Explosive Plays, Defense Ignite Sulphur In Playoff Win Over Anadarko
One of the best offensive teams in Class 3A was basically stopped in their tracks last Friday as the Bulldogs overcame a few mistakes to overwhelmAnadarko, 63-12.
The win moves Sulphur into the quarterfinal round of the 3A playoffs this Friday at home against 4th ranked Holland Hall.
“I was really proud of our kids’ focus and ability to face adversity with resilience,” said head Sulphur Coach, Corey Cole. “ We gave up several big plays and had some bad turnovers but every time we faced these setbacks our kids found a way to put those behind them and move on to the next play and found ways to overcome our mistakes.”
Despite those mistakes, the Dogs overcame it all, and exploded to a 56-0 lead before the Warriors were able to score.
“Defensively, our kids were flying all over the place against one of the best offenses in Class 3A,” said Cole. “Anadarko has some tremendous athletes and they made some big plays but we were able to overcome them. Our starting defense once again had a shutout. They have not given up a score since the Lone Grove game in week six. That side of the ball continues to get better every week playing at a high level. Jayden McClure had a big-time night with 17 tackles from his linebacker position, and fellow linebacker Kash Pickett added 14 tackles. Maddax Mobly and Carter Cole had 7 and 6 tackles from their safety positions.”
The Warriors did manage to fire off a couple of big plays, but were never able to mount a drive that succeeded.
Sulphur overcame many of their mistakes with their best rushing game of the season and a defense that bent, but did not buckle. And, for the second week in a row, they had another big goal-line stand and topped that off by producing four turnovers.
Cole cited several of his defensive players for their effort in the game, including Maddax Mobly, Dylan Gleason and Traber Sarters, who each had an interception, and Bridge Barrett who went 60 yards on a scoop and score fumble recovery.
The Dogs had their best game of the season offensively with 640 yards in total offense.
“Offensively, we had a season best 529 yards rushing, and the only way to be that productive is to dominate upfront and that’s exactly what Kaleb Walker, Acer Dixon, Caysen Meador, Brody Wallace, AJ Gordon, George Martinez, and Colten Cole did all night.”
Cole said his receivers and backs blocked extremely well on the perimeter and down-field to compliment the offensive line, and several running backs had noteworthy stats.
Jojo Gray led the way with 230 yards and 2 TD’s on only 10 carries, Maddax Mobly added 82 yards and 2 TD’s, Jackson Haggard had 77 yards on 8 attempts, Carter Cole added a 43-yard TD run, and Traber Sartors rushed for 36 yards and a TD.
“All in all, a very physical performance by our offense with 529 yards rushing on only 39 attempts,” he said. “We only threw the ball 7 times and Kale Brakefi eld turned that into another 111 yards with Bridge Barrett having 90 of those yards and a TD.”
The Dogs also enjoyed another stellar kickoff and special teams’ effort.
“Our kickoff team was once again huge factor in the game and our special teams were really good all night long,” he said. “We made all nine of our extra points with Colten Cole making 7 and Angel Rios adding 1 and Harley Peters made his second extra point of the year to round out the scoring.”
While Cole said there are some fixable mistakes, his team played at a high level the entire night.
“Our kids were ready to go from the start, played really good football on a big time playoff night,” he said. “We have several things that we need to fix and correct this week in practice but one thing we don’t have to worry about from this Bulldog team is their love for the game and always playing together as brothers and playing the game the right way, physical and fast with tremendous effort.”
Cole also said he appreciates the Sulphur fans for their overwhelming support.
“We are blessed to have such an incredible fanbase that is always behind us, the crowds this year have been absolutely crazy and loud and we need you guys once again as Holland Hall comes to town for the first time ever. Playing on the banks of Rock Creek is a truly special place to play on Friday nights.”
Game Recap
The Warriors received the ball to start the game and were able to get a first down after a 14-yard run, but that was all, and they punted, the Dogs taking over at their own 12.
Tight end Colten Cole began the Sulphur offense on a 20-yard pass from Brakefield that got the team out from under their own goal posts, then Mobly and Gray chipped in with big plays of 10 and 25 yards in rushing. Barrett then caught an eight-yard strike from Brakefield to extend the drive. Mobly capped off the drive on a nifty, 19-yard scoring run. Colten Cole added the PAT kick and the Dogs led 7-0 with 7:44 left in the first period.
Anadarko began at their own 20, but were not able to sustain any momentum, the Dogs playing outstanding defense in the series. The Warriors ended up punting after gaining two first downs.
Sulphur took over at their 25 and began the series with Barrett going 46 yards on a Brakefield pass, then Mobly rushed for 15 more yards.
The Sulphur senior then took a hand-off in the backfield and raced into the end-zone, but the play was nullified by a 10-yard holding penalty, but the Warriors regained possession one play later after recovering a fumble at their own 32.
The Warriors gained two first downs in this series, but a couple of good stops and two incomplete passes, one of a fourth and eight situation, gave Sulphur possession at their own 12.
Sulphur came out in their normal spread offense, but a wide hole opened up in the Anadarko line and the Dog’s Gray raced 86 yards for a TD.
The score came at the end of the first period with Colten Cole kicking the PAT to give his team a 14-0 lead.
The Warriors bounced back on the next series and looked up to the task on offense, going 44 yards in two plays to Sulphur’s 29.
Their hopes were dashed, however when the Dog’s Landon Wood tipped a pass and Dylan Gleason reeled in the fluttering ball at the Warrior 42.
Sulphur took advantage of 20 yards in Warrior penalties on the ensuing series with several good offensive plays from Mobly and Gray that moved the team down to the six-yard-line. Gray then plunged to the five and Mobly got the final yard to give the Dogs a three-score lead. Cole’s kick with 7:55 left in the second period gave Sulphur a 21-0 lead.
Taking advantage of one of the top offenses in the state, Anadarko moved down to the Sulphur 37 on passes of 28 and 10 yards and a nine-yard rush. But their advance was thwarted when Barrett scooped up a fumble and raced 60 yards for a TD. Cole booted the PAT and just that quick the Dogs had increased their lead t o 28-0 with 6:21 still left in the second quarter.
The next series was marred by three 15-yard penalties, one from Sulphur and two by Anadarko, but the Warriors were able to move out to near mid-filed, largely on two long pass plays that covered a total of 47 yards.
The Dog’s Mobly, ended their treat with an interception, and Sulphur set up shop at the 49 of Anadarko.
The Warriors returned the favor, intercepting a Sulphur pass at their own 16, but they couldn’t move after a good defensive stop by Mobly, who chased down the quarterback on a one-yard loss.
Anadarko then punted out to their own 43 with 2:07 left in the half. In a new offensive wrinkle, the Dog’s Carter Cole took a direct snap in the backfield and raced 43 yards for a score, and the Dogs were now in total control after the PAT kick, leading a good Warrior team, 35-0.
The Dogs returned the second half kickoff to their own 36 where the junior tailback Gray took over. He ran for 53 yards on the first play, then nine on the second to the one where Mobly walked into the end-zone.
The rout was now on as Cole added the PAT kick to give Sulphur a 42-0 lead with less than a minute ticking off the clock.
Anadarko took the ensuing kickoff and set up at their own 36. A steady mix of running and passing moved them to Sulphur’s 22, but the Dogs responded again when their backs were to the wall as Sartors intercepted a pass and ran 54 yards past mid-field to the 41.
It took the Dogs only one play to score their seventh TD of the night as Brakefield hit Barrett on a 41-yard scoring strike. The score gave Sulphur a 49-0 lead with one and one-half quarters still remaining in the game. Cole’s PAT kick was good.
On one of the best defensive stands of the night, Sulphur stopped the Warriors at the one-yard line as host of players swarmed the quarterback for a two-yard loss, giving the Dogs possession at their own three.
Younger Sulphur players now led the way for the Dogs as they moved down to the Warrior seven. Big plays in the drive were 15 yards from Grady Hardoin and 58 yards from Jackson Haggard. Mavric Lowrance also got in the action with a 13-yard run with Haggard negotiating the final seven yards for the score. That came at the 9:11 mark in the final period to give Sulphur a 56-0 lead following Harley Peters’ PAT kick.
The Dogs gave up two scores to the Warriors in the coming series, but this deal had already been sealed.
Sulphur added a final TD at the 2:07 mark with Sartors going in from the 23 to give the Dogs a 63-0 lead following Angel Rios’ PAT kick.
