Central got off to a good start Friday night against Tulsa Regent Prep, but the allowance of 22 unanswered points dealt the Tigers a 28-18 loss to the Rams in a District AII-3 game last Friday night at Regent Stadium in Tulsa.
After forcing the Rams (3-2 overall, 1-1 in district play) to a three-and-out, the Tigers (3-2, 0-2) scored on their first possession with Ryker Miller running into the end zone from a yard. The extra point was missed, keeping the Tigers ahead 6-0 The Rams answered with a 19-yard TD slant pass from Brody Smith to Bryceton Huerta. The extra point failed, and it was tied 6-all.
Central scored the next two touchdowns, with both conversions coming up short, and was up by 12 points early in the second quarter. It took the lead back on a 45-yard TD pass from Kiefer Bailey to Gavin Randolph. The Tigers led 12-6 at the close of the first quarter.
A 35-yard run by Miller set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Aiden Smith with 9:12 left in the second quarter. The Tigers went for two points on a pass play and came up short. The score was then 18-6 in Central’s favor.
Regent then cut into the lead as Smith tossed a short pass to Silas Smallwood, who ran to the end zone for the touchdown with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. The Rams went for two as Cade Johnson ran it in, making it an 18-14 game. That was when the host took over the momentum.
“We got up (ahead), and Regent continued to play,” Central coach Jeremy Thompson said. “They do things very well. (Regent Prep) Coach (Adam) Bishop does an amazing job with that bunch. Their offense is just spectacular in what they do. They continued to play to where, when we got the football back, offensively, we kind of lost our intensity and focus. You know, we were running the ball well, and the next thing you know, we’re not. They stepped up their game, and we didn’t. They played a great football game. My hats off to them.
“Of course, I always want the outcome to be different. We’ve got a lot to work on this week. On Monday, we’ve got to get back to basics.”
Central tried to answer fast as Miller ran 50 yards for a TD, but a holding call wiped out the score. As Bailey tried to pass on the next play, he was picked off.
Regent took the lead as Johnson scored on a 37-yard touchdown run with 1:39 to go before halftime.
The Rams kicked the extra point, and it was 21-1 in the host’s favor.
Cai Brookover scored from five yards with 6:07 left in the third quarter, and the Tigers were now down 28-18. It was the only score of the second half.
Late in the game, Smith caught a lateral pass and went 51 yards for a score, but a hold on the play negated 31 of those yards and the TD. The Tigers instead got a first down at Tulsa Regent Prep 31-yard line. Bailey was sacked on the next play.
The Tigers threw four interceptions in the game. Penalties also hurt as they were whistled five times for 32 yards, which included two TDs being called back.
Miller led Central rushers with 134 yards on 18 carries. Randolph led receivers with seven catches for 94 yards. Bailey completed 12 passes out of 32 attempts for 141 yards.
Central has now dropped two games after a 3-0 start. Thompson said the key for his team to rebound starts with leadership.
“It starts with me and the coaches,” he said. “I told (the players), ‘I don’t care who it is, when it comes Monday, we’ve got to get that spark back that we had when we started 3-0.’ We’ve lost some of that, and that’s got to come back. Without that, you’re not getting better. You’re going through the motions.”
The Tigers will return home to entertain Class A, Division II’s top-ranked team in the state, the Talihina Golden Tigers at 7 p.m. this Friday at Tiger Stadium. The Golden Tigers defeated the Gore Pirates 61-7 last Friday at Talihina’s Doc Robinson Stadium.
