Big plays from seniors help Stillwater beat Choctaw for first gold ball in 55 years

Three takeaways, explosive run game fuel Pioneers to 26-21 win for 6AII title

By Glen Brockenbush | Video by Michael Kinney 

Photos by Christian Potts

EDMOND - You don’t have to be perfect to win a state championship.

You just have to be closer to perfect than the other team. And in Friday’s Class 6AII state championship game, Stillwater was the better team when it mattered.

Stillwater might not have played its best game of the season on Friday, but the Pioneers came up with timely big plays. The defense intercepted three Choctaw passes and running back Noah Roberts ran for 206 yards as the Pioneers beat the Yellowjackets, 26-21, capturing the school’s first state football title since 1967.

"It's everything you dream of," Stillwater coach Tucker Barnard said. "We've preached keep (believing) in the process, and the results will come. And that's what's happened."

Choctaw out-gained Stillwater, 524-368, but 16 penalties for 135 yards proved the Yellowjackets’ undoing, time and time again.

In both 2018 and 2019, the Pioneers had reached the championship game, only to lose to Bixby. The group of seniors had seen previous teams come close, but not complete the quest for a gold ball.

They were determined to not let that happen again.

“It started early in the offseason; we just had one goal, and that was to win state,” Roberts said. “We worked really hard all season long and we had a good group of seniors that led the team, and we came out with the win.

"It’s been a minute since Stillwater’s got one, and we brought it home. It’s exciting.”

After Thursday’s 72-56 scoring festival in the Class 3A state title game, fans saw a more defensive performance on Friday.

Choctaw appeared to be ready to score on its first possession, earning a first-and-goal from the Stillwater 1. But a botched option pitch lost 10 yards.

The Yellowjackets never truly recovered, with a turnover on downs handing the ball to the Pioneers. Stillwater got near midfield, but a sack forced a Stillwater punt.

Choctaw was able to move the ball fairly well in the first quarter, racking up 115 yards on 17 plays. But seven penalties in the quarter, along with incompletions on key third downs, meant the Jackets couldn’t produce any points.

The game remained scoreless until early in the second quarter, when Choctaw’s La’Trell Ray scored from 2 yards out, giving the Jackets a 7-0 lead.

Stillwater got a big break about halfway through the second quarter, when Gage Gundy’s third-down pass was intercepted by Imari Jones, but Jones was called for pass interference, giving the Pioneers a fresh set of downs. Stillwater eventually faced a fourth down in Choctaw territory, went for it and came up just short.

Choctaw had several big plays, but again, penalties foiled its drive, forcing a punt. Stillwater moved down the field with big runs by Roberts, relying on the ground game as Gundy had completed just one pass.

As it turned out, they didn’t need him to throw to get the passing game going.

With less than 30 seconds before halftime, Talon Kendrick got the ball on an end-around, and the receiver/backup quarterback threw a pass that Julius Talley came down with and ran into the end zone for the 35-yard touchdown, giving the game a 7-all halftime score.

“We’re not really one to throw up a bunch of tricks and gadgets; we’re usually more ‘old-school football,' offensively,” Barnard said. “But it’s always good to have something up your sleeve.

"Chad Cawood, our offensive coordinator, does a good job. That was all him. We had another play called, and kind of at the last second, he switches to that and it worked out great.”

Talley came up with another big play early in the third quarter, picking off a Steele Wasel pass and taking it to the Choctaw 10. Two plays later, Gundy found Heston Thompson for a score. The kick was no good, making it 13-7 in favor of the Pioneers.

Choctaw’s next possession ended the way most of the Jackets' drives ended throughout the day - some chuck plays, followed by a stall-out and a failed fourth-down conversion.

Shortly after turning the ball over on downs, Choctaw saw its deficit grow when Gundy took off on a designed quarterback run, hitting a wide-open crease up the middle. He outran the rest of the defense 54 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, making the score 20-7 by the end of the third quarter.

Choctaw had a drive going before the end of the third, gaining 44 yards on a pass from Wasel to Jax Smith, who ventured from one sideline to the other, eventually getting to the Stillwater 25. But on the very next play, Wasel threw up a pass that was picked out of the air by another Stillwater senior, defensive back Ryker Martin.

And even though Stillwater didn’t get any points on the possession, they were still able to milk some clock, putting the pressure squarely on Choctaw.

But the Jackets responded, with Wasel going 4-of-5 on an eight-play, 80-yard drive that took up just two minutes and culminated with a 6-yard swing pass to Jax Smith for a score, making it 20-14 with a little more than four minutes remaining.

With just a few minutes keeping them from glory, the Pioneers appeared to sputter, facing a third down. But once again, Stillwater was bailed out by a self-inflicted wound by the Jackets, when a pass interference penalty against Choctaw gave the Pioneers new life.

Roberts broke off a 48-yard run, putting them in the Choctaw red zone. On third-and-5, Zac Tyson - lined up in the Wildcat - took off around right end from 9 yards out, essentially sealing the Pioneers’ first state championship in 55 years.

Wasel ended the day 19-of-33 passing for 281 yards, while also rushing for 132 yards. Ray finished the game with 122 yards on the ground.

Roberts fueled a Stillwater rushing attack that produced 336 yards at an average of 7.4 yards. Gundy ran for 106 yards himself, gaining 71 after halftime.

Gundy’s ability to make an impact, despite only passing for 14 yards on the day, was paramount for Stillwater. Gundy himself said he felt he played much better in the second half, but that the only thing that mattered was the final result - a state title.

“It means the world,” Gundy said. “This is what we wanted for the community for a long time.”