Tigers maintain composure and finish the Chieftains, 24-14

The thing most people were talking about before Friday's matchup was Sapulpa’s recent success against the Tigers, winning three of the last four games.

The last two by very late heartbreaking touchdowns that were ran by the Chieftains. The story early in the game was the dominance of the Tiger defense. A much-maligned unit last season that gave up 37 points a game. This season has been a different story, however.

Credit must be given to the players and coaching staff for the turnaround early this season. The tone was set from the coin toss when the Tigers won and showed confidence in the defense and elected to defer, giving the Sapulpa offense the ball first. The defense showed that was a good choice by forcing a early 3 and out.

The Tigers' first drive was derailed by penalties after reaching the red-zone, a great sign was they were able to get movement up front with the offensive line. Sapulpa began their second possession on their own 34- yard line after the turnover-on-downs by the Tigers. The first play of the drive, quarterback Braddox Broughton and receiver David Richardson weren’t able to connect on a deep pass down the middle when Rickardson slipped just as the ball was arriving.

On the very next play, Tahlequah linebacker Traeven Morrison found himself in the right place at the right time by collecting an interception on an overthrow by the Sapulpa quarterback.

The interception set the Tigers up in good field position at the 35-yard line on Sapulpa’s side of the field. Two plays into the drive would find the Tigers with first and goal at the 10-yard line. On second down from the 9-yard line, quarterback Cash McAlvain called his own number on a rollout to the left and punched it in on a quarterback keeper for the second game in a row. The extra point was good by kicker Michael Torkelson for a 7-0 lead for the Tigers.

A Sapulpa completion over the middle on third down put the Chieftains into Tiger territory at the 46-yard line. On second down and after a 15-yard completion, Morrison punched the ball out of the Chieftain receiver's hands for a forced fumble to go along with his earlier interception, the ball was recovered by Synjin Sampson for a Tiger defense second turnover of the opening quarter.

A pass interference penalty and a first-down reception by Sampson put the Tigers back in Chieftain territory. Three runs by Jake Girty would push the ball down inside the red-zone. A Tiger false start would hamper the drive, forcing a field goal by Torkelson who would convert his first attempt of the season giving the Tigers a 10-0 lead.

On the kickoff, Sapulpa would have a 95-yard return called back for a block in the back. The Tiger defense would force their second 3-and-out of the first half, giving the Tiger offense great field position at the Sapulpa 46-yard line. Again, penalties would end the drive forcing the Tigers to punt on fourth down.

The Tiger defense held the Chieftain offense from moving the ball and ending the half with the Tiger defense pitching a shut-out.

Chieftain defense forced a 3-and-out to begin the second half. The Sapulpa offense would take possession at their own 38-yard line. Chieftain running back Rashaud Reynolds would be met in the hole on second and eight by several Tiger defenders. He was able to somehow come out of the pile and finish a 60-yard run, giving the Chieftains some hope after being shut down the entire first half.

Senior Caden Waits would give the momentum right back to the Tigers with a 41-yard run on second down, taking the Tigers down to the Sapulpa 20-yard line. On third-down after a play fake to Girty, McAlvain would roll to his right and throw back to Girty for a Tiger touchdown and answering the Chieftain score from moments earlier, moving the lead back to 10 points, 17 to 7.

The Sapulpa offense moved the ball down to the Tiger 26-yard line and found the end-zone from there on a play-action pass to senior receiver Julian Vess, bringing the Chieftains back to within three points, 17-14.

On the ensuing Tiger drive, McAlvain would be able to pick up the huge first-down to keep the drive going to Robinson. On the next play, Kael Carey was able to break a big 18-yard run putting the Tigers into Chieftain territory. After another first down pickup by J.J. Antwine on the pass from McAlvain, the drive would stall from there and forced another Torkelson punt.

The first Sapulpa possession of the fourth quarter would begin from their 48-yard line. The Chieftains seemed to have the momentum back after an 18-yard run. Tiger fans began to have flashbacks of the last two seasons wherein the Tigers seemed to be in control of the game until the fourth quarter.

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Another Sapulpa first down at the Tiger 22-yard line would put all the pressure on the Tiger defense. An incomplete pass on third down would set up a huge fourth down from the Tiger 17-yard line. Pressure from Cash Jones would force the quarterback to roll out of the pocket to his left. Carter Kelly would come all the way from behind to catch the quarterback with help from Chris Perry and Xaxton Carshall on the huge fourth down stop.

The Tiger offense would take possession from their own 16-yard line late in the fourth quarter looking to run some time off the clock and make it a two-possession game. Tough runs and timely passes would be the key to this drive sprung by McAlvain completing huge 19-yard completion with a defender in his face to Carshall. In contrast to the past two seasons, Caden Waits would punch the ball in with 2:19 to play to give the Tigers a two-possession lead, 24-14.

Sapulpa would start from their own 16-yard line with 2:12 to go. The Tiger defense would get the chance to be hero’s again with a fourth and 2 from midfield.

In past seasons, the center of the defense was susceptible to the inside run. The Sapulpa coaches remembered but this time the Tiger defense was up to the task. The play started with nose tackle Braxton Baker stuffing the double team and left end Carter Kelly holding his ground and forcing the running back to cut back inside where linebacker Tyger Jimerson was filling the gap. That allowed Baker and right end Kingston Hall to finish the tackle for a loss on fourth down, effectively ending the game with the Tigers up 24-14. The offense would come back on the field in victory formation downing the ball and allowing the clock to run out.

The Tigers had 324 yards of offense. McAlvain completed 13 of 16 passes for 130 yards. The Tigers rushed 43 times for 194 yards. Tahlequah had 9 penalties for 75 yards and no turnovers. Sapulpa quarterback Broughton completed 9 of 19 passes for 157 yards. Sapulpa rushed 19 times for 114 yards, totaling 271 yards of offense with 2 turnovers. They had 9 penalties for 70 yards.

What's next

The Tigers will travel to Wagoner to faceoff with the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs Friday, Sept. 13.