Black Diamonds get ready for district play by routing Eufaula

The Sallisaw Black Diamonds will be taking a two-game winning streak into the District 4A-4 opener this Friday night against the Hilldale Hornets.

The Black Diamonds, who actually trailed early, ended up winning going away as they defeated the Eufaula Ironheads 57-19 last Friday night at Perry F. Lattimore Stadium.

The Ironheads (0-3), who now have been outscored 160-54 this season, took the game’s opening possession and marched downfield. On fourth-and-goal from inside the Sallisaw 1-yard line, running back Peter Lee took it in for the score. Jay Hickman’s extra point was a wounded duck, barely getting over the linemen. It missed the mark, keeping the Ironheads ahead 6-0 with 7:55 left in the first quarter.

However, from there, it pretty much was all Sallisaw.

On Eufaula’s next possession, Sallisaw defensive back Kenyan Hill recovered a fumble at the Eufaula 31-yard line with 6:24 remaining in the period.

The drive was capped off by Sallisaw quarterback Kase Adams taking it in from a yard out. Ethan Girdner’s extra point put the Black Diamonds (2-1) ahead for good at 7-6 with 3:11 left in the period.

“I was worried about missing that game last week (due to a bye week), and we came out rusty,” Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said. “We were misaligned and didn’t tackle very well. So, we have a lot of things we need to go correct this week and get ready for district play.”

In the waning seconds of the first quarter, Eufaula was in punt formation. The snap went over the punter’s head, but he retrieved the ball. He tried to get the punt off, but Sallisaw special teams player Logan Bethel had other ideas as he blocked the punt, which ended up bouncing right in the hands of teammate Matthew McGrew, who went untouched about 10 yards for the score with 10 seconds left. Adams ran in the two-point conversion to up Sallisaw’s advantage to 15-6 after the opening period.

It didn’t take long for the Ironheads to get closer as on the first play of the second quarter, Eufaula quarterback Koltyn Lane connected with Luke Hodgins on a 55-yard TD pass play. The Ironheads tried for the two-point conversion, but the pass play was broken up by Bo Qualls at the goal line to keep Sallisaw ahead 15-12 with 11:49 left before halftime.

Thanks to Carson Sharp’s 32yard return to the Eufaula 43 off the ensuing kickoff, the Black Diamonds needed only two minutes to find the end zone as Hill took it in from seven yards out. Girdner’s PAT increased Sallisaw’s lead to 22-12 with 9:40 remaining in the first half.

The Ironheads struck quickly once more as just 17 seconds later, Lane hit Lee on a 66yard screen pass that went the distance. Despite Sallisaw special teams player Cade Tate tipping the PAT attempt, Gavin Holman’s extra point was good to cut the Eufaula deficit to 22-19 with 9:23 left in the first half.

Thanks to Brodi Nickell’s 20-yard ensuing kickoff return, the Black Diamonds set up shop at their own 43-yard line.

Sallisaw only needed 1:11 to find the end zone as Jackson Harris caught a 13-yard swing pass from Adams, and the senior running back took it to the house. Girdner’s extra point upped Sallisaw’s lead to 29-19 with 8:06 remaining before halftime.

The Sallisaw defense got in on the scoring shortly thereafter as senior lineman Hunter Smith returned an interception 33 yards for the touchdown. Girdner’s PAT increased Sallisaw’s advantage to 36-19 with 6:40 left before halftime.

At the 4:08 mark left in the first half, the Sallisaw defense shined once more as junior defensive back Chase Stephens picked off Lane’s pass at the Sallisaw 37-yard line.

Harris capped the takeaway with his second TD of the quarter as he ran for 21 yards to paydirt with 1:52 remaining in the first half. Girdner’s extra point put Sallisaw’s lead to 43-19 at halftime.

The lone score of the third quarter was Nickell catching Adams’ second touchdown pass of the game as the two connected for a 27-yard TD pass play with 9:15 left in the period. Girdner’s PAT put Sallisaw on top 50-19 after three quarters, a period in which Sallisaw started using their reserves on both sides of the ball.

While the Black Diamonds did not take advantage of them, they had two third-quarter takeaways as senior defensive lineman Bodie Adams made a fumble recovery at the Eufaula 45-yard line with 7:31 remaining in the period, while sophomore Keaton Brant made a fumble recovery and returned it two yards to the Sallisaw 43yard line with 3:52 left in the period.

In the fourth quarter, in which the running clock was used, Sallisaw capped the scoring with Gunner Griffey’s 3-yard touchdown run with 2:58 left to play in the game. Girdner capped a perfect 7-for-7 on extra points.

The Sallisaw defense had its fifth takeaway in the final period as Caden Blount had a 27-yard interception return to the Sallisaw 37 at the 10:14 mark of the game.

Tyler knew that his team had a chance to wear out the outmanned Ironheads, which is exactly what happened.

“That’s what I told the kids all week,” Tyler said. “They didn’t have a lot of depth. Once we got going, our conditioning and our depth took over, and we were able to get the win.”

The Black Diamonds will begin District 4A-4 play this week as they will cap off their three-game homestand against the Hilldale Hornets at 7 p.m. this Friday at Perry F. Lattimore Stadium.

“It’s always good to enter on a (two-game) winning streak,” Tyler said. “I’m pleased with the kids. I thought offensively we operated really well. Defensively, we had some busts in the secondary. We have to tackle better. From here on out, it starts mattering now. It counts for playoff seeding. We came back to work Monday and got a game plan ready for Hilldale.”