Tonkawa scores touchdowns early and often in 37-26 win at Pawnee

Buccaneers cross the goal line in five of their first six possessions

By Ty Loftis 

PAWNEE - Visiting Tonkawa scored a touchdown on five of its first six possessions against Pawnee.

That turned out to be a recipe for success, as the Buccaneers went on to get a 37-26 win in Friday night’s game at Pawnee.

“It was a good win for us,” Tonkawa coach Mike Kirtley said. “We had some ups and downs, faced some adversity. We knew these guys would be tough, they always are.”

Tonkawa led 24-14 at halftime, but it was the Black Bears looking to trim into the deficit, as they received the ball coming out of the locker room; however, Pawnee was forced into a three-and-out.

The Bucs were able to take advantage, driving 68 yards for a score, which was capped off by a 2-yard run from Cameron Johnson.

Taking over at its own 30, Pawnee answered right back, as Barrett Stephenson took it 70 yards for a touchdown. After an unsuccessful two-point conversion, Tonkawa led 31-20 midway through the fourth.

On the ensuing Tonkawa possession, Pawnee’s Luke Mitchell got an interception, which he returned for a touchdown, making it 31-26 entering the fourth quarter.

“We knew they were going to fight,” Kirtley said. “We had to fight back, and our kids did a good job doing that.”

Early in the fourth quarter, it was Ryan Morgan finding Cayden Duvall for a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 37-26.

Pawnee would chew up nearly six minutes of game time on the next series, reaching the Buc 30, but Mitchell threw an interception of his own on fourth down.

Blake Bristow accounted for the first three Tonkawa touchdowns, and said he was proud of the way his team performed.

“We played well in all facets of the game,” Bristow said. “We weren’t as consistent as we needed to be, but those are things we can work on.”

Tonkawa came out firing early, as it was the Buccaneers who received the opening kickoff. On the second play from scrimmage, Morgan found Tyler Looper for a 65-yard pass.

On the next play, it was Bristow from a yard out, making it 6-0.

After forcing Pawnee to turn the ball over on downs near midfield, it was a 47-yard touchdown pass to Bristow, making it 12-0 with 4:49 remaining in the first quarter.

That was when Pawnee would go on a 17-play drive, converting two fourth downs in the process to put its first points on the board. On a fourth-and-goal from the 6, it was Kolbe Novotny who scored with eight minutes left in the half.

Following a pooch kick, Tonkawa had great field possession at its own 45. On the first play of the drive, Bristow scored from 55 yards out to make it 18-6, as another two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Bucs were 0-for-5 on two-point conversions.

“There is always something as a team we are going to have to work on,” Kirtley said.

“After (Friday), we will be going back and revisiting what we can do to improve our two-point conversion percentage.”

Pawnee answered the Tonkawa score, as Jacob Warnock scored from 8 yards out with five minutes remaining until halftime. The two-point conversion made it 18-14.

Tonkawa’s final score before the half came on a 6-yard touchdown run by Cameron Johnson.

Undefeated Tonkawa plays at Oklahoma Union next week and Pawnee hosts Woodland.