NO. 1 WAGONER HOLDS OFF FORT GIBSON, KEEPS STREAK ALIVE

Wagoner didn’t have the killer instinct. Fort Gibson couldn’t take advantage of its opportunities. Wagoner, led by a stellar defensive effort, overcame a dismal offensive performance in the second half and kept its winning streak alive as the Class 4A No. 1-ranked Bulldogs defeated Fort Gibson, 27-21, Friday night at W. L. Odom Stadium. “We just missed our opportunities,” said Fort Gibson head coach Greg Whiteley. “We have chances to score and we don’t get it done. Our defensive played their butts off.” Wagoner (3-0) struggled defensively at times in the first half. But the Bulldogs shut down Fort Gibson (1-2) on its first two possessions of the second half. Wagoner then struck with the big play on offense when Nikia Jones, who had a season high seven catches for 114 yards, out-jumped a Tiger defender for a catch and then raced 58 yards to give the Bulldogs a 27-14 lead. Wagoner’s defense then came up with a big play of its own on Fort Gibson’s next possession when Eric Farbes intercepted a Chandler Ladd pass at the Wagoner 24. But that’s when things fell apart for the Bulldog offense. Jones lost the handle on a punt attempt and was downed at the Wagoner 6. The Bulldogs then proceeded to fumble away the ball on their next three possessions. “We just didn’t have that killer instinct,” said Wagoner head coach Dale Condict. “We were very fortunate to win. The turnovers are going to get us.” It was the Bulldog defense that helped Wagoner extend its winning streak to 40 straight games. After the Tigers took over at the Wagoner 6, Chris Coulter came up with a fumble recovery for the Bulldogs. Fort Gibson took over at the Wagoner 24 on its next possession. But back to back sacks by Patrick Curley left the Tigers punting from its own 46. Fort Gibson was only able to move seven yards after taking over at the Wagoner 37. Three possessions inside Wagoner territory and the Bulldogs held Fort Gibson to negative 25 yards. “We go with our jumbo package inside the 10 and turn the ball over,” Whiteley said. “If we don’t fumble, I don’t think there’s any way they could’ve kept us from scoring. We haven’t gotten opportunities like that in our first two games. We have to learn how to take advantage of them.” Fort Gibson finally took advantage of a Wagoner miscue late in the game when Ladd scored on a 1-yard sneak to cut the lead to 27-21. “If you give them as many opportunities as we did they are eventually going to score,” Condict said. “We have some injuries that we are working through. A lot of young guys are playing. They’re doing fine, but they’re having to learn as they play.” As dismal as the Wagoner offense was in the second half, it finally drove the ball when it needed to. Wagoner took over with 3:32 left and Fort Gibson with the momentum. But Wagoner moved the ball. A 10-yard run by Jones, and a 14-yarder by Steven Adair left Wagoner with possession at the Fort Gibson 28 where they were able to run out the clock. Wagoner struck on its first possession by driving 68 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 27-yard run by Schylar Adair. Adair finished with 130 yards rushing on 17 carries. It took Fort Gibson just one play to tie it up as Ladd connected with a Elijah Wright for a 66-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-7. Ladd connected on his first four pass attempts and finished with 168 yards passing. Blake Dumond had his best passing performance of the season completing 10 of 16 for 145 yards. A 21-yard completion to Jones set up Steven Adair’s 9-yard touchdown run to give Wagoner a 14-7 lead. Steven Adair scored again on Wagoner’s longest drive on the game. He capped a 78-yard drive with a 3-yard run that gave Wagoner it’s biggest lead of 21-7. Fort Gibson rallied with a drive that saw Jesse Rudd rush for 63 of his 98 yard total. Rudd finished the drive with a 20-yard run that cut the lead to 21-14. Wagoner will host Cascia Hall next week, while Fort Gibson will host Stilwell. WAGONER 27, FORT GIBSON 21 Fort Gibson7707—21 Wagoner14760—27 Scoring summary First quarter Wag - Schylar Adair 27 run (Blake Dumond kick) 9:11 FG - Elijah Wright 66 pass from Chandler Ladd (Carter Lawson kick) 8:47 Wag - Steven Adair 9 run (Dumond kick) 1:50 Second quarter Wag - S. Adair 3 run (Dumond kick) 7:34 FG - Jesse Rudd 20 run (Lawson kick) 3:57 Third quarter Wag - Nikia Jones 58 pass from Dumond (kick fail) 5:19 Fourth quarter FG - Ladd 1 run (Lawson kick) 3:32 Team stats FGWag First Downs1319 Rushes-Yards30-5845-242 Passing Yards168145 Passes C-A-I11-19-110-16-1 Punts-Avg.4-291-17 Fumbles-Lost1-14-4 Penalties-Yards7-646-55 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing: Fort Gibson, Jesse Rudd 25-98 (TD). Wagoner, Schylar Adair 17-130 (TD). Passing: Fort Gibson, Chandler Ladd 11-19-1 168 (TD). Wagoner, Blake Dumond 10-16-1 (TD). Receiving: Fort Gibson, Elijah Wright 4-93 (TD). Wagoner, Nikia Jones 7-114 (TD).

NO. 1 WAGONER HOLDS OFF FORT GIBSON, KEEPS STREAK ALIVE

Photo Credit: John Hasler

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