Tigers lay out Lions 28-7 to become district frontrunners

By Jayson Knight

The Tuttle Tigers hosted the defending state champion Blanchard Lions Friday night at Richison Family Stadium. The Tigers won the district matchup 28-7 in a game that will likely make the Tigers district champs.

As long as the Tigers are able to win in (2-6) Chickasha Friday at 7 p.m., and back at Richison Family Stadium the Friday after against (4-3) Harrah, the district title will come back to Tuttle.

Tuttle is one of the three undefeated teams left in 4A, joined by Wagoner and Elgin. All three teams have maxed out their district points as well, meaning they’ve beaten all of their district opponents by at least 15 points each.

The Tigers’ mission is going according to plan, but Tuttle Head Coach Brad Ballard said after the game Friday that the mission is not yet accomplished.

“Our business isn’t finished,” The coach said. “This is not the Super Bowl. I probably say the same thing at the end of every game whether we win or lose: This is not the last game of the year. We have a lot of work to do. This is Game 8, and it’s time to get ready for Game 9.”

For the first half of the first quarter, the game started with a fierce battle for field position. Both teams were able to convert a set of downs on their first possessions, but both had to punt.

The first score came with 5:30 left on the first quarter clock when Tuttle quarterback Cruz Campbell went deep to Tuttle receiver Brady McAdoo for a 46-yard touchdown pass.

McAdoo stopped the next Blanchard drive with an interception, but the Tigers were forced to punt on the ensuing possession.

Tuttle stuffed Blanchard’s running game and it was the Lions’ turn to punt, from the 50-yard line.

The punt went 49 yards, and McAdoo returned it 99 yards for a Tigers touchdown after catching a pivotal block from Tuttle sophomore Jordan Lane. McAdoo blew through an arm tackle, spun off a hit, and somehow kept his balance after being hit from the side at full speed by a third Blanchard defender. McAdoo finished the score off with a 55-yard dash, breaking the plane despite a shoestring tackle at the finish line.

Up 14-0 with 13 seconds left in the first quarter, the Tigers kept the Lions off the board throughout the first half.

Tuttle kicked off to start the second half, but it was the Tigers that scored first. Tuttle got past midfield on a 54-yard catch-and-run by Tuttle sophomore Jalen Lane. And Tuttle running back Shawn Rounsaville took it in the rest of the way for a 21-0 lead with 8:31 left in the third.

Blanchard’s following drive was successful, taking almost 6 minutes off the game clock. Trailing 21-7 with 2:40 left in the third quarter, the Lions defense was helped out by penalties that led to the Tigers punting the ball away with 1:08 left in the third quarter.

A 29-yard pass put the Lions in Tigers territory as the third quarter came to an end. A roughing the passer penalty against the Tigers put the Lions inside the red zone, but Blanchard didn’t make it past the 10-yard line before suffering a turnover on downs.

The Tigers leaned on Rounsaville for the next drive, and the back made his way downfield with help from his offensive line. Rounsaville found his way into the end zone from four yards out for the game’s fifth touchdown with 3:04 left in the game for the final score of 28-7.

Asked what he liked about how the team played, Coach Ballard said, “We ran the football, we didn’t turn the ball over, we created a few turnovers, we won. I’m just proud of the kids man. They had a great week of practice. The kids had a spectacular week of practice and I was hoping they would play like they practiced, and they did. There were too many penalties, but I thought we did a good job of overcoming those things and getting stops when we had to, but the defense ran to the ball and tackled extremely well. I thought we played really well on defense.”

Tuttle linebacker Luke Fallwell led the team in tackles with eight solo and 11 assisted, including one for a loss.

Linebacker Kameron McDoulett had two tackles for a loss, including a sack.

The Tigers forced three turnovers. Aside from McAdoo’s first-quarter interception, Jalen Lane had an interception, and Tuttle freshman Cale Harryman recovered a fumble.

As far as how the team kept its composure during Blanchard’s attempted rally late in the third quarter, Coach Ballard said, “That’s just the game of football. These guys have been around and played enough football to know there are ebbs and flows. There’s always going to be ups and downs, and you’ve just got to stay steady, weather the storms, and when you get chances to strike, you’ve got to strike. And we did. That’s a really good team, Blanchard. There’s a lot of talent out there. It was a big chore for us and I thought the kids did a good job of stepping up.”

See the Tigers in Chickasha Friday at 7 p.m.