Piedmont hands Ike another district loss

Even when there seems to be little hope of success, something happens that puts a spotlight on an effort play that gives Eisenhower something positive to take into the final three games of the season.

That moment happened late in Friday’s District 6AII-1 battle between the Eagles and Piedmont with the visitors owning a 49-25 lead after Ike had scored after a nice 80-yard drive that was capped by a short TD run by quarterback Charlie Trachte.

At that point it would have been easy for the Eagles to just work to stop Piedmont and get the game over. Instead the Eagles tried an onside kick and when that didn’t succeed, once again it would have been easy for them to just get to the line of scrimmage and let the visitors kneel on the ball and run out the clock.

But Piedmont wasn’t happy with taking a knee and when running back Gregory Owen tried to get some extra yards over the right side of the line, Ike’s Tristan Swigert came after the runner, grabbed the ball, stripped it away and headed toward the goal-line. The senior completed the 53-yard play to cut the Piedmont lead to 49-31 at the end of the game.

“Those plays are why you keep fighting until the final whistle,” Ike head coach Javon Harris said. “This bunch is resilient and they keep fighting until the game is over. They have faced adversity but they keep coming to practice and working to get better.”

The adversity the coach mentioned was more than just a couple of players missing Friday’s game. When the Eagles were warming up before the game, No. 10 Serrie Sheridan was in street clothes and when you lose the most explosive player on the Ike roster it’s hard to put into words just what he means to the Eagles offense and the Ike defense.

Sheridan is a starter at slot receiver where he’s a huge threat both running and catching the ball and he’s also a shut-down cornerback on defense.

That was just the start of the Ike injury list. Also missing was starting Ike’s starting center, both starting cornerbacks and two other key members of the starting lineup.

“We aren‘t going to feel sorry for ourselves because we have guys hurt,” Harris said. “It’s time for the next man up to get out there and get the job done. Those guys practice and understand their roles and when we need them, they get out there and do what they’ve been taught to do.”

Knowing they had to try and move the football early to keep Piedmont’s offense on the sideline, the Eagles came out determined to run the football, moving from the 20-yard-line to four straight first downs, the last one at the Piedmont 33-yard-line. From there the Eagles wound up going backward to a 4th-and-18 and a punting situation which turned out bad with a short punt.

Ike’s next possession was a three-and-out and this time Piedmont marched quickly downfield to score and take a 7-0 lead.

But the Eagles quickly responded, using a 20-yard TD pass from Charlie Trachte to Brandon Goldsmith and a PAT kick by Emilio Ortiz to arrange a 7-7 tie with 8:51 left in the first quarter.

From there, Piedmont wasted little time taking command, scoring on three straight possessions, the last coming with 14 seconds left in the first half and giving the visitors a comfortable 27-7 halftime cushion.

The lead peaked at 49-19 before the Eagles found some success on offense and gave the few fans who showed up some highlights to build on over the next three weeks.

The good news for the Eagles is that in 6AII, six teams in each district will advance to the playoffs and the Eagles are in the mix to finish in the top six in their district and will have a chance in the playoffs with a likely road trip for the first round.

Choctaw leads the district at 4-0, Stillwater, Putnam City and Piedmont are tied for second at 3-1, Southmoore is fifth at 2-2 and Ike is sixth at 1-3. Northwest Classen and U.S. Grant are next at 0-4 and those are two of the three games left on Ike’s schedule and if the Eagles win both those games they will make the playoffs.