WESTMOORE RUNS PAST BIXBY 34-22

MOORE — For a half of football, Bixby saw what a turnover-free game had to offer. Three plays later, the turnover bug that bit the Spartans hard last week in a loss to Putnam City resurfaced. It set the tone for the next 24 minutes, allowing Westmoore to use a potent rushing attack and stingy defense to hand Bixby a 34-22 loss at Moore Schools Stadium. Bixby (1-3) coughed up just one turnover after allowing five in the 37-35 loss to Putnam City, but this one loomed large. An interception early in the third quarter led to 14 unanswered points from Westmoore (4-0). “We haven’t been very good in the second half. We gotta be a little bit better,” said Bixby coach Loren Montgomery, noting the Spartans managed just six points after halftime. Bixby is off to its worst start since dropping five consecutive games to open the 2011 season en route to a 3-8 record. The Spartans have been here before, though, having struggled to a 2-3 start in 2016 before winning the next eight games to capture the Class 6AII state championship. Braden Roller, starting in place of injured running back Tucker Pawley, rolled up more than 176 yards and scored a touchdown, but the Spartans couldn’t match Westmoore’s rushing attack, which piled up nearly 300 yards, including 183 in the second half. Quarterback Staton King bounced back from a four-interception game last week with improved accuracy, completing 13 of 24 passes for 187 yards and the interception. But King was under siege most of the night, as Westmoore notched five sacks. “We can’t turn the ball over, we can’t do some things like that,” Montgomery said. “When you’re playing against a good team, you gotta play well. I don’t know that we played well. We played better than we have.” Roller scored Bixby’s lone second-half touchdown on a 20-yard scamper to bring the Spartans within 27-22 midway through the fourth quarter. Bixby allowed a pair of 100-yard rushers, as Braxton George piled up 173 yard, and Garrett King added 131 yards and three second-half TDs to salt the game away. Two of King’s TDs came on four-play drives in the third quarter, including a 2-yard run after Westmoore blocked a punt near midfield, the second time in as many weeks Bixby had a special-teams miscue. Bixby missed out on multiple scoring chances with three drives that stalled inside the Westmoore 10-yard line, leading to three field goals from Reis Vernon. His 35-yard field goal with 2 seconds before halftime gave Bixby a 16-13 lead at intermission. Bixby is back at home next week for the start of district play against Muskogee. “The big thing for us is a new season starts now. We gotta reload and get ready,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got a tough schedule to start with, and we’re beat up and battle-tested, so hopefully we grow from it and it prepares us for district play.”

WESTMOORE RUNS PAST BIXBY 34-22

Photo Credit: Sean Isabella

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