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Marble City edges Moffett for 3-peat
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TENKILLER - Marble City scored two touchdowns in the final 65 seconds to claim the Organization of Rural Elementary Schools (ORES) Division 2 state championship on Saturday.
Quarterback Aaron Busch ran for a 28-yard touchdown and passed 41 yards to Skylar Locust for the game-winner as the Warriors rallied past Moffett 30-22 in a battle of Sequoyah County teams.
Moffett surged to a 22-14 lead in the third quarter thanks to a pair of big plays by Deandre Murray. The first was a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown with 6:08 left in the period. Dominic Blue ran for the two-point conversion to put the Wildcats up 16-14.
Murray struck again late in the quarter, when he rolled out for a halfback pass, then tucked the ball away, reversed direction and sprinted 45 yards down the sideline to put Moffett up 22-14.
“They’re very dangerous. Their skill kids are very dangerous anytime they get the ball in their hands and that kind of turned the momentum their way,” said Marble City head coach Amos Morgan.
But the Warriors had a few big plays of their own to get back in the game.
The first came after Dwight Catron recovered a fumble to set Marble City up at the Moffett 29 late in the fourth quarter. On second down, Busch faked a handoff and went around the right end for a 28-yard touchdown run. The quarterback ran for the two-point conversion to knot the score at 22-22 with 1:05 to go.
“It was just a matter of settling down and fighting back,” Morgan said his team’s rally. “Once we got tied up with them, it was like we weren’t going to be denied.”
The Marble City defense stopped Moffett on downs and the Warriors got the ball back with 38 seconds remaining. On the first play, Busch rolled to his right and fired a long pass to Locust, who caught it in stride and crossed the goal-line for a 41-yard TD with 30 seconds left. Busch ran for the conversion to put the Warriors up 30-22.
“We had been going twins and running a quarterback sweep out of it,” Morgan said of the pass play. “I felt like Moffett had adjusted to it, so instead of the sweep we had Skylar Locust run a go route and Jae Christie run a drag. I think they were still looking for the quarterback sweep out of that formation. Skylar got behind the guy covering him and Aaron just made a perfect pass. It was a nice catch.”
Moffett had one final chance, but Marble City defensive back Julio Tovar intercepted a pass at the Warriors’ 10-yard line and returned it to the 27 to seal the win.
It was the third-consective state title for the Warriors, who were playing in the finals for the fourth year in a row.
Marble City (10-1) had defeated Dahlonegah 42-6, Kenwood 60-12 and Forest Grove 53-6 in the playoffs to reach the championship game.
Moffett, which lost to the Warriors in last year’s title game, had a successful year that included a win over Marble City during the regular season.
Morgan said avenging that loss made the Warriors’ third championship as sweet as any of the others.
“As far as excitement and satisfaction, I’d say this feels like number one. Mainly because Moffett is in our conference and they had previously beat us. I felt like we were an underdog coming into this game, but we also felt we had a good defensive gameplan and a good blocking scheme,” said Morgan.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Warriors grabbed a 6-0 lead early in the second period. Marble City converted three times on fourth down to sustain a 44-yard scoring drive. The third fourth-down conversion came on Busch’s 14-yard pass to Jason Noel and it moved the ball to the Moffett 7. On third-and-goal from the 4, Locust went around the left end for the touchdown with 6:42 left in the half. The conversion attempt failed when Moffett’s Darryl Sanders tackled Busch behind the line of scrimmage.
Moffett answered with a six-play, 45-yard touchdown drive. Blue found the end zone from a yard out on a quarterback sneak and Murray ran for the conversion to put the Wildcats up 8-6 with 4:37 left in the half.
Locust returned the ensuing to midfield and the Warriors put together an eight-play drive to regain the lead. Busch got the touchdown with a 1-yard run. He then passed to Locust for the conversion and Marble City took a 14-8 lead to the locker room at halftime.
Busch was Marble City’s leading rusher with 83 yards on 22 carries and he also completed 3 of 6 passes for 57 yards. Christie ran nine times for 54 yards and Locust picked up 40 yards on 10 attempts.
Murray led Moffett with a game-high 86 yards rushing on 10 carries and he also caught three passes for 30 yards. Including his punt return, Murray tallied 176 all-purpose yards for the Wildcats.
Moffett quarterback Blue was 4 of 8 passing for 37 yards. Bubba Owens had a 7-yard reception for the Wildcats and Sanders recovered a fumble for the Moffett defense.
Quarterback Aaron Busch ran for a 28-yard touchdown and passed 41 yards to Skylar Locust for the game-winner as the Warriors rallied past Moffett 30-22 in a battle of Sequoyah County teams.
Moffett surged to a 22-14 lead in the third quarter thanks to a pair of big plays by Deandre Murray. The first was a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown with 6:08 left in the period. Dominic Blue ran for the two-point conversion to put the Wildcats up 16-14.
Murray struck again late in the quarter, when he rolled out for a halfback pass, then tucked the ball away, reversed direction and sprinted 45 yards down the sideline to put Moffett up 22-14.
“They’re very dangerous. Their skill kids are very dangerous anytime they get the ball in their hands and that kind of turned the momentum their way,” said Marble City head coach Amos Morgan.
But the Warriors had a few big plays of their own to get back in the game.
The first came after Dwight Catron recovered a fumble to set Marble City up at the Moffett 29 late in the fourth quarter. On second down, Busch faked a handoff and went around the right end for a 28-yard touchdown run. The quarterback ran for the two-point conversion to knot the score at 22-22 with 1:05 to go.
“It was just a matter of settling down and fighting back,” Morgan said his team’s rally. “Once we got tied up with them, it was like we weren’t going to be denied.”
The Marble City defense stopped Moffett on downs and the Warriors got the ball back with 38 seconds remaining. On the first play, Busch rolled to his right and fired a long pass to Locust, who caught it in stride and crossed the goal-line for a 41-yard TD with 30 seconds left. Busch ran for the conversion to put the Warriors up 30-22.
“We had been going twins and running a quarterback sweep out of it,” Morgan said of the pass play. “I felt like Moffett had adjusted to it, so instead of the sweep we had Skylar Locust run a go route and Jae Christie run a drag. I think they were still looking for the quarterback sweep out of that formation. Skylar got behind the guy covering him and Aaron just made a perfect pass. It was a nice catch.”
Moffett had one final chance, but Marble City defensive back Julio Tovar intercepted a pass at the Warriors’ 10-yard line and returned it to the 27 to seal the win.
It was the third-consective state title for the Warriors, who were playing in the finals for the fourth year in a row.
Marble City (10-1) had defeated Dahlonegah 42-6, Kenwood 60-12 and Forest Grove 53-6 in the playoffs to reach the championship game.
Moffett, which lost to the Warriors in last year’s title game, had a successful year that included a win over Marble City during the regular season.
Morgan said avenging that loss made the Warriors’ third championship as sweet as any of the others.
“As far as excitement and satisfaction, I’d say this feels like number one. Mainly because Moffett is in our conference and they had previously beat us. I felt like we were an underdog coming into this game, but we also felt we had a good defensive gameplan and a good blocking scheme,” said Morgan.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Warriors grabbed a 6-0 lead early in the second period. Marble City converted three times on fourth down to sustain a 44-yard scoring drive. The third fourth-down conversion came on Busch’s 14-yard pass to Jason Noel and it moved the ball to the Moffett 7. On third-and-goal from the 4, Locust went around the left end for the touchdown with 6:42 left in the half. The conversion attempt failed when Moffett’s Darryl Sanders tackled Busch behind the line of scrimmage.
Moffett answered with a six-play, 45-yard touchdown drive. Blue found the end zone from a yard out on a quarterback sneak and Murray ran for the conversion to put the Wildcats up 8-6 with 4:37 left in the half.
Locust returned the ensuing to midfield and the Warriors put together an eight-play drive to regain the lead. Busch got the touchdown with a 1-yard run. He then passed to Locust for the conversion and Marble City took a 14-8 lead to the locker room at halftime.
Busch was Marble City’s leading rusher with 83 yards on 22 carries and he also completed 3 of 6 passes for 57 yards. Christie ran nine times for 54 yards and Locust picked up 40 yards on 10 attempts.
Murray led Moffett with a game-high 86 yards rushing on 10 carries and he also caught three passes for 30 yards. Including his punt return, Murray tallied 176 all-purpose yards for the Wildcats.
Moffett quarterback Blue was 4 of 8 passing for 37 yards. Bubba Owens had a 7-yard reception for the Wildcats and Sanders recovered a fumble for the Moffett defense.
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comments (1)
« chico_stilwell@yahoo.com wrote on Thursday, Oct 29 at 03:20 PM »
This is one talented team. You ever get a chance to watch these kids play you better take. If even half these kids end up playing for Sallisaw in the future, the black diamonds are going to just fine. Congrates
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