Roland Football

Roland rallied to tie the score in the fourth quarter on Friday night in Okmulgee but the Bulldogs eventually won the District 3A-3 high school football contest in double overtime on Harmon Field.

Marcus Murray returned a fumble 90 yards for a touchdown with 3:57 to go in the opening period to give the Rangers a 6-0 lead before the conversion run failed.

The Bulldogs’ John Wilson ran for a 63-yard touchdown at the 2:23 mark and Aquantez Love’s conversion run put Okmulgee in front 8-6. Roland quarterback Jackson Kemp left the game with a leg injury while playing defense during the scoring dive.

With 3:34 to go before the half the Bulldogs widened their lead on Dewayne Parks’ 1-yard run, and Love ran for the two-point conversion. Wilson’s 70-yard run keyed the scoring drive. Prior to the score, Roland recovered a fumble at the Okmulgee 31 but after driving to the 5 the Rangers fumbled the ball back to the Bulldogs.

Okmulgee led 16-6 at the half.

In the third period Roland quarterback Jaxon Fouts’ 17-yard touchdown pass to running back Cole Davis capped a five-play, 36-yard scoring drive, and the Rangers trailed 16-14 with 6:29 left following Davis’ conversion run. Davis’ 40-yard punt return gave the Rangers excellent field position and Dakota Bush’s 7-yard run was a key play in the series.

Almost midway through the final frame Love crossed the goal line after a 6-yard run but the Rangers’ defense kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone on the conversion attempt to keep the score at 22-14. Before Okmulgee’s scoring drive Davis’ 84-yard touchdown run was nullified because of a procedure penalty.

Roland’s Colton Howard caught a 34-yard TD pass from Fouts with 4:42 left in the fourth, and Bush’s conversion reception tied the score at 22-all. Two of the key plays in the four-play, 60-yard scoring drive were a pair of 11-yard runs by Davis and Bush.

In the first overtime, the Rangers’ defense kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone, and a Roland fumble on first down sent the game to a second extra period.

Love ran up the middle for a touchdown before rushing for the conversion in the second overtime to make the score 30-22. On third-and-goal Fouts completed an 11-yard touchdown throw to Bush but the conversion pass fell incomplete to end the game.

“It was a tough way to lose,” Roland head coach Waymon Potts said. “We lost our quarterback (Jackson Kemp) the second series on defense; he broke his leg. We lost several players throughout the game but you give Okmulgee credit. They lined up and ran the football and ran the football and ran the football and we couldn’t stop it.

“We battled back in the second half and tied the game up and went to double overtime and got beat. It’s heartbreaking. I thought we played hard enough to win the game. It’s a tough way to lose.”

For the game, Bush rushed for 68 yards on 11 attempts. Fouts completed 4 of 7 passes for 65 yards to Howard (1 catch for 34 yards), Davis (1 for

17) and Bush (2 for 14).

Wilson led all rushers with 189 yards on 10 carries and Love added 87 yards on 18 runs.

Parks completed 1 of 2 passes for 13 yards and Justin James made the reception.

Roland travels to Tulsa on Thursday night to take on Class 3A No. 2 Lincoln Christian and Okmulgee visits Daniel Webster.