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Kenny Howell
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Kenny Howell
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Salina’s run comes to an end with 14-0 loss
ENID - There were a lot of tears shed by players and fans Friday night, as Salina’s great season came to an end.
The tears were because it was something special.
The Wildcats won a district championship.
They went 11-2, which included two great playoff wins.
They went as deep into the playoffs as any team in school history.
They had a 2,000-yard rusher in Darin Pettit.
They had a defense that struck fear into anyone that stepped onto the field.
But it had to come to an end sometime, and, unfortunately, it was to the hands of the Oklahoma Bible Academy Trojans in the quarterfinal round, 14-0.
“Men, holds your head up high,” said Head Coach Matt Williams to his team after the game. “I would have loved to have played in week 15, week 14, but it just didn’t happen. At some point, it is going to, it just wasn’t this time.”
Williams praised his team’s character throughout the season, and said that was the reason they had made it this far.
“It all started two years ago when we were down 14-0 to Locust Grove and they didn’t give up,” said Williams to reporters after the game.
The game was the kind of game Salina wanted to be in - a defensive battle with just a few points scored.
However, the Trojans got two big plays and played almost flawless football on both sides. OBA had no penalty yards. The only penalty that was called was declined because Paul Harvey had intercepted the pass. The Trojans turned the ball over twice, but their defense made sure they didn’t pay for it.
OBA’s defense played a bend-don’t-break style all night as Salina was able to get yardage as Williams described it “between the 30s.” But once the Wildcats got inside the 30, the Trojans shut them down, whether it be on turnovers or stopping them on fourth down.
OBA took the lead late in the first when quarterback Chris Kuykendall took advantage of a Salina
cornerback tripping, and found Nick Hoffsommer for a 41-yard touchdown.
Salina would make a trip deep into Trojan territory, getting it to the 9-yard line, but came up short on fourth down.
The Trojans seemed to be tiring a bit just before halftime, so it looked as if Salina was going to be able to wear down another smaller team.
But the OBA conditioning was up to task, as the fast, smashmouth defense kept throwing everything at the Wildcats in the second half.
Late in the third quarter, the Trojans started ripping off some big chunks of yardage, and Harrison Jackson capped the drive off with a 38-yard run for a touchdown.
The Wildcats got into Trojan territory twice in the fourth quarter, but both times fumbles gave the ball back to OBA. The Trojans were able to run out the clock on the final drive and come away with the victory.
The passing game started clicking in the second half, and Dalton Daniels was on the receiving in of several Dillon Manchell passes. Daniels had five catches for 67 yards to go with two great kick returns. Manchell finished with 126 yards passing on 12-for-22.
Jackson did most of the heavy lifting for the Trojans as he had 133 yards on 30 carries.
The Trojans now move on to play Stroud, who pulled another upset over Cashion, 52-47.
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