A pair of Thursday night classics
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
Going into last Thursday, I had my eye on a couple of games, namely Weatherford at Anadarko and Chickasha at Ardmore.
Boy oh boy, did those games live up to expectations.
Let’s start in Ardmore where Mike Loyd compared his team’s improbable 34-28 OT win as one of the best games he’s been involved in.
The Chicks and star QB Wyatt Kinnamon dominated early, claiming a 28-6 lead heading into halftime.
But then slowly, the Tigers mounted their charge, led by running back Dominik Williams. No comeback could have happened if not for the defense stepping up its game, something Loyd attributed to as simply “effort.”
Chickasha went for it on fourth-and-one twice and with Kinnamon, why not? However, both times the Tigers were able to stop ‘em.
With 36 seconds left, Reed Downing threw a touchdown pass to Montre Washington, narrowing the gap to 28-27. Fine, make the PAT, let’s go to overtime.
Ah , but as Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friends.
Loyd said three things need to happen: good snap, hold and kick. Well, Ardmore didn’t get that first one as the snap hit the turf. Loyd credited holder Josiah Custer for getting the ball down in time for kicker Fran Guardarrama to get the kick through. It wasn’t smooth sailing as it deflected off the left upright, but it was good.
Williams capped the crazy game with a one-yard splurge on fourth down in the overtime.
It was the second biggest comeback in Loyd’s time at Ardmore, only a 34-7 deficit turned around against Duncan many moons ago topped Thursday.
Ardmore has made the playoffs each year Loyd’s been there and the win has Ardmore in sole possession of fourth with the final two to be played.
Meanwhile, back in Anadarko, the Eagles and Warriors waged their own epic. A back and forth game throughout, Anadarko held a 28-26 advantage heading into the final minutes.
Weatherford QB Sutton Simon led the charge with under three minutes left. Simon threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, but his arm would not be the difference maker.
Nope, it turned out to be the leg of a sophomore kicker. Facing a fourth-and-six, Weatherford coach Woody Roof elected to send in Kendrick Johnson. Roof’s logic being that the Eagles had no timeouts and were going to be in a precarious position no matter which decision he made.
Johnson drained only his second field goal of his career and has put the Eagles in the driver’s seat for second place (no one can touch McGuinness).
Roof said a change in offensive philosophy has been the catalyst to the Eagles’ success. Weatherford went from a spread to an I-formation. Ironically enough, in the I-form, Simon has found more success.
Here’s to hoping this week’s crazy-good Carl Albert/Guthrie showdown can live up to the hype as well.
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