Fridays District BII-4 opener didn’t go the way Gans and its coach, Gary Hixon, hoped it was going to materialize.
The Grizzlies never led, as Arkoma scored the games first 32 points and went on to a 38-6 win at Grizzly Field.
However, Hixon pointed out several positive aspects displayed by his team, and he remains steadfast that the Grizzlies — despite a bevy of injuries and a string of defeats — continue to show improvement.
“We are young,” Hixon said. “We have three seniors, two of them are playing and ones injured, and we played four or five freshmen (Friday night), but they’re fighting. They’re competing.
“Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they bounced back from playing Cave (Springs on Oct. 3). They played well, and tackled well. Now, we’re down to 11 kids, and we started the season with 17 or 18 kids. When I was at Muldrow last year (where Hixon served as an assistant prior to taking over at Gans), it was the same way, we were bitten by the injury bug. We are bitten by the injury bug here this year, but I’m very proud of our kids and the way they’ve fought and went through this.”
Another positive Hixon pointed out was the Grizzlies (1-5 overall, 0-1 in district play) playing all four quarters in front of the home crowd and not letting Arkoma prematurely end the game with a mercy-rule win.
“That’s what I’m proud of them for that, as far as that goes, is that we lasted all four quarters,” Hixon said. “They could have very easily, when we were down 320, to just give up.
“We’re still trying to instill the discipline that needs to be, that it takes to be, to go to the next step and to win ball games.”
The Mustangs (5-1, 1-0) took the opening kickoff and needed just six plays, covering 60 yards, to score its first touchdown in taking a 6-0 lead. Tater in the first quarter, the Mustangs scored another touchdown after recovering a Gans fumble, going up 12-0.
The Mustangs made it 26-0 in the second quarter on a pair of touchdown runs from quarterback Scout Smith, who ended up rushing for five TDs on the night.
Smith’s fourth rushing TD came on Arkoma’s opening second-half series, extending the Mustangs’ lead to 32-0 with more than five minutes left in the third.
However, that’s when Gans began putting together its only scoring drive, starting at its 35-yard line as running back Taeshawn Achan took a handoff and rambled 11 yards for a first down. The Grizzlies then picked up another first down when Arkoma jumped offsides, as Gans advanced past midfield.
After a holding penalty moved the ball back into Gans territory, on a first-and-20 from the Gans 46, the Grizzlies struck. Quarterback Jasper Green went back to pass and released the ball. It landed in the hands of Austin Hines near the Arkoma 35yard line, and Hines quickly escaped a defender and found open space. He was able to cross the end zone to complete a 54-yard pass play, which turned out to be the Grizzlies’ lone completion on the night.
A running play on the ensuing two-point conversion was stopped short, keeping Arkoma up 32-6 with 1:06 left in the third.
The Mustangs then scored again on their next drive, with Smith crossing the goal line for his fifth TD. Arkoma’s defense then recovered two fourth-quarter fumbles.
While the Grizzlies have the inverse of the Mustangs’ record, Hixon is definitely not waving the white flag any time soon.
“We’ve still got a long ways to go,” Hixon said. “We’ve got four more ball games. The bright side is, we’re getting better, and I’m very proud of our kids for that.”
Two of the Grizzlies’ seniors, Achan and Brenden “Boots” Strickland, each rushed for 29 yards in Friday’s game. Arkoma held Gans to 59 yards rushing.
The Grizzlies forced one turnover, a firstquarter fumble that was recovered by Christian Gaona.
Gans will be back in action on Thursday as the Grizzlies travel to face Copan.
The Hornets (5-1, 1-0) won their district opener last week 56-6 over Wesleyan Christian. Their only loss was a 44-34 setback to the Dewar junior varsity on Sept. 26. They opened the season with three wins — 62-6 over Midway, 44-7 over Foyil and 50-6 over Depew. They also won their final nondistrict game over Olive by a score of 58-7.
“They are a very efficient ball club,” Hixon said about the Hornets. “They’re about 50-50 (ratio) pass-run. They have some players that can play.”
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To Get There — Take Oklahoma State Highway 141 east to U.S. 64. Take U.S. 64 west to Interstate 40. Take 1-40 west to the Muskogee Turnpike. Take the Muskogee Turnpike to Broken Arrow, where it becomes Oklahoma State Highway 51 (the Broken Arrow Expressway). Continue west to U.S. 169 (the Mingo Valley Expressway). Take U.S. 169 north to 1-244. Take 1-244 west to Oklahoma State Highway 11 (the Gilcrease Expressway). Take the Gilcrease Expressway west to U.S. 75. Take U.S. 75 north to Copan.
