ARKOMA — The Gans Grizzlies lost their District BII-4 opener, falling 38-12 to the host Arkoma Mustangs on Friday night at Mustang Field.
Trailing 8-0 after a quarter, the Grizzlies (2-4 overall, 0-1 in district play) got to within two points after Jasper Green connected with Austin Hines on an 18yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter to cut the Arkoma lead to 8-6. The Mustangs (3-3, 1-0) took a 14-6 lead at halftime.
It was the third quarter where the Mustangs took control of the game as they outscored the Grizzlies 24-0 to take a commanding 38-6 lead.
“That third quarter just killed us,” Gans coach Gary Hixon said. “We had a couple of injuries that were crucial.”
The final score for the Grizzlies came in the fourth quarter on Preston Moore’s 5-yard TD run. Moore rushed for exactly 100 yards.
“It was the big plays that killed us,” Hixon said. “Their first touchdown was an interception return for 36 yards for a touchdown. It was off a deflected pass. They did a fake punt for 50 yards on us and scored that way. We didn’t cover a kid, and that’s how they got their second touchdown. They had a 65-yard pass and a 35yard pass. Big plays just killed us. That was what really hurt us.”
The Grizzlies will return to action with a home game against the Copan Hornets at 7 p.m. Thursday at Grizzly Field.
The Hornets (5-1, 1-0) have won three straight games, including a forfeited 15-0 home win Friday night over Wesleyan Christian, which has dropped its football program this season.
“They’re a well-balanced team,” Hixon said about the Hornets. “They run the ball very well. They throw the ball very well off the playaction. They’re not going to try to air it out all the time, but they have enough of a running game that they will use play-action to hurt people. That’s what they’ve done in the film I’ve seen them in.”
The Grizzlies
“We can’t have any turnovers,” Hixon said. “We’re not good enough of a team to overcome turnovers. We have to be more physical than they are. We’re going to have to control the line of scrimmage. If we can use our running game as part of our defense, that will help us a whole bunch. We have to have the mentality for it. It’s something we’re trying to develop. We need to take that extra step. We can’t have any penalties. We had almost 70 yards in penalties (against Arkoma), and that hurts us.”
Hixon believes the Grizzlies will need to go either 4-0 or 3-1 the rest of the way to have a shot at a Class B playoff game for the first time since Nov. 11, 2022, when they lost 78-20 to Dewar.
“We’re going to do something like that if we want to sniff the playoffs,” he said. “With our district, it’s going to be really tough. I’m not saying it’s not possible, but it’s going to be an uphill battle.”
The Arkoma loss was even more costly when two key players — freshman running back/linebacker Elijah Blackmon and Green.
“Eli suffered a shoulder injury,” Hixon said. “I expect him not to play, but we don’t know that for a fact yet. Jasper went out. I thought he might have a separated shoulder, but he was back in school (on Monday). With Eli’s injury and when Jasper went down, we had to rely on our third string, which is really not a third string — Preston Moore.”
