Dogs Clamp Down On Chieftains In Defensive Gem
In their best defensive effort of the season, Sulphur clamped down hard on the Seminole Chieftains last Thursday, taking a big step toward winning the Class 3A-2 championship.
The game, which had already been moved up a day due to potential flooding hazards and storms, was cut short by two quarters after the Dogs bolted out to a 35-0 halftime lead, then lightning did the rest.
Sulphur coach Corey Cole said the Dogs played outstanding on defense, limiting the Chieftains to minus two yards of total offense.
“Defensively, we played outstanding against a Seminole team that was averaging nearly 40 points per game through the first seven games,” he said. “Shutting Seminole out and keeping them to negative yardage for that first half was very impressive and showed the attention to detail by our defense. ”
The game was called at halftime as lightning and threatening weather moved in.
“Both teams have to agree to this, and with Sulphur already up 35-0 at the half, both teams agreed it was best for all involved to call the game at the half rather than waiting on the storms to pass and have to possibly wait a long time to play one more half, said Cole.”
The margin of victory could have been wider as the Dogs drove to the Chieftains one on their first drive, but were unable to push it in after a mix-up in the backfield, and a quarterback sack.
“I was really proud of our guys last week and last Thursday night vs. Seminole,” said Cole. “We were on the practice field last Tuesday when both schools agreed to move the game to Thursday and our kids didn’t miss a beat, they knew we needed to turn the meter up and get after it a little more on Tuesday and Wednesday compared to normal weeks.”
Cole said his team’s physicality played a big role in the win.
The coach cited the play of Jayden McClure and Kash Pickett as two who led the defensive ef-
THE STATISTICS
Sulphur 35 Seminole 0
Scoring Summary Sulphur (7-0)--Maddax Mobly 3-Yard TD (Colten Cole kick) 1st Q, 1:17 Sulphur (14-0) Mobly 2-Yard TD (Cole kick) 2nd Q, 8:32 Sulphur (21-0)--Mobly 1-Yard TD Run (Cole Kick) 2nd Q, 6:45 Sulphur (28-0)-Bridge Barrett 55-Yard TD Pass (Cole kick) 2nd Q, 1:30 Sulphur (35-0)--Grady Hardoin 9-Yard TD Run (Cole kick) 2nd Q, 0:55 Score By Quarters
Sulphur ............. 7 28 - - --35 Seminole ........... 0 0 - - --0
(Game Called At Halftime Due To Weather)
Game Statistics
Sul. Sem. First Downs ......... 9 3 Rushing Yds. ...... 99 (-9) Passing Yds. ....... 91 7 Total Net Yds. ..... 190 (-2) Passes ................ 5-9 1-8 Interceptions by .. 1 0 Turnovers............ 1 1 3rd Down Con. .... 2-3 1-8 Punts .................. 0 5
Sulphur Individual Statistics
Passing: Kale Brakefield 5-9, 91 Yds., 1 TD. Receiving: Maddax Mobly 3-22; Bridge Barrett, 2-69, 1 TD. Rushing: Grady Hardoin 1-10, 1 TD; JoJo Gray, 7-38; Kale Brakefi eld 1 (-2); Maddax Mobly 9-53, 3 TDs.
Punt Returns: Carter Cole, 3 - 81 Yards.
Sulphur Team Statistics
Rushing Yards 18-99; Passing Yards 9-91; Total 27 plays - 190 yards.
Turnovers: 1 (fumble) Sacks Given Up: 1 Punts: 0 Ex. Pt: Colten Cole, 5-5.
Sulphur Tackles
Maddax Mobly 2, Carter Cole 2 (1 Int. for 29 yards), Jayden Mc-Clure 7 (1 Sack), Cooper Cole 2, Madden Duck 4, Bridge Barrett 2, Dylan Gleason 6 (1 Sack), Kash Pickett 7, Connor Sullivan 2, George Martinez 4, Grady Hardoin 1, Drake Wood 1, Kale Brakefield 1, Colten Cole 2, Rush Pittman 1, Traber Sartors 1, Jason Gleason 2.
Sulphur’s Carter Cole (10) nearly gets into the end-zone on this 54-yard punt return in last Thursday night’s win over Seminole. All total, the sophomore collected 81 yards on three punt returns.
The Bulldog’s Dillon Gleason, left, stretches out to bring down a Seminole ball carrier at the Chieftain’s five-yard-line as Sulphur rolled to a 35-0 win last Thursday. PHOTO BY BLAKE SEALE
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Dogs
fort. Other notable performances, he said, came from defensive ends Dylan Gleason and Grady Hardoin, who along with McClure had quarterback sacks.
Another gem came from Carter Cole, who intercepted a pass and ran 54 yards to the one, setting up a touchdown for a late score in the second quarter.
Cole also praised the physical play of Bridge Barrett at the cornerback spot and Colten Cole who added two tackles for loss from his defensive end position. Offensively, the Bulldogs were the beneficiaries of playing on Seminole’s end of the field almost the whole half.
Cole said Maddax Mobly had a big night with three TD runs and 75 yards in rushing and passing. Quarterback Kale Brakefield teamed up with receiver Bridge Barrett on a 55-yard touchdown pass while Hardoin added a 10-yard TD run to close out the scoring.
Cole said his special teams continued to play outstanding. “Our kickoff team continued their outstanding play as of late, extra point team was perfect again and Carter Cole had three punt returns totaling 81 yards, setting up the Bulldogs with a short field three times.
“Overall, I was really impressed with the intensity in which our kids played with last Thursday- proud of their effort and their continued desire to keep improving day in and day out,” said Cole. “Still lots of things we need to get better at and improve on, but love the way our kids are playing and their approach to everything we do.”
Game Recap
Sulphur kicked deep to Seminole to start the game, the Chieftains eventually beginning at their own 13 after a holding call on the kickoff.
They got the yardage back two plays later on a Bulldog face-mask penalty and began their drive from the 27. On the third play of the drive, the Chieftains completed a 60-yard pass, but it was nullified by a holding penalty as flags were flying fast to start the game.
Sulphur took over at their own 25 after a punt, then began a 13-play drive to the three where they had a first and goal. In a rare miscue on a hand-off, the Dogs were set back 12 yards, then 10 more yards on a quarterback sack. From there, the game went in Sulphur’s favor in a big way as the Dog’s defense began clamping down hard, forcing a punt after only one net yard from the Chieftains.
Sulphur punt returner Carter Cole put the Dogs in scoring position, returning the ensuing kick 20 yards to the Seminole 29. Strong runs of seven, seven, and eight yards from JoJo Gray moved the team to the three where Maddax Mobly plunged into the end-zone to give the Dogs a 7-0 lead. Colten Cole’s PAT kick was good.
On the kickoff, the Seminole returner misjudged the kick, but the Chieftains recovered at their own 7.
Four penalty flags were thrown on the ensuing Seminole series, two on Sulphur and two on the Chieftains. The Dogs eventually got possession at the Seminole 18, after forcing the Chieftains to punt.
Three more penalty flags were thrown on the ensuing Sulphur series, but the Dogs moved down to the two-yard-line where Mobly plunged in for the score with 8:32 left in the second quarter. Cole’s PAT kick was good, and Sulphur enjoyed a 14-0 lead.
In less than two minutes, the Dogs scored again after Carter Cole returned a punt 54 yards to the one. Mobly plunged in for his third TD of the night as the Dogs jumped out to a 21-0 lead. Cole’s PAT was again good.
Seminole was not able to move on the next series, gaining only one first down before being forced to punt. The Dogs gave the ball right back two plays later, however, after fumbling on a mishandled hand-off.
On Seminole’s next offensive try, Hardoin and Cooper Cole teamed up to sack the quarterback, and the Chieftains failed on a fourth down try the next play.
Two plays later, Brakefield hit Barrett on a 55-yard scoring strike to give the Dogs a 28-0 lead after Cole’s PAT kick with 1:30 left in the second period.
Seminole began at their own 18 after the kickoff, but were turned back two plays into the drive when Carter Cole picked off a pass and raced to 10 yard-line with 55 seconds left in the half.
Hardoin then negotiated the final 10 yards on a run up the middle and Sulphur had put this game away with just 55 seconds left in the half followed by Cole’s PAT kick to give the home team a 35-0 lead.
That wound up being the final score after the game was called minutes later due to lightning in the area.
The Dogs are now undefeated on the season at 8-0 and 5-0 in district play.
They will travel to Victory Christian in Tulsa this Friday for their next game in a 7:00 p.m. start
