Blanchard hangs on to defeat Wagoner for Oklahoma Class 4A state football championship

Lions force six takeaways in 19-14 win to claim their third title in program history

It was a game that was supposed to start on the last day of November.

Due to a lengthy weather delay prior to kickoff, the game finally ended a few minutes past midnight on the first day of December. And with a new month comes a new Class 4A state champion.

Blanchard forced six turnovers, but needed one more defensive stop on the game's last play to upend defending 4A champion Wagoner, 19-14, in a game that ended Friday morning at Chad Richison Stadium on the University of Central Oklahoma campus.

The start of the game was delayed for more than two hours due to inclement weather.

Oklahoma 4A state championship game preview: Wagoner looks to defend its title

Blanchard has a prior history of beating Wagoner in the playoffs. In 2017, the Lions beat Wagoner, 23-14, in 2017 in the state quarterfinals, ending Wagoner’s 48-game winning streak, which at the time was the longest in state history before Bixby eclipsed that mark two years ago.

Here now is an updated summary of the game.

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FINAL: BLANCHARD 19, WAGONER 14

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POSTGAME

-- Blanchard (13-1) has won its third state championship in program history and the first since 2012.

-- Wagoner out-gained the Lions for the game, 370-290, but the Bulldogs committed six turnovers.

FOURTH QUARTER

-- A desperation pass to the end zone falls incomplete as time runs out. Blanchard hangs on to win the 4A state title game.

-- Wagoner has the ball at the Blanchard 12-yard line as the final play of the game is coming up.

-- Wagoner gets the ball back at its own 25-yard line with 46 seconds left.

-- Blanchard gets its sixth takeaway on the night as Jake Carter intercepts a pass with 1:50 left. Lions take over seeking to run out the clock.

-- Wagoner forces Blanchard to punt and the Bulldogs will take over at its own 42-yard line with 4:34 left.

-- The Bulldogs reach inside the Blanchard 20, but the Lions force a turnover on downs. Blanchard takes over with the lead with 6:49 remaining.

-- Wagoner forces a turnover on downs and gets the ball back near their 40 with 9:34 remaining.

-- Wagoner gets its first offensive TD on the opening play of the fourth quarter, as Kale Charboneau hooks up with Witt Edwards for a 20-yard scoring play. PAT is good; Bulldogs cut the Lions' lead to five with 11:53 left.

THIRD QUARTER

-- Blanchard has out-gained Wagoner through three quarters, 264-212.

-- The quarter comes to an end on a long pass from Wagoner QB Kale Charboneau to Witt Edwards down to the Blanchard 20.

-- Blanchard cashes in on the fumbled punt return, as quarterback Carson Cooksey takes a keeper 10 yards to the house. A try for two fails, but Lions up by double digits with 25 seconds left in the quarter.

-- Now the Lions have five takeaways. After forcing Blanchard to punt, Wagoner fumbled on the return, and the Lions' Hudsen Periman recovered it near the Bulldogs' 30. More than two minutes remain in the quarter.

-- But shortly thereafter, Blanchard gets its fourth takeaway, as Brayson Carter recovers his own fumble that he forced.

-- Wagoner gets its first takeaway on the night, as Vanderbilt commit Witt Edwards goes high in the air to intercept a pass near his own 25. Blanchard hanging on to its lead with five minutes left in the quarter.

-- Wagoner had a TD nullified by a penalty. The Bulldogs went for it on fourth-and-long at the Blanchard 25, but a pass fell incomplete, as the Lions take over.

HALFTIME

-- Wagoner QB Kale Charboneau has completed 5-of-13 passes for 52 yards and is the Bulldogs' top rusher with seven carries for 60 yards.

-- Blanchard QB Carson Cooksey has completed 14-of-26 passes for 165 yards and a TD. Brayson Carter has six receptions for 49 yards and a rushing TD. Coric Pierce has two of the Lions' three interceptions along with a TD reception.

-- Blanchard has run 45 offensive plays and has 222 total yards (57 rushing, 165 passing). Wagoner has run 21 offensive plays for 118 total yards (66 rushing, 52 passing).

SECOND QUARTER

-- The half ends with no more scoring, as Blanchard holds a six-point lead against the defending 4A champions.

-- Wagoner forced the Lions to punt, but Blanchard gets its third INT of the game, this one from Reagan Palmer.

-- Blanchard junior Coric Pierce has his second interception on the night. Lions take over inside the Wagoner 45 with more than four minutes left in the opening half.

-- Wagoner answers right back on the ensuing kickoff, as Shaun Atkins takes it 77 yards to the house. Bulldogs cut Blanchard lead to 13-7 with 6:19 left until halftime.

-- Blanchard extends the lead on an 8-yard TD pass from Carson Cooksey to Coric Pierce, but the PAT was missed. The Lions completed a 13-play, 60-yard drive, and went 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions in that span.

-- Blanchard converts a fourth-and-long down inside the Wagoner 35, keeping its drive going.

-- Wagoner's defense holds. But the Bulldogs punted the ball back to the Lions, who have the ball just past midfield.

FIRST QUARTER

-- The first quarter ends with Blanchard ahead, 7-0. The Lions out-gained the Bulldogs, 133-49. Blanchard starts the second quarter with the ball at the Bulldog 25-yard line.

-- Blanchard's Coric Pierce intercepts a pass moments after the Bulldogs dropped a TD pass in the end zone. A personal foul penalty gives the Lions a first down inside the Wagoner 35.

-- Blanchard had the ball inside the Wagoner 30 and went for it on fourth-and-short, but the Bulldogs come through and force a turnover on downs.

-- Blanchard took the opening kickoff and marched 94 yards in eight plays, capped by a 19-yard TD run from Brayson Carter. 7-0 Lions with 8:23 left in the quarter. Also on that drive, Blanchard QB Carson Cooksey was 4-for-4 passing for 70 yards.

-- After a delay of more than two hours, the 4A state championship game finally got under way, as Blanchard received the opening kickoff.

PREGAME

-- Per the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, kickoff time has now been scheduled for 9:20 p.m.

-- Both teams will leave their locker rooms to return to the field to warm up around 8:50 p.m.

-- Another storm cell went through Edmond. It's likely the game won't kick off until around 9 p.m.

PREGAME

-- Kickoff is still delayed due to inclement weather.

PREGAME

-- Kickoff has been delayed due to weather. 

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Photo by Michael Kinney

-- Buck Ringgold | buck@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveok