Skordle shorts: Piedmont, Midwest City, Crossing Christian, Grove post big wins, plus news and notes

9/12/2018 |  Ben Johnson

Piedmont upends Weatherford

Quarterback Dylan Hampton scored on a 5-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter, and Piedmont was able to hang on for a 21-10 victory over the Eagles in Week 2. The win over Weatherford was Piedmont's first since 2004, and it also helped the Wildcats atone for a season-opening loss to El Reno.

"Our kids played extremely hard and found a way," Piedmont coach Trent Worley said. "There were very resilient. Defense was outstanding all night."

Baylor Hendren led the way for Piedmont (1-1) with three interceptions, three tackles, one pass break-up and a fumble recovery. The Wildcats limited Weatherford to 10 points, and Hampton capped the game off for PIedmont with a 37-yard touchdown run with 1:34 left.

"Great win over a very good Weatherford team," Worley said. "We cleaned some things up, especially defensively. Proud of how our kids responded to the El Reno game and the adversity we faced during the Weatherford game."

Midwest City holds off Muskogee

Midwest City moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 in Class 6AII, after holding on for a 16-14 victory at Muskogee in Week 2. Muskogee's Caleb Webb was tackled in the end zone by Midwest City to give the Bombers a two-point lead late in the first half.

From there, Midwest City (2-1) was able to deny the Roughers from scoring the rest of the way.

"The defense has been playing extremely good," Midwest City coach Darrell Hall said. "The safety proved to be the different in this one."

Cameron Wilson was Midwest City's offensive catalyst, racking up 135 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries. On defense, Kyle Lindsey had 14 tackles and two for loss.

"We knew our offensive line would weight heavy in the game's decision," Hall said. " They put the game on their backs. It was a total team win, and I'm proud of the team because there is no quit in these guys."

Midwest City was able to block a field goal attempt by Muskogee with 8:54 left, and the Bombers never gave the ball back to the Roughers. Midwest City marched down the field and chewed up the clock along the way and escaped Indian Bowl with a two-point victory.

"With hard running from our running backs and great blocking by the wideouts," Hall said, "we were able to move the ball and run out the clock."

Crossings Christian tops Minco for A-3 win

Unranked Crossings Christian made its presence known in Class A with a resounding  14-6 victory at top-ranked Minco in Week 2. In overtime, Crossings Christian's Hunter Johnson scored on an 8-yard touchdown run, and Jacob Snyder added the two-point conversion score.

From there, the Knights (2-1) kept Minco (2-1) out of the end zone for the victory.

"We just gutted out against a great team on their home field," Crossings Christian coach Jonathan Keathly said. "It was muddy and wet, and it was great to see our guys make the plays when they had to."

Trent Miller led the Knight's defensive effort with nine tackles, five tackles for loss, including one in overtime, one sack and a forced fumble. Together, Crossing Christian's defense limited Minco to 232 yards of offense.

"It is a huge shot of confidence for our guys," Keathly said. "In our last five games, including last season, we've beaten two great programs in Wynnewood and Minco. Those are the kinds of programs we want to be and we're gaining fast."

The win also moved Crossings Christian to 1-0 in District A-3.

"It's huge because every week in this district is a battle," Keathly said. "There's going to be some good teams that get left out of the playoffs, and we're going to fight to be sure it's not us."

Grove routs rival Jay

Bragging rights along Highway 59 returned to Grove following the Ridgerunners' 33-6 win over Jay last week. Jay won the 2017 showdown between the two Delaware County rivals, but Grove has now won three of the last four Delco Bowl trophies.

"It felt good to get the Delco trophy back," Grove coach Ron Culwell said. "Our kids have worked hard, and they played hard. We try to control what we can control, and that's attitude and effort. So far it has been awesome."

And so was Grove's defense against the Bulldogs (1-1). Defensive end Dawson Tanner spearheaded the Ridgerunners' defensive efforts with 10 tackles, two sacks, one tackle for loss and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"This is a huge rivalry," Culwell said. "Some strange things happen in this game. That makes it special to win. All these kids know each other, so we knew we had to play together to make things happen. And we did that."

For Grove (1-1), Dalton Cash scored a pair of touchdown runs -- a 1-yard run in the first quarter and the game's final score, a 6-yard TD run in the fourth period. Cash also had a 19-yard TD pass to Mason Baxter, and Nick Estrada also chipped in with a 7-yard touchdown run for the Ridgerunners.

News and notes: Wagoner coach Dale Condict posted his 200th career coaching victory, thanks to the Bulldogs' 35-17 victory over Pryor last week. ... Sulphur tailback Trey Kiser set a school record with 403 rushing yards in the Bulldogs' 47-9 win over rival Davis. Kiser also scored six touchdowns, and he did it all on only 15 carries.

Class 3A preview

7/6/2018 |  Ben Johnson

Look back at 2017

2017 district champs

3A-1: Oklahoma Christian School - Kingfisher gave OCS a run for its money in district play, but the Saints marched to a 28-22 victory against the Yellowjackets to close out the regular season. In the playoffs, Mason Arnold, who rushed for 1,368 yards his senior season, and the Saints almost knocked off Beggs, but the Demons moved on an eventually made the 3A championship game.

3A-2: Jones - The Longhorns were machine-like in 2017. It was a near cakewalk to 13-0, and it was the same story in the first three rounds of the playoffs. But then John Marshall got in the way. That's when Jones' season came to a half at 13-1.

3A-3: John Marshall - The Bears had weapons for days on their way to the 3A-3 title and the Class 3A crown. Both Devonte Lee and Trey Eason rushed for more than 1,000 yards, but it was Lee who amassed 2,175 yards and 35 touchdowns before heading off to Nevada to start his collegiate career.

3A-4: Sulphur - The only blemish the Bulldogs endured in the season's first 13 weeks was a loss to John Marshall out of district play. Beyond that, the Bulldogs rolled right up until the 3A semifinals. There, Beggs derailed Sulphur and its plans to advance to the title game.

3A-5: Berryhill - Had all the makings of a team poised to make a run at the title in 2017. The Chiefs pulled out a seven-point win over Sperry in district play for the crown, and Berryhill's defense was stout all season long. But then Tahlequah Sequoyah pulled off a 32-30 upset in the second of the 3A playoffs to stun Berryhill.