The Central Tigers committed too many miscues as they lost their District AII-3 showdown with host Talihina by a score of 27-6 Friday night at Talihina’s Doc Robinson Stadium.
The Golden Tigers (6-0 overall, 3-0 in district play) drew first blood as they kept the opening possession for just a little more than five minutes as on fourth-and-6 at the Central 19-yard line, Talihina quarterback Landen Griffith connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass to Noah Lloyd. Kaden Cossey’s extra point put the Golden Tigers ahead 7-0 with 6:51 left in the opening period.
Late in the quarter, it looked like the Tigers (3-3, 2-1) were about to tie the game as Central quarterback Braxin Goodson rambled 47 yards for a TD, only to have the play called back due to a holding penalty. The Tigers ended up punting, thus keeping the score at 7-0 in Talihina’s favor going into the second quarter.
The Golden Tigers doubled their lead as Talihina’s Gavin Brown took it in from a yard out. Cossey’s PAT put Talihina on top 14-0 with 7:52 left before halftime.
The Tigers were able to overcome a fumbled snap on the ensuing possession that gave Talihina the ball at its own 39-yard line with 4:31 remaining in the first half as the Golden Tigers returned the favor when on fourth down, the snap went over the punter’s head. He downed the ball at the Talihina 14 with 3:23 left in the first half.
The Tigers cashed in the gift takeaway as Aiden Smith took it in on a 1-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds remaining before halftime. Zach Comer’s extra point went wide right, keeping Talihina ahead 14-6.
It looked like the Golden Tigers were going to snatch away the momentum from the Tigers as Griffith appeared to take the ensuing kickoff to the house from 80 yards out, but the Golden Tigers were called on a blindside block to nullify the score. The teams went to the locker room at the break with the host team up 14-6.
Late in the second half, Central quarterback Braxin Goodson suffered an injury. Central coach Jeremy Thompson said Goodson should be ready to go This week.
Ryker Miller played QB the rest of the way. Despite not scoring any more points the rest of the way, Central coach Jeremy Thompson was pleased with how Miller handled the offense.
“(Goodson) is our quarterback,” Thompson said. “That’s your quarterback. That’s the guy you work with all week. I want to give Ryker Miller a ton of credit. Ryker stepped up and did a great job in a tough situation. I’m proud of how he handled it. He got put in a tough spot. He stepped up. I’m proud of him.”
The Tigers took the second-half kickoff and were marching downfield — even converting a fourth-down play. However, a fumbled snap and a quarterback sack on consecutive plays stymied the drive.
On Talihina’s ensuing drive, the Golden Tigers also converted a fourth down. However, unlike Central’s previous possession that ended with back-to-back miscues, this Talihina drive went the distance as it was capped on a 10yard touchdown run by Griffith with 1:37 left in the third quarter. However, Cossey’s PAT went wide left, keeping Talihina ahead 20-6 going into the final period.
After stopping Central on its next drive, not only did Talihina convert another fourth down, but they were aided by two offside penalties by Central to help the Golden Tigers move downfield again. On the second fourthdown conversion of the drive, Griffith hit Lloyd for their second touchdown pass play — this one covering 19 yards on fourth down. Cossey’s extra point put Talihina ahead 27-6 with 6:06 left to play.
The Tigers had one last shot to score before the game ended. Thanks to a partially blocked punt by Aidan Sainer, Central took over possession at the Talihina 40-yard line with 2:18 remaining in the game.
Central drove as deep as the Talihina 2-yard line, in which the Tigers had two chances to get it into the end zone, but each time failed — the last time on the game’s final play as Miller was stopped at the line of scrimmage.
“There were too many mistakes on our part,” Thompson said. “Defensively, the penalties we had kept those drives alive for them. Offensively, we had several plays we did the same thing on. We made mistakes. We’ve got to learn from it, and fix those mistakes. Talihina is a good team. I give them credit.
The Tigers will return home to entertain the Mounds Golden Eagles in another district game at 7 p.m. Thursday at Tiger Stadium.
“There’s a lot of football left,” Thompson said. “It was just one district loss. It’s all still on the table. At this point in time, we’re still in control of our own destiny as far as where we land. We’re in control of that.”
The Golden Eagles (2-4, 0-3) have lost all three district games — 22-18 to Gore, 32-30 to Allen and 52-16 to neighboring Liberty last week — and are riding a four-game losing streak, which started with a 41-8 loss to Okemah on Sept. 20. They opened the season 2-0 after back-to-back wins over Okmulgee (32-6) and Kellyville (34-26).
“They’re fast,” Thompson said about the Golden Eagles. “Their receivers are quick. They have very good skill position players. The quarterback throws the ball well. Offensively, they kind of work out of the spread, which is something we should be used to by know — we’ve seen it quite a bit this year.”
