ZEBRAS ROUT CARDINALS IN OPENER 49-0

It was a beautiful night for football, and the Zebras of Claremore didn’t even mind that it was a penalty-filled, sloppy season-opening affair. Claremore mostly looked impressive in the rout, and as the game went on, wore East Central down and out in a 49-0 victory. Claremore will now head to Rogers, Ark., next Friday. Interceptions killed East Central in their opener last week, a 47-0 loss at Collinsville where the Cards threw four picks. Interceptions played a big part early Friday too, as Claremore’s Jack Meisinger picked off a pass on the third play of the game, returning it to the 16 just 65 seconds into the game. From there, the Zebras mashed the ball deeper toward the goal, and on 4th-and-1 at the 6, Claremore quarterback Noah Grimett used a sneak play up the middle, disappeared into a pile of blockers and would-be tacklers, only to emerge and stretch the ball over the goal line for a score. After a Carson Highfill point-after, Claremore led 7-0. Another pick 90 seconds later, this one by Quentin Skinner, set up the Zebras at the 49. The Zebras would once again capitalize, capping another scoring drive on a 9-yard run by Coleman Parsons. East Central returned the favor on the interception merry-go-round, as Jacob Clayton picked off Grimett at the East Central 14 late in the first, but the Cardinals couldn’t do anything with it. In fact, penalties and mistakes kept East Central on their own side of the field for most of the game. Another mistake, this time a short punt from deep in their own territory cost the Cardinals. Taking over at the 42 with 3:26 left before halftime, the Zebras used a 6-yard run by Dakota Hudson with 1:09 left in the first half to take a 21-0 lead. Even with the three-score lead, the second half was dominated even more by the Zebras. With 9:05 left in the third, Grimett hooked up with Ben Jones on a wide receiver screen, and after a cut back by Jones and a big block at the 5 yard line by Liam Johnson, Jones scooted in for a touchdown and a 28-0 margin. The Zebras were just getting started. At the 3:23 mark of the third quarter, a touchdown pass from Grimett to Luke Williams was called back due to a penalty, but the Zebras eventually took a 35-0 lead when Grimett hit Dylan Kedzior with a short 5-yard pass that Kedzior, a state qualifier in the 400 meters, turned into a 50-yard touchdown. East Central was determined not to go scoreless for the second week in a row, and had its best drive of the night late into the fourth. The Cardinals reached the Claremore 12, but could go no further and were stopped on downs with 6:57 remaining. The Zebras took over and marched the field with Hudson doing most of the heavy lifting. And with 2:18 left, Hudson scored from the 4 and Claremore led 42-0. On the ensuing kick, the East Central returner botched the catch and Claremore recovered, giving the Zebras the ball in Cardinal territory. From there, the Claremore reserves took over, and Jace Hightower took it the rest of the way, scoring from the 3 with 49.3 seconds left. East Central ran the clock out with a few running plays.

ZEBRAS ROUT CARDINALS IN OPENER 49-0

Photo Credit: Rick Heaton

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