Black Diamonds seek first win in home opener tonight against Stigler

The 2025 football season opener for the Sallisaw Black Diamonds did not go as desired as they lost 45-22 to the host Pryor Tigers last Friday night.

“I thought our kids played well at times,” Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said. “We obviously made some mistakes. Giving up the opening kickoff for a touchdown left them having momentum right off the bat. You can’t start the game like that, but I was proud of the way our kids responded. We got the ball back and went on an 80-yard drive and scored (on Kase Adams’ touchdown run and Elijah Hill’s two-point conversion run) and tied it back up (at 8-all). We took the lead with six minutes left in the (second) quarter (on Adams’ 62-yard TD pass to Caden Blount). We just couldn’t get it closed out there in the first half to have the lead at halftime. Two red-zone turnovers cost us. Those were all big things, but it’s just some learning pains we have to go through. Hats off to Pryor. I think they’re going to be a (Class) 5A state semifinalist, at worst. They’re a dang good football team.”

However, there were some positives to take away from the loss to Pryor that Tyler hopes will help the Black Diamonds get their first win of the season in the home opener against the Stigler Panthers at 7 tonight at Perry F. Lattimore Stadium.

“I thought our offensive line played extremely well,” he said. “That was a concern going in, graduating three starters from last year, but those guys hooked up and got after it (last) Friday night. I was pleased with that. I thought Kase ran our offense very efficiently. I thought he managed the game very well. Both of our running backs had a great game and ran well. Defensively, we’ve got to get better and shore up some things — just things like misalignments. Those were things that were uncharacteristic of us at that time (last Friday night).”

Tonight’s home game will be the first of three straight home games for the Black Diamonds as Eufaula comes to town on Sept. 19 and Hilldale visits on Sept. 26 in the District 4A-4 opener.

“It’s always nice to get to play at home,” Tyler said. “We’re going to be home for the next three weeks (not counting next week’s bye week). That’s going to be very nice for our fans and us and not having to travel. Like I told the kids after the game (last) Friday night, that (Pryor game) was basically our second scrimmage. We have a lot of young, inexperienced faces out there. They got a lot of good playing time and a lot of reps. The only bad thing about it was it mattered on our (win-loss) record. Hopefully, we’re going to correct our mistakes this week and come out (tonight) with a different outlook and attitude, and get after Stigler.”

The Panthers, who lost last season’s Sallisaw home opener 35-21 to the host Black Diamonds, went 4-6 last season and have a new coach for this season.

“They have a new coach in Johnny Easttom,” Tyler said. “They have a very good quarterback, Easttom’s kid Graham Easttom. He played for Elk City last year as a freshman, so playing (Class) 4A football is nothing new to him. They know what this level (Class 4A) of football is all about. He does a great job. Looking at their two scrimmage films against Pocola and Heavener, they moved the ball with great efficiency. Defensively, they’ll line up in a lot of different fronts, so we’ll have to be ready up front to block everything they throw at us.”

The biggest key is to continue to get better and be prepared for the more important part of the season — the District 4A-4 games.

“We have to continue to do what we’re doing — just go out and try to get better,” Tyler said. “We have two more weeks to do that before district play. We have to get better on the (defensive) side of the football. We have to be able to stop the run and the pass. We have to get aligned right. We have to tackle better than what we tackled last week (against Pryor). We have to control the football. We can’t turn it over. We have to control the line of scrimmage. We have to get those guys gelling in what we’re doing and continue to carry us up front. If we get all that together, we’ll be fine.”

Tyler said junior wide receiver/ defensive back Asa Ulrich is questionable with bruised ribs.

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Cheer Night will be observed prior to tonight’s home opener against Stigler at 6:30 p.m.