TIGERS LOSE BUT NEVER QUIT AGAINST TOP RANKED JENKS
By Gregg Stilwell
Tahlequah Daily Press Sports Writer
The Tahlequah Tigers drew first blood in their district 6A-4 contest against number 1 ranked Jenks, but the Trojans (6-1, 4-0) used big plays in the first period to end any hopes of a Tiger upset bid as Jenks ran and passed their way to a 48-14 victory Friday night at Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium.
Tahlequah (1-6, 1-3) started off the game by pushing around their guests. The Tiger offense netted nine yards on their first three plays with the measurement falling just inches short of a first down.
Coach Chad Hendricks played it smart by not gambling early in the game, and the decision proved to be a good one.
Brendan Barlow got off a good punt that rolled to the Jenks 39. The Trojans went backwards in their first possession, thanks in large part to a tackle for a four yard loss by Zach Henley.
Michael Ginther boomed a 50 yard punt to pin Tahlequah deep in their own end of the field at the 13. That didnt bother sophomore quarterback Trae Cook who got the Tigers onto the board in only three plays. A 25 yard pass to Colby Cook moved the ball to the Tiger 38. On the next play quarterback Cook found senior Hunter Palmer over the middle on a perfectly executed slant pattern. Palmer caught the ball near the Tahlequah 45 and outran four Trojan defenders on his way to a 62 yard touchdown. Brendan Barlows extra point was good, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead at 8:54 of the first period.
For Jenks it was only the second game all season in which they had allowed the opponents to score first, and the first time a non-ranked team had led the Trojans in three seasons.
Jenks would come back quickly. The Tiger defense put a heavy rush on Ginther and forced an incompletion. Having no luck through the air in their first two possessions, the Trojans turned to the ground attack. Devin Reed took a pitch around the right side of the Jenks line and blazed down the sideline. Kirk appeared to have knocked Reed out of bounds at the Tahlequah 30, but the referee disagreed. Reed headed into the end zone for a 70 yard tying score.
Jenks Legion of Doom defense held the Tigers on their next possession. It took Ginther almost half of the first period to complete his first pass, but the catch silenced the rowdy Tahlequah crowd as Jordan Wince took Jenks 70 yards into the end zone for the second straight play. With 6:49 remaining in the first, Jenks had claimed a lead 14-7 lead and never looked back.
The Tiger defense appeared to have held the Trojans after three penalties put Jenks in a big hole at their own 12. A third run was good for 28 yards but still shy of a first down. A facemask penalty on the play gave the Trojans a free set of downs and Ginther and company took advantage.
The sophomore quarterback completed a 15 yard pass and then, under a heavy Tiger rush, scrambled out of the pocket to his left and scooted 26 yards for to give the Trojans a 21-7 lead at the end of the first period.
Of the four Jenks first downs in the first 12 minutes, three came on the Trojans scoring plays.
The score increased to 28-7 on a 67 yard touchdown pass to the hero of Jenks win over Union, Isaac Norman with 11:34 to play in the second.
Another scoring strike to Wince, this one from 35 yards out, sandwiched around field goals of 27 and 22 yards, gave the Trojans a 41-7 halftime lead.
The numbers game was the biggest enemy of the Tigers. While Tahlequah, still struggling to get everyone healthy, dressed out 36, the Trojans had around 80 players in uniform. On every possession in the first half, Jenks used a fresh tailback and a new set of receivers against a weary Tiger defense.
Jenks went to their backup quarterback to open the second half, but left in the rest of their starters until the last six minutes of the game. The Tigers gave Jenks all they could handle in the second half, sacking Trojan signal callers three times for large losses and finding plenty of success through the air and on the ground.
Marcus Toney, still playing behind a makeshift offensive line was able to gain 51 yards against the Trojans, looking especially good when the Tigers went to the option with Cook making the correct decision on nearly every read.
The passing attack continued to be a strength, with Cook registering 214 yards through the air.
The Trojans scored their only touchdown of the final half thanks to a pass interference penalty that kept a drive alive and brought out the boo-birds at Gable Field. Given a reprieve, Jenks took advantage with Rob Redwine catching a 10 yard scoring pass from Dallas Beeler to up the Trojan to 48-7.
Having come close to a score early in the third, only to be denied, the Tigers did what very few teams trailing by 41 points can say they were able to do, they never gave up.
Cook, Kirk, Toney and Palmer played key roles as Tahlequah was got in the last scoring word.
A 39 yard pass to Kirk moved the ball into Jenks territory. Toney added 19 yards on the drive and Palmer gave the Tigers a first down at the Trojan 12 with a 16 yard grab.
On fourth and 19, Tahlequah showed that they werent quitters. Cook saw that 65 Jordan Holderby had a tremendous height advantage on his defender. Cook threw a jump ball up and Holderby easily took control of the ball at the one and walked into the endzone.
Barlow added the extra point to set the final score at 48-14, a 21 point improvement over last years 55-0 Jenks win.
The Tigers have played five top 10 ranked teams in six weeks, but that part of the schedule has ended. Tahlequah will face the first of three unranked teams that will end the regular season schedule when they travel to LaFortune Park in Tulsa next Thursday to take on the Memorial Chargers. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
GAME STATISTICS
Jenks 21 20 7 0 48
Tahlequah 7 0 0 7 14
T Hunter Palmer 62 pass from Trae Cook (Brendan Barlow kick)
J - Devin Reed 70 run (Matt Hulse kick)
J Jordan Wince 70 pass (Hulse kick)
J Ginther 26 run (Hulse kick)
J Isaac Norman 67 pass from Ginther (Hulse kick)
J Hulse 27 Field Goal
J - Wince 35 pass from Ginther (Hulse kick)
J - Hulse 22 Field Goal
J Rob Redwine 10 pass from Dallas Beeler (Steven Woodward kick)
T- Jordan Holderby 21 pass from T. Cook (Barlow kick)
First Downs- Tahlequah 9, Jenks 18
Rushes/Yards Tahlequah 28/82, Jenks 29/264
Passing Yards Tahlequah 214, Jenks 267
Comp-Att-Int Tahlequah 12-24-0, Jenks 10-19-0
Total Plays/Yards Tahlequah 52/296, Jenks 48/531
Punts Tahlequah 8/32.2, Jenks 3/36.3
Fumbles/Lost Tahlequah 3/0, Jenks 2/0
Penalties/Yards Tahlequah 7/59, Jenks 10/101
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Tahlequah
Rushing Marcus Toney 17/51, Trae Cook 9/30, Chucky Bryant 2/1
Passing Trae Cook 12-22-0-214, Brendan Barlow 0-1-0-0, Erik Juifs 0-1-0-0
Receiving Hunter Palmer 4/103 1 TD, Nick Kirk 3/46, Colby Cook 2/33, Jordan Holberby 2/29 1 TD, Toney 1/3
Kickoff Returns Toney 3/40, Palmer 1/20
Punt Returns - none
Punting Brendan Barlow 8/259
Jenks
Rushing Devin Reed 5/101 1 TD, Mitch Hill 14/96, P.J. Adeji-Paul 2/37, Mark Ginther 1/26 1 TD, Luke Hill 1/15, Joshua Irvin 2/3, Billy Nix 1/2, Eric Marshall 2/-4, Dallas Beeler 1/-11
Passing Ginther 5-12-0-212, D. Beeler 5-7-0-55
Receiving Jordan Wince 4/125 2 TD, Isaac Norman 1/67, Rob Redwine 2/35, Evan Nichols 1/18, Jake Laptad 1/15, M. Hill 1/7
