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.