MOORE — Southmoore just needed a win. After getting slammed the week before by Edmond Santa Fe, it needed to get back on a winning streak and fast.
In came Putnam City West to help out. The Patriots have struggled the entire year and the SaberCats just added to their misery Friday with a 69-19 pummeling at Moore Stadium.
Southmoore (4-1, 2-1) will get a much tougher test next week when it heads to Lawton to take on undefeated Lawton High. The SaberCats hope the win over the Patriots sent a warning that they are back to form.
“It was real big,” Southmoore’s Reginald Dantzler said. “We worked hard at practice all week trying to redeem ourselves and make a statement for Lawton. I feel like we did. Now it’s back to the practice field to practice harder.”
Jaelon Walker got the night started for Southmoore with a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. It was a good indicator of how the rest of the night was going to go.
Three minutes later the SaberCats scored again on a 42-yard pass from Tre Edwards to Jackson Stallings. The offense had been on the field a total of three plays and led 14-0.
PCW responded with a Keontre Bryant touchdown to cut into the ‘Cat’s lead. But that didn’t last long. Walker struck again for a 47-yard touchdown reception to push the lead to 21-6.
Southmoore tailback Karltrell Henderson didn’t get into the action until 2:30 left in the first period. He responded with a 52-yard touchdown run.
After the Patriots fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Stallings and Edwards connected again for a touchdown.
Leading 27-6 the game was essentially over before the second quarter even started.
Southmoore wound up leading 34-12 at half-time. It would have been more if not for the 100 penalty yards it racked up in the first half.
The SaberCats added five more touchdowns in the second half. Henderson, Pierce Spead, Walker and Stalling all reached the end zone twice. Dantzler scored his first high school touchdown on a 72-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Of Southmoore’s 546 total yards, 407 came on the ground.
While the offense did as it pleased, the SaberCats’ defense forced five fumbles, recovered three and held the Patriots to seven yards passing.
“I think that we know that we can do great things,” Southmoore’s Nick Ward said. “We just have to come out, practice next week, be serious and get ready for Lawton.”
The game of the week will come Thursday, when No. 7 Southmoore visits No. 6 Lawton, a team ranked as highly as No. 1 in some polls.
The game is huge for a few reasons, not the least of which is that Lawton hasn’t played against another top-10 6A school yet. The winner will also have the inside line to a district title in stacked District 6A-4, which also includes Norman High and Edmond Santa Fe.
Westmoore throttles Muskogee: The Jaguars hit fast and hard in their 55-14 beat down of the Roughers on Friday. Playing in their first game away from Moore Stadium they scored on every possession in the first half and put the game away before halftime.
Quarterback Jhames West may have had his best game of the season so far. Even though he completed only five passes, four of them were for touchdowns. That included consecutive TD passes to Lexus Lee to end the first quarter. In all, West accounted for five touchdowns, Lee three and Austin Richards two — all in the first half.
The Jaguars’ defense held the Roughers to 55 yards rushing and forced three turnovers. But the most impressive stat may have been that they were only flagged twice for 25 yards in the entire game.
Westmoore (4-1, 2-0) will host Putnam City on Thursday.
Michael Kinney Follow me @eyeamtruth mkinney@mooreamerican.com
