ROUGHERS REPEAT TITLE HOPES GONE AFTER LOSS TO BT WASHINGTON

Muskogee’s hopes of a repeat District 6AII-2 championship have now dissolved into a battle just to make the postseason. Thomas Grayson rushed for 192 yards on 17 carries and four touchdowns, and the top-ranked Tulsa Washington Hornets used a three-touchdown surge in just under four minutes late in the first half to roll by Muskogee 42-21 on Hall of Fame Night on Creek Nation Field at Indian Bowl. It was scoreless until, with 5:58 until halftime, Hornets quarterback Phillip Wheatley found Dewayne Cooks on a 39-yard TD pass. Thomas Grayson’s 4-yard run made it 14-0 with 4:06 left after a Muskogee three-and-out. Then, three plays into the next Roughers’ drive, Medrano’s pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and picked off by linebacker Logan Jones, who took off to his right before tossing a lateral to Jalen Moses, who went 35 yards with 2:06 to play. Devin Hillmon’s 23-yard TD pass from Jacob Medrano with 1:38 left in the half got Muskogee on the board, but it came with a price. Sophomore running back Jimmie Coleman broke his collar bone on a 52-yard run to set up the score and is out for the season. That run gave him 61 yards on 10 carries. Kyri Beasley replaced him and had 50 yards on 15 rushes. Following Hillmon’s TD reception, Muskogee (2-4, 1-2) tried an onside kick. It was unsuccessful. After being flagged for pass interference. Grayson broke loose on a 58-yard run to make it 28-6 at the half. The Hornets (6-1, 3-0) also got the ball to start the second half and Grayson blew up the middle again, this time for 83 yards and a 35-6 lead. His 3-harder with 3:53 to go would make it 42-6 before Medrano was finally able to hook up with Diante Crutchfield for a pair of touchdowns covering 8 and 29 yards. “I like that we had some heart,” Muskogee coach Rafe Watkins said. “I want us to be more prepared. It was obvious we didn’t study our play sheets. We still have a lot of busts from our receviers even though they were playing very good secondary.” Quentevin Cherry, who had his first 100-yard receiving night last week against Bixby, had just two catches for 20 yards. Crutchfield, who had Daxton Hill switched from safety to corner to man up with him rather than utilizing Dylan McQuarters as Muskogee had anticipated, was limited to four catches for 53 yards. He had just one catch for 9 yards while being blanketed by the younger brother of Oklahoma State running back Justice Hill. Hillmon led Muskogee in receiving with six catches for 94 yards. “We didn’t come out and stay focused. It’s been our problem every week. We don’t start fast. We’ve got to get back to practice, work harder, get better,” said Hillmon. Told about Hillmon’s comments, Watkins nodded affirmingly. “That’s the bottom line,” Watkins said. “I don’t normally like to single guys out like this but I wish this whole team had Devin’s heart. He played his heart out. Whether things are good-going or bad-going, he’s playing as hard as he can every game.” Watkins’ Mental Toughness, Extra Effort mantra is missing something. “We’re not very tough right now,” he said. Medrano was 18-of-33 for 209 yards. He was intercepted twice, the last after Mathis Givens’ recovery of a pooch kick following Crutchfield’s second TD catch. Moses, who took the lateral on the first one, came up with the second one himself. Watkins indicated a complete refocus on personnel is in store, hinting that several starting defensive lineman including Mike Edwards and Michael Buckhanan would begin seeing time on the offensive line quicker than anticipated. Part of that is the sense of urgency now upon his squad, but it’s also due to two injuries up front. Chase Gray (shoulder) and Clifford Pouncil (possible concussion) were lost. The shorthanded Muskogee linebacking corps will be healthier next week. Karrington Ashley will return in the middle after sitting several weeks with a concussion. Marcus Newton will also return from injury. “We’ll be better off. We’ll have some better athletes in spots, but as coaches we’ve got to learn to manage our time in the game, we’re going to have to run the ball better, we’re going to have to keep our defense off the field because it takes more to play defense than it does offense,” Watkins said. They will have to go without Coleman, who had surfaced as the best running back in just his first season. “Not only is he our best back but it hurts him not getting four or five more games under his belt,” Watkins said. Next week, the Roughers go to Sand Springs, 4-2 and 2-0 after beating Ponca City on Friday. A loss in that game and they’ll be battling for the final playoff spot over the final two contests.

ROUGHERS REPEAT TITLE HOPES GONE AFTER LOSS TO BT WASHINGTON

Photo Credit: Shane Keeter

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