Bombers shut out El Reno on road
Midwest City’s Lamont Reynolds tries to tackle an El Reno’s Nate Karty (No. 35) during a game on Oct. 6. Photo by Glen miller
By Jacob Sturm
Midwest City Beacon
Midwest City fans had plenty to cheer about Thursday night, and that came through a myriad of dominant performances.
In a methodical football game from both sides, Midwest City found itself the victor of a 34-0 shutout of their hosts.
Everything came together when the Bombers (4-2 overall, 3-0 in District in 5A-1) traveled to El Reno Thursday evening.
DeAngelo Irvin looked sharp through the air, connecting with multiple receivers throughout the evening to the tune of 212 yards on 12/19 passing. His top target, William Broiles, reeled in six catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns, putting El Reno defenders in a bind before the plays were snapped on multiple occasions.
El Reno (1-5, 1-2) managed to get to halftime only trailing 14-0 despite the struggles on both ends.
In the second half the Bombers’ game plan switched to a run-heavy attack that the Indians’ defense had no answers for. Irvin had 108 yards and two touchdowns rushing and running backs LaSiera
Laviolette (49 yards) and Jaylan Woody (51 yards) offered alternative threats when given the chance.
The success of both strategies didn’t go unnoticed.
“What stood out to me were our guys up front,” Irvin said. “Our lineman, they did really well. Our receivers were getting open really, too. Just all around, we just had a great game.”
El Reno’s best chance of the game came when the Indians punt team picked up a first down on a wild blocked punt. The punt coverage team caught the punt behind the line of scrimmage and advanced the ball near the Bombers 20-yard line. In a separate sequence, Midwest City muffed a punt inside their 30-yard line to give opportunities for the Indians’ offense.
The Bomber defense had multiple stops deep in their own territory to keep the Indians offense off the board.
Midwest City coach Darrell Hall called the performance the best of the season from that unit.
“I just though the game plan was set up (well),” Hall said. “The things they did we worked on really hard, and we harped on doing your job. We’ve seen this offense about three times this year already, and we’ve had to have guys stick their nose in there and make sure they close off the inside and bubble it out. And the guys stepped up tonight and did it.”
He also stressed the importance of playing good team defense in tough situations, especially the ones caused by the special teams mistakes. By the looks of the defense throughout the night, that bar had been reached and exceeded.
That effort earned high praise from Irvin, who noticed the impact the stellar defense had on the Bombers’ offense.
“It does take a lot of pressure off,” Irvin said. “When they play great, the whole team plays great.”
The Bombers travel to Lawton on Thursday night to take on Lawton MacArthur (5-1, 3-0) in a key District 5A-1 matchup.
Jaylan Woody looks for running room against El Reno. Photo by Glen Miller
