Black Diamonds visit No. 1 Elgin in state quarterfinals
The Sallisaw Black Diamonds made it to the Class 4A state quarterfinals in the most nailbiting of ways. In last week’s opening-round game, the Black Diamonds held on to defeat the Grove Ridgerunners 27-26 in overtime when, after Sallisaw running back Kenyan Hill scored a touchdown and place-kicker Brian Castor hit the extra point for a 27-20 lead, Grove quarterback Jackson Gain, who scored on fourth down from the 2-yard line, was stopped on the two-point conversion at the 1-yard line by Noah Briley, the primary tackler, Broque Oft and Caden Cowan to preserve a 27-26 victory.
“I thought our kids responded well to a little bit of adversity in the second half (against Grove),” Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said. “I thought we played extremely well in the first half. We came out flat after halftime. The turnover gave them a short field, and that was big, and we missed a tackle on their next touchdown. That gave them momentum, but overall I thought we played pretty well. After that point (in the second half), we got our composure back and were able to put some drives together. (Senior place-kicker) Brian Castor did a tremendous job kicking field goals to get us into overtime. (Senior defensive lineman) Kash (Keepes) blocked an extra point on their last touchdown (in regulation), and that was huge — or there’s no overtime. It was a great all-around team effort. I was very pleased with our kids and our coaching staff, and here we are in Round 2 (Class 4A state quarterfinals) again.”
The reward for the Black Diamonds (9-2) getting the Class 4A opening-round OT victory over Grove is making a trip to face the No. 1 Elgin Owls (11-0) in tonight’s state quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. in Elgin.
The Owls have outscored their opponents this season 545-48, including six shutouts — the last being last week’s Class 4A opening-round playoff game, a 43-0 rout of the Ardmore Tigers. The Owls are averaging 49.5 points per game, while only allowing an average of 4.4 points per game.
“They’re very good,” Tyler said. “They’re ranked No. 1 for a reason. They’re very big and physical. They play great defense. They’ve only given up 48 points in 11 games, and they’ve scored over 500 (points). They’re a very good, talented football team. They’re well coached in all three phases. They’re very good defensively, so yards are going to be hard to come by the way they play defensively. Their quarterback is where it starts. He’s very talented. He throws the ball extremely well. He has good receivers. He throws the ball well down field. He sees the field really well. The running back is a big kid, about 205 pounds, who runs downhill. He’s a state-champion wrestler, so he’s very tough. They have two Division I commits on the offensive line, one is going to Tennessee, and one is going to Navy.”
The Black Diamonds will need to play as near-aperfect game as possible to have a shot at Thanksgiving Week football in the Class 4A state semifinals on “Black Friday.”
“Obviously, getting points on the board will be big,” Tyler said. “We have to sustain drives. We can’t turn the ball over. We can’t have penalties where we’re starting behind the chains — we can’t be first- or second-and-20, or whatever. We have to be second- and third-and short to give ourselves a chance to get a first down and move the football. We have to be able to throw the ball well, and catch it. Our offensive line has to try to control things up front. A lot of things have got to happen for us to be able to have a chance to win. We just have to go out there, get off the bus and believe we can get the job done.”
Tyler said the Black Diamonds are anxious to see what kind of success they can have against Class 4A’s top-ranked Owls.
“Our kids are up to the challenge,” he said. “They’re excited about this opportunity. It’s not like the World Series or the NBA championship — it’s not the best-of-7. It’s one ball game we have to go try to win. We’ll go from there and see what happens.”
While the Black Diamonds did not suffer any injuries in last Friday night’s opening-round playoff game victory over Grove, one player will not be seeing action this week — or the rest of the season.
Senior linebacker Aiden Ruiz was injured in a Sunday night accident and had back surgery on Monday to repair the injuries suffered in the accident. However, Ruiz came through the surgery well, and there was no spinal cord damage or injury.
“We feel God had his hand on him … it could have been a lot worse,” Tyler said.
Tyler said the Black Diamonds needless to say will be playing tonight’s Class 4A state quarterfinal game for their fallen senior.
“They’re going to play for him,” he said. “It’s going to be hard for Aiden. He is an emotional leader for us, obviously being a senior. He sadly played his last game last week (against Grove), but there are things bigger than football … he’s still alive and still here. That’s the most important thing right now.”
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TO GET THERE — Take I-40 west to I-240 in Oklahoma City. Take I-240 west to I-44. Take I-44 (the H.E. Bailey Turnpike) to Elgin.
