TAHLEQUAH WILL VISIT GLENPOOL IN FIRST ROAD TEST

Tahlequah’s gritty come-from-behind win in the closing minutes against Fort Gibson last week can be used as a springboard for Friday’s road contest at Glenpool. Minus three turnovers, the Tigers were solid on both sides of the ball in the 22-18 win over their rival. The Warriors enter Friday’s matchup following a 30-7 loss to ninth-ranked Skiatook. Glenpool is coming off consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1995-96. Tahlequah defeated the Warriors, 35-7, last year. “It’s our first road test,” Tahlequah head coach Brad Gilbert said. “It’s always great to get out on the road and see how your guys are going to react to an environment that’s not within their comfort zone. It will be a learning process for our younger players. “We need to go out to Glenpool and just focus on ourselves. We’ve got to keep improving. For us to accomplish the things we want to accomplish, we’ve got to improve every week and day by day.” The Tigers, led by senior quarterback Cayden Aldridge, averaged over seven yards per play and scored touchdowns on three of their six offensive possessions in the win over Fort Gibson. Aldridge was at his best on a clutch, game-clinching drive that was capped by his four-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left. Tahlequah went 73 yards in just over three minutes. Aldridge finished with a game-high 143 yards on the ground and had 26 of Tahlequah’s 30 rush attempts. He also completed 7 of 14 passes for 73 yards. “We went into the game knowing we were going to rely on Cayden a lot, the reason being he’s a known commodity,” Gilbert said. “We know what we have in him and so as the game developed we wanted the ball in his hands.” “We did some good things up front,” Gilbert added. “It wasn’t great, but it was good enough to get the job done. Overall offensively I thought we played well. To go 73 yards in the last drive in around three minutes was really impressive.” The Tigers also showed the ability to strike with a big play when senior running back Brian Resch sprinted 51 yards for Tahlequah’s first touchdown in the second quarter. Gilbert’s team was solid across the board defensively. Fort Gibson twice got into the red zone but stalled. The Tigers also held Fort Gibson to a field goal prior to marching the field for the game-deciding points. “Defensively, our kids played really well,” Gilbert said. “We knew it was going to be a very physical game. They sustained some drives on us, but the key was we held them out of the end zone.” Glenpool’s offense will have a similar approach as Fort Gibson. The Warriors will line up in the I formation and try to establish a power run game. The Warriors are led offensively by senior running back Caleb Bigpond. Bigpond rushed for over 1,200 yards as a junior and is considered one of the top backs in 5A. “You’re going to see a lot of the same things from them offensively that Fort Gibson did,” Gilbert said. “They like to run right at you with a big running back (Caleb Bigpond). He’s a thick kid and a physical runner.” Tahlequah’s defense held its own against Fort Gibson’s rushing attack, limiting the Tigers to 169 yards on 42 carries. Senior defensive back Luke Green sparked the Tigers defensively, leading the way with eight tackles. Green added two pass breakups and recovered a fumble. Senior defensive lineman Frankie Aispuro followed Green with seven tackles. Sophomore defensive lineman Blake Corn registered three stops, two of those for losses. “We had good production from a lot of guys on defense that were unknowns going into the year,” Gilbert said. “None of those guys, except for Luke, had ever started a game for us. Dylan Parrish and Dalton Caldwell were both solid at linebacker, and Michael Booth had a really good game at defensive back and had a lot of opportunities in coverage.”

TAHLEQUAH WILL VISIT GLENPOOL IN FIRST ROAD TEST

Photo Credit: Glenpool High School Athletics

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