Lions rout Ardmore, 56-20
By Tony Strickland
The opening seconds of Friday’s Ardmore-Blanchard tilt pretty well summed the evening: The Tiger returner caught the kickoff and intended to do productive things, he really did. Probably had visions of celebrating in the end zone. Then Lion senior Vaughn McIntyre arrived with a crunching tackle and, well, that was that. So went the night and so went the score. Lions 56, Ardmore 20.
On to a different and appreciably more dangerous set of Tigers.
UP NEXT: It’s undefeated vs undefeated with the District 4A-2 title likely on the line as the Blanchard travels to rival Tuttle on Friday night.
Both stand 7-0 overall and 4-0 in district play, with wins over common opponents Bethany, Guthrie, Noble, Newcastle, Ardmore and Tecumseh. Those wins even came by similar score counts, save Tuttle’s 42-19 win over the Bronchos. The Lions’ win over Bethany was much closer at 48-44.
“I thought we played well, especially with a few guys out,” Lion Head Coach Jeff Craig said after the win over Ardmore. “They were kind of hamstrung – their quarterback was out and so that really hurt them and limited a lot of what they like to do. But I was proud of the way our guys played up inside, stuffing things up and not giving them much. “Offensively we got the ball into our playmakers’ hands and let them go do their thing. Coric had a great catch, Gunnar had a great one. Carter gets one in the flat and does his thing. They’re differencemakers out there. Our quarterbacks played well’– I think it really helped to have Hud come in, for Hud execute the offense. We talk about it, but to actually get to see it – sometimes when you have a young quarterback, getting that visual really helps.”
The Lion offense was in big play mode from their first snap as senior quarterback Hudsen Periman lobbed a deep shot to classmate Coric Pierce for a 46-yard gain to the Tiger 35. Periman connected with senior Brayson Carter over the middle to move to the 20, then found junior Reston Vickrey to the 12 before McIntyre finished the drive with a 7-yard scoring run. Senior Alex Price drilled the PAT (she was 8-for-8 on the night) and it was 7-0 with 5:25 to go in the first.
The Tigers possessed the ball for exactly 20 seconds before surrendering it on a fumble on their own 16-yard line and the Lion offense quickly capitalized. Periman capped a 4-play drive with a 5-yard keeper to give Blanchard the early two score lead. Senior linebacker Gage Ellison set up the next Lion scoring opportunity with an interception and big return to the Tiger 38 as the 2nd quarter began. Sophomore Noah Smith stepped in behind center and patiently waited behind great protection until Pierce came open at the 25, then McIntyre added his second score of the night on 5-yard run. Ardmore finally got on the board with less than 3 minutes to go before halftime as the Tigers mounted a 14-play, 64-yard drive (including a pair of 4th down conversions) that ended with a 10-yard TD connection from Daemon Cohee to Tyson Laster.
The 2-point attempt failed to leave the score 21-6, Lions. It didn’t stay that way long. Pierce flipped the ball to Carter on a big Lion kickoff return to midfield and Smith launched deep to Pierce on the next snap. The big senior tracked the ball in for a diving over-the-shoulder catch inside the Tiger 15 and senior Gunnar Fugett rumbled in 2 plays later from 7 yards out to make it 28-6 at the break.
The second half brought more of the same from a sharp Lion passing attack (14-of-18 for 293 yards and 3 TDs on the night) as Periman found Nathan Mosher out left and the senior tight end rumbled out near midfield. Periman connected twice with Vickrey for good gains on the drive, then retrieved his own fumble on 4th-and-7th at the Tiger 19, stayed alive and dropped a rainbow into a sure-handed Fugett in the end zone.
The Tigers answered with a 68-yard TD pass from Cohee to Jadence Wright, but Blanchard needed only a pair of plays to respond to the response. After a weird horizontal onside kick try by the Tigers went out at their own 39, McIntyre fought forward for a 5-yard gain and Smith dropped back on 2nd down to find Carter running free for a 34-yard TD. Ardmore fielded the ensuing ickoff, promptly earned a chop-block penalty on the return and then fumbled the ball on 2nd down. Carter caused it, Pierce scooped it and 17 yards later the score stood 49-13. The final frame of the lready decided contest brought a score for each team.
The Lions got another one for the highlight reel from Carter, who caught a ball from Periman in the flat and slipped into overdrive down the home sideline for a very quick (just ask the last Tiger defender who thought he had a pretty good angle for the tackle) 63-yard touchdown. Ardmore added the final points of the night on a 14-yard Laster run against Lion reserves with just over 2 minutes to go.
LION NOTES
Injury Updates – Junior left tackle Brayden Herfferman remained out of the lineup and isn’t expected back before the end of the regular season, according to Craig. Junior receiver/linebacker Cole Watkins was held out on Friday night for precautionary reasons, but could have gone if needed.
Welcome to the Big Top – What’s better than one circus catch for the home team? Two of ’em, that’s what. Pierce’s diving grab on a great throw from Noah Smith just before half was a jaw-dropper and Fugett’s 3rd-quarter grab for a TD was nearly as good as Periman dropped it over his shoulder from 19 yards out. Playmakers abound for these Lions.
Offensive Leaders – Periman was good for 175 yards passing and 2 TDs, while Smith added 118 and a TD. Carter led receivers with 111 yards and 2 TDs on 4 catches, while Pierce piled up 103 yards on 4 grabs. McIntyre led the ground game with 47 yards and 2 TDs on 9 carries. Fugett also added a rushing TD and a receiving TD.
Defensive Leaders – McIntyre piled up 16 tackles from his linebacker spot, followed by Fugett with 12 and Pierce with 11. Ellison got the interception and McIntyre and Pierce recovered Tiger fumbles. Caused by Carter – Senior Brayson Carter challenges opponents in so many ways – he’s an offensive dynamo with speed and make-you-miss to spare and defensively he’s a sure tackler and a ballhawk from his safety spot. Teams are also smarter to just kick to the band when Brayson’s back to return. Those are his obvious talents, but the Brayson stat that can sneak by you is the number of fumbles he causes. He’s a master at it and added two more on Friday night. Always clawing, always looking for a weak spot, he’s a ballcarrier’s nightmare.
SCORING
First Quarter – B (5:25) – #6 Vaughan McIntyre 7-yard run (#30 Alex Price PAT); B (3:34) – #2 Hudsen Periman 5-yard run (Price PAT). Second Quarter – B (9:37) – McIntyre 5 ard run (Price PAT); A (2:56) – #2 Daemon Cohee 10 yard pass to #27 Tyson Laster (2 pt Failed); B (1:21) – #22 Gunnar Fugett 7 yard run (Price PAT) Third Quarter – B (8:40) – Periman 19 yard pass to Fugett (Price PAT); A (7:09) – Cohee 68 yard pass to #15 Jadence Wright (#88 Chris Tellez PAT); B (6:22) – Periman 34 yard pass to #1 Brayson Carter (Price PAT); B (5:33) – #3 Coric Pierce 17 yard Fumble Return (Price PAT). Fourth Quarter – B (8:30) – #15 Noah Smith 63 yard pass to Carter (Price PAT); A (2:05) – Laster 14 yard run (Tellez PAT). Individual Lions Passing: Hudsen Periman 10-12-0, 175yds, 2TDs; Noah Smith 4-6-0, 118yds, TD. Rushing: Vaughn McIntyre 9-47yds, 2 TDs; Gunnar Fugett 8-35yds, TD; Chauncy Conway 5-23yds; Shaddox Swires 1-16yds; Hudsen Periman 2-7yds; Derrick Palmer 1-4yds; Receiving Brayson Carter 4-111yds, 2 TDs; Coric Pierce 4-103yds; Nathan Mosher 1-23yds; Reston Vickrey 4-37yds; Gunnar Fugett 1-19yds, TD. Tackles: Vaughn McIntyre 16, Gunnar Fugett 12, Coric Pierce 11, Brayson Carter 8, Gage Ellison 8, Brayden Stacy 8, Gavin Rich 5, Luke Meeker 5, Luke Young 4, Reston Vickrey 4, Izak Price 4, Jace Vermillion 3, Ethan Cole 2, Brody Sherman 2, Colin Cooksey 2, Derrick Palmer 2, Chauncy Conway, Nathan Mosher, Trevor Engles, Christian Young, Jaxon Oliver. Interceptions: Gage Ellison 1-25yds. Fumbles: (Caused) Brayson Carter (Recovered) Coric Pierce, Vaughn McIntyre. Kicking: (Kickoffs) Matthew Campbell 9-43.7avg (Punting) Noah Jackson 1-42yds (PATs) Alex Price 8-8. Returns: (Kickoff) Brayson Carter 1-39yds, Coric Pierce 1-11yds (Punt) Coric Pierce 1-4yds, Luke Young 1-0yds, Brayson Carter 1-0yds.
YOUNG LIONS
JV Lions 8, Newcastle 0 (10/14)
The JV Lions defeated rival Newcastle 8-0 on October 14th. Shaddox Swires hit Jax Nixon in the corner of the endzone for the only TD of the night and added the conversion with a pass to Trevor Engles. The JV Lions stand 4-3 on the year with a game to go. 8th Grade Lions 42, Chickasha 8 (10/21) The 8th grade Lions finished an undefeated season with a 42-8 win over Chickasha on the 21st. Jett Holland connected with Casen Dobbs for a 37-yard touchdown TD before Casen Garcia added a 63-ard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Dobbs’ conversion put the Lions up 14-0. Garcia added a 62-yard TD run and threw a 46-yard TD pass to Holland and Blanchard would take a 26-8 lead into the half. Dobbs hit Holland with a 10-yard TD pass and Garcia added the conversion. The final score of the night came on a Garcia 82-yard run and a Mason Brooks conversion. Chickasha 44, 7th Grade Lions 0 (10/21) The youngest Lions finish the 2024 season 3-5 after a season finale loss to the Chicks.
