Sequoyah-Claremore runs past Checotah in second half, 49-27
CHECOTAH, Okla. — Sequoyah-Claremore used a punishing ground attack to overshadow an impressive receiving performance by Checotah鈥檚 Elijah Thomas and the Eagles overcame a sluggish first half to roll to a 49-27 win Friday night on Ogle Field at Ray Grandstaff Stadium.
Both teams were coming off impressive wins the previous week. Checotah was a 43-14 winner over Class 5A East Central while Sequoyah, which was ranked ninth in the pre-season AP prep poll, took a 33-7 decision over Inola.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start driving 65 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard pass from Jacob Jones to Jaydin Bray. Jones was five of six passing on the drive highlighted by completions of 25 yards to Brian Love and 18 yards to Bray.
But Sequoyah responded immediately. Dylan Burks returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards to tie the game 7-7.
After a Checotah drive stalled at the Eagle 8, Sequoyah methodically drove the length of the field. Sequoyah suffered a temporary setback when Burks鈥� 96-yard run was nullified by a hold. Instead, the Eagles used 13 plays to take a 13-7 lead on a 7-yard run by Burks.
A short punt set up Sequoyah鈥檚 next possession at the Wildcat 35. This time it took just one play for Burks to give the Eagles a 19-7 lead with 4:27 remaining in the first half.
But just as it appeared that Sequoyah was going to pull away, Checotah rallied. A three-play drive was capped by a 52-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Thomas to cut the lead to 19-14.
Sequoyah responded by driving to the Checotah 2. But an errant snap was picked up by a Wildcat defender and returned to the 30 with 27 seconds left.
Checotah made the most of what little time was left before intermission. The Wildcats quickly moved to the Sequoyah 38 with five seconds left. Jones scrambled and heaved a pass to the end zone. Thomas broke free from a defender and came down with the catch in the back of the end zone as the Wildcats took a 21-19 lead.
As exciting as the first half was, the second half was all Sequoyah. The Eagles put together two long drives that ended with touchdown runs by Landon Gilbreath and Burks as the Eagles took a 35-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Checotah鈥檚 only possession of the third quarter stalled at the Sequoyah 9. Jones, who had passed for 256 yards in the first half completed both pass attempts on the first two plays of the drive but would not attempt another pass until late in the fourth quarter.
Gilbreath scored his second touchdown to make it 42-21 with 4:47 remaining. Burks then picked off a Jones pass and two plays later Tristan Gibson raced 58 yards to make it 49-21.
Thomas gave the home crowd something to cheer about in the final minutes when he broke away from a defender and ran underneath a Jones pass for a 68-yard score to make the final score 49-27.
Jones finished with 21 of 31 passing for 348 yards. Thomas had seven receptions for 213 yards. But it was the Sequoyah ground attack that made the difference. Gibson finished with 144 yards rushing, followed by 114 for Burks and 97 for Gilbreath.
Sequoyah finished with 449 yards rushing with 286 coming in the second half. The Eagle defense limited Jones to just 18 yards passing in the second half prior to Checotah鈥檚 final drive.
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.