Tigers come up short to No. 1 Talihina on Homecoming, travel to Mounds on Thursday
The good news for the Central Tigers in their homecoming game against their District AII-3 rival Talihina Golden Tigers on Friday night at Tiger Stadium was the Tigers players the No. 1 Golden Tigers closer than anyone has so far this season.
The not-so-good news was the No. 1 Golden Tigers showed why they’re ranked No. 1 as they defeated the Tigers 37-12 to spoil Central’s homecoming and hand the Tigers their third straight loss after opening the season at 3-0.
After falling behind the Golden Tigers (6-0 overall, 3-0 in district play), the Tigers (3-3, 0-3) tied the game at 6-all on Kiefer Bailey’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Randolph late in the first quarter.
The Tigers took their only lead of the night on Bailey’s second TD pass of the night, a 13-yarder to Aiden Cawhorn, but from there it was all Golden Tigers.
Talihina scored two touchdowns before halftime to take an 18-12 lead at the break, then scored two TDs in the third quarter and one in the fourth quarter to put away the game.
In defeat, Bailey threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Kaw-Liga Lewis threw a 37-yard pass on his only attempt.
Miller led the Tigers in rushing with 47 yards, while Randolph’s 42 yards receiving and a TD led the Tigers in that category.
“We played good football,” Central coach Jeremy Thompson said. “Our kids rose to the occasion and played a good game. I thought we played really well and really hard defensively throughout the night. We continue to get better on offense each week. We’re taking care of the ball better. We’re getting better running the ball against a defensive front. We’re completing some big passes. Gavin Randolph had another big night. He had some big catches on some third-down conversions. I’m happy (with where we are) going into this week. I feel like we got that momentum back a little bit, and some fire back in us, too. That’s what I’m excited about.” The Tigers are pretty much in playoff mode from here on as they need to either win out or go 3-1 over their final four games to have a shot at the playoffs.
“We need to win out,” Thompson said. “That’s all there is to it. We’ve talked about it. Winning out is what we have to do. If you have four district losses, you definitely need to have some luck on your side (to make the playoffs). With three district losses, we feel like we can get in.”
That first game will be a 7 p.m. Thursday as the Tigers, who will enter the contest healthy, will play a district road game against the Mounds Golden Eagles (0-6, 0-3), which lost 67-0 Friday night at Liberty and have been outscored 307-44 so far this season.
“They do quite a bit on offense,” Thompson said about the Golden Eagles. “They show you everything offensively. One thing about the defensive side is they’re going to load the box and stop the run. We have to play good up front. We really need to establish the ground game this week and get it going again. That to me is the big key. We have to convert third downs and keep drives alive. Those things are very important for us.”
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TO GET THERE — Take U.S. 64 west to Sallisaw. Take I-40 west to the Muskogee Turnpike. Take the Muskogee Turnpike west to the Creek Turnpike. Take the Creek Turnpike west to U.S. 75. Take U.S. 75 south to Mounds.
