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Vian Wolverines rout Spiro in district opener
sports
October 2, 2024
Vian Wolverines rout Spiro in district opener
By BUCK RINGGOLD SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

From the second quarter on in Thursday’s game between Vian and Spiro at Spiro’s McClain Stadium, the clock ran continuously.

That was indicative of the kind of the night that the Wolverines enjoyed after putting up 36 points in the opening quarter. Vian scored touchdowns in all three phases — including four TDs on the first four touches from junior standout Masyn Wright — as the Wolverines went on to a dominant 64-6 win at Spiro in the District 2AII-4 opener for both schools.

The Bulldogs (0-4 overall, 0-1 in district play) scored on the game’s final play to spoil Vian’s shutout bid, but that did nothing to deter the mood afterward from the players and Wolverine coach Gary Willis — especially after last week, when Vian (4-0, 1-0) also had a commanding halftime lead in an eventual win at Pocola but gave up a boatload of second-half points.

“It was good to come out and get on them early, and it was good to see young guys rotate in and keep up the intensity,” Willis said. “They scored there late, but we had a bunch of young guys in. I’m pleased with it overall.

“Pocola scored a lot of points on us last week, and we challenged our defense this week and made it an emphasis, and we’re proud of them. We saw better intensity and better tackling.”

The Wolverines had eight possessions and scored TDs on seven of those while generating 398 yards of total offense. On Vian’s lone series that didn’t produce points, the Wolverines fumbled near the goal line, but even then, they got a safety the very next play by tackling a Spiro running back in the end zone.

“We had one fumble down there inside the 5, but other than that, it was pretty clean offensive night,” Wright said.

Vian needed only three plays to get on the scoreboard, but that came courtesy of the Wolverines’ defense. On the game’s opening possession, as Spiro faced a third-and-long, a pass was picked off by Wright at the Bulldogs’ 25-yard line, and the junior linebacker saw a clear path to the end zone.

With Mikayah Mendoza’s extra point, the Wolverines held a 7-0 lead just 61 seconds in.

Then when Vian finally got on offense after forcing Spiro to punt on its next series, the Wolverines needed three more plays to extend their lead, and it materialized the second time Wright touched the ball.

On a third-and-1 from the Spiro 48-yard line, Wright took a handoff and swept around the left side in front of the Wolverines’ sideline. He took off down the field, and getting a big block at the end from receiver Kaden Fulbright, Wright finished off his second TD, and Mendoza’s PAT made it 14-0 just 3:45 elapsed into the contest.

The third time Wright got his hands on the football, he caught a 31-yard TD pass from quarterback Cash Trammel later in the first quarter for a 29-0 Vian lead. Then on Wright’s fourth touch, he took a run on a secondand- 32 and sprinted 76 yards to the house with 19 seconds still showing on the first-quarter clock.

With Mendoza’s extra point, that made the first quarter complete with Vian owning a 36-0 lead, prompting the clock to constantly run the final three quarters.

Wright remarked afterward he didn’t think he ever did that in a previous game, scoring four TDs on his first four touches, at least on the varsity level.

“Yes, I believe so,” Wright said. “(I think the last time I did something like that was) probably in little league a long, long time ago.”

However, of those four TDs, Wright noted his first one was extra special, especially because it was his first career interception.

“(It was) probably the interception because I don’t think I’ve had one in my whole high school career, so having that on the defensive side is really good,” he said.

Earlier in the first quarter, Vian seemed to have another picksix when junior Tyson “Boomer” Murphy picked off a pass near midfield and racked up several yards before being brought down at the Spiro 15.

However, on the next play, junior Draighton Fletcher dashed around the right side for a 15yard TD, and Mendoza’s PAT made it 21-0 with 6:46 left in the first.

Vian appeared to be on its way to another TD on its ensuing possession, but fumbled the ball, with Spiro recovering at its own 1.

However, a multitude of Wolverine defenders — led by senior Tristan Wiley — converged to wrap up a Bulldog ball carrier in the end zone for a 23-0 lead less than eight minutes into the contest.

Adoff Stahl returned the free kick 17 yards to the Spiro 31-yard line, setting up the TD pass from Trammel to Wright, and another forced punt by Vian’s defense set up Wright’s fourth total TD.

Even with the clock running in the second quarter, Vian continued its point production. Early in the quarter, a low, line-drive punt was fielded by Riley Ellis at the Spiro 35-yard line, and the junior followed his blockers, finding a clear path to the end zone.

Mendoza’s extra point made it 43-0 with 9:50 left in the half.

On Vian’s next series following yet another Spiro punt, Fletcher darted 56 yards to the Spiro 6-yard line, with a Spiro personal foul adding three more yards. Then on the next play, Trammel rolled to his right and found Wiley in the edge of the end zone, and with Mendoza’s PAT, the Wolverines had halfa- hundred as time gradually expired to close out a stellar first half of football.

Vian then fielded the second-half kickoff and needed five plays to score, as Murphy ran it in from 20 yards out, and Mendoza’s extra point gave the Wolverines a 57-0 lead.

“I really liked the touchdown,” Murphy said. “I had to cut across the field and scored finally and that was good.”

That capped a strong night for Murphy, along with his first-quarter interception as well as a fourth-down tackle in the second quarter after Spiro advanced inside the Vian 20-yard line, but of those aforementioned plays, Murphy remarked his blocking really stood out in Thursday’s win.

“On a kick return, I had a key block and also a block on the punt return when Riley scored,” he said. “That was pretty cool.”

Vian’s final TD was a five-play, 32-yard drive that was set up by a fumble recovery from senior defensive lineman Caden Brannick. That last TD came on a 16-yard run from Wiley, with Mendoza’s PAT giving Vian a 64-0 lead with more than 10 minutes left.

It was also the last time the Wolverines had their hands on the ball, as Spiro ran off several plays with Vian having its reserves in. On the game’s last play, Bulldog running back Ja’Shawn Jones sprinted 23 yards into the end zone as the home squad avoided being blanked.

“I thought the effort was better (in Thursday’s win),” Willis said. “We had a big lead at halftime last week and came out a little flat, and we challenged them at halftime (Thursday), ‘Hey, we’re going to have some of these games, and you need to be mature enough to go out and handle it and play a full ballgame regardless of who’s in.’” Vian finished the night with 320 yards rushing on just 20 carries. Wright had 142 yards on three carries, and Fletcher added 62 yards on six carries.

Trammel also completed all six of his pass attempts — all in the first half — to five different receivers for 78 yards and two TDs. Wiley had the most catches with two, going for 10 yards with a TD.

“Cash did a good job (Thursday),” Willis said. “We were going to throw a little more, but we scored a lot early, so we weren’t going to throw the ball in that situation, but I was proud of him.”

Vian’s defense held Spiro to 137 total yards (82 rushing, 55 passing), but 80 of those yards occurred in the final quarter.

Now, the Wolverines — after back-to-back dominant wins in LeFlore County — return next Friday night to St. John Stadium to take on Antlers as Vian continues its quest to win the first Class 2A Division II title being handed out by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association.

“We’re doing really good,” Wright said. “We need to keep working and keep pushing and have a good week (of practice) going into every (game).”

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