Central handles Gore to keep slim playoff hopes alive; Pirates eliminated
Although it was a Week 9 game when the local county rivals, the Central Tigers and the Gore Pirates, met for a District AII-3 game last Friday night at K.G. Horn Stadium, it essentially was a Week 11 playoff game as the winner would keep slim playoff hopes alive, while the loser, in all likelihood, would be eliminated from postseason contention.
The Tigers pretty much dominated the Pirates as they left town with a 38-7 victory.
The Tigers (4-5 overall, 3-3 in district play) are in a three-way tie for fifth place with Tulsa Regent Prep and Gore, each being a game back of Liberty for the fourth and final playoff spot.
It will be a battle of Tigers when Central visits Liberty at 7 p.m. this Friday. If Central wins and Regent Prep loses at Wewoka, both Central and Liberty will tie for fourth place, with Central getting the fourth-place nod due to its win over Liberty.
If Central wins, but Regent Prep wins, then it will force a three-way tie for fourth place with Central, Liberty and Regent Prep. Then, it will come down to district points.
However, if Central loses, their playoff hopes will be dashed.
“We are not worried about anything but us,” Central coach Jeremy Thompson said. “We’re not looking at scores and nothing matters but the Central Tigers and our opponents week by week. The playoffs have already started for us. Week 10 (next Friday night), we’re going to Liberty. We have to go in there and play just like we did (last Friday night). If we do that, we ought to be OK (to make the playoffs).”
The Pirates (4-5, 2-4) saw their playoff hopes dashed. They will conclude the season at 7 p.m. next Friday at Allen.
“To go out with a win (over Allen) would be great,” Gore coach Brandon Ellis said.
The Tigers drew first blood as Ryker Miller caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kiefer Bailey. The two-point conversion pass failed to keep the Tigers up 6-0 with 6:32 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers began their next drive at Gore’s 45-yard line with 4:29 remaining in the period. The Tigers scored very quickly as Miller rambled 45 yards for the TD. Once again, the two-point conversion pass failed, but the Tigers had a 12-0 lead with 4:18 left in the period.
Thanks to a 69-yard kickoff return by Nick Eklund, the Pirates set up shop at the Central 16-yard line.
The Pirates took advantage of the short field as Devon Mannon capped the 16-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge into the end zone with 1:38 remaining in the quarter. Eklund’s extra point cut the Gore deficit to 12-7 after a quarter, which ended up being as close as the Pirates would get on the night.
The only score of the second quarter was a 9-yard TD pass from Bailey to Gavin Randolph with 6:01 left before halftime. The two-point conversion pass failed, but Central took an 18-7 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, Miller scored his third touchdown, and second rushing TD on a 2-yard run. He also scored the two-point conversion to up Central’s advantage to 26-7 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers did an onside kick, with Aiden Cawhorn making the recovery at the Gore 32-yard line.
The Tigers capped the drive with Miller completing his hat trick of rushing touchdowns, and scored his fourth TD of the night, as he took it in from 21 yards out with 2:07 remaining in the period. The two-point conversion failed, but the Tigers took a 32-7 lead into the final period.
On the ensuing kickoff, Eklund looked as if he got the Pirates closer on a 75-yard kickoff return. However, the Pirates were called for holding, making the drive begin at the Gore 21-yard line. Unfortunately, the Pirates could do nothing with that drive.
The Tigers all but sealed the deal in the fourth quarter as Miller scored his fourth rushing touchdown and fifth TD of the night as he took it in from four yards out. Randolph tried the PAT, but his attempt went wide left to keep Central on top 38-7 with 8:31 remaining to play in the game.
Any hope of a Gore comeback was dashed when Randolph intercepted a pass and returned the pick 28 yards to the Gore 31 with 4:45 remaining to play.
“I’m very proud of how we played,” Thompson said. “We kept our heads throughout the game. There were a lot of penalties, but our kids stayed to the task. We saw a team that was very run heavy, and we rose up to the challenge (holding the Pirates to 65 yards of total offense, 55 yards rushing). We played a great football game on both sides of the ball. There are still things to improve on.”
“We did not do well in all three phases of the game,” Ellis said. “We had a lot of penalties. Coach Thompson did a good job, and those kids played tough. They wanted it more than we did.”
For the game, Miller rushed for 112 yards and scored four touchdowns, while Bailey threw for 217 yards and two TDs. Randolph caught nine passes for 138 yards.
