a big game next week and I’m going to be looking for a little more fight from our guys.”

“We played good defense in the first half; we just made a few mistakes that kept their drives alive with some penalties,” said Manning. “So, we cut those out and we were able to get off the field in the second half.”

Eisenhower will host Carl Albert next Thursday at Cameron University. Game-time is set for 7 p.m.

MacArthur is set to face Lawton High in this year’s last intracity game next Friday. The game between the Highlanders and Wolverines is set to start at 7 p.m. and Mac can wrap up another city title with a win.