Bulldogs Capture 3rd Consecutive State Title In 24-21 Win Over Sulphur
Sulphur took Lincoln Christian to the limit last Saturday in the state title game, but could not overcome a miracle pass play to end the first half, and lost to the Bulldogs in a second consecutive heart-breaker, 24-21.
Sulphur had lots of momentum going for them when they took a 13-7 lead just before half, but Lincoln Christian’s outstanding quarterback, Carter Ricke, with just three seconds remaining in the half, fired off a hope and a prayer that somehow found its mark to complete a 46-yard score.
Sulphur, with the determination they’ve shown all season, rebounded in the second half to retake the lead, but could not maintain their momentum down the stretch and lost in another epic thriller between the two squads.
Bulldog coach, Corey Cole, said he was extremely proud of his team and what they accomplished this season, ending at 13-1 and a second consecutive runner-up title.
“The effort and we played with on Saturday was absolutely incredible, outside of a couple plays in the game, I thought we controlled the game exactly how we wanted to,” he said. “The challenge to the team was simple: play great defense against a juggernaut of an offense and control the clock offensively and I thought we did an outstanding job of that.”
Sulphur performed nearly flawlessly on defense against one of the top offenses in the state.
Said Cole, “Defensively, we played physical and fast all day limiting the Lincoln offense to only 122 yards rushing on the day, we swarmed the ball and attacked the line of scrimmage and did a great job against one of the state’s best rushing attacks.”
Cole said Ricke played his best ball on the biggest stage completing several 3rd and long situations throughout the day and made the plays when they needed them.
“The biggest blow to Sulphur was on the first half’s final play when Lincoln Christian completed a Hail Mary pass for a touchdown and a14-13 lead going into the break,” said Cole. “That play definitely stung because we had controlled the whole first half outside one play and we were going into half up 13-7 and getting the ball to start the second half.
“I’m incredibly proud of our kids in that moment because we didn’t get our heads down and came back after half and put together an 80-yard scoring drive to start the second half and regain the lead 21-14.That sequence of events tells you all you need to know about the toughness, belief, and trust of this group... they never batted an eye and kept competing to the bitter end.”
It was a tough loss for Sulphur, especially since they lost a one-point thriller last year to the same team and had pointed to this game to regain the throne.
“This was definitely one of the most physical games that these young men played in during their high school career,” Cole said. “I thought our whole defense was outstanding, Maddax Mobly led the Bulldogs with 12 tackles followed by Jayden McClure with 9 stops and Carter Cole with 8. The defensive line answered the challenge against a great offensive line and controlled the line of scrimmage and our linebackers did a great job on their run fits.
“Offensively, I thought we played great through the first three quarters with 277 yards and scoring 21 points against a team that was allowing less than 100 yards a game and only giving up 16 points all season to class 3A opponents.”
Cole said the Bulldogs were unable to establish a consistent offense in the fourth quarter and got behind on the scoreboard. “They got us out of what we wanted to do and forced us into some situations we didn’t want to be in,” he said.
Cole praised several of his skill players for their output.
“Kale Brakefield had a really productive day running for two scores and throwing for another, Bridge Barrett had two catches for 95 yards, Maddax Mobly added 56 yards rushing and 46 yards receiving and a TD, and Jojo Gray rushed for 73 yards.
“I was really proud of our offensive line and H-backs for the way they played against one of the state’s best defenses.
“I thought we were the better team most of the game but they had the biggest play of the game on the pass right before half and that proved to be the difference. Our kids did everything we asked and fought with everything they had last Saturday. They had belief that they were going to knock off the 2-time defending champ and we took them to the limits.
“This team will definitely go down as one of the best who has ever been at Sulphur. This group of seniors had an outstanding career and their leadership has been unbelievable with two state runner ups, two academic state championships, two district championships, two regional championships, two area championships, and played in two state finals where they lost to Lincoln Christian twice by a total of 4 points. Yes, this loss stings but when we look back at what this group of young men has done for this school and this community, we can’t be anything but proud and grateful for what they accomplished and what they have become.
“Yes - we fell just short of winning a state championship for our community and that is tough. But when we realize that the process is the real prize every year you can’t call this group of Bulldogs anything but winners. They have been after this game since last year’s loss to Lincoln Christian in the 2024 State Championship and they have accepted every challenge laid in front of them.” He closed by talking about the intangibles of this group of kids.
Thriller
“There is an unbelievable work ethic and brotherhood with this group,” he said. “This group did it the right way everyday and we are forever grateful for their efforts and dedication to Sulphur football, they have put their stamp on Bulldog football and raised the bar. I love this group of players and coaches and I am lucky that I get to be called coach by these guys.
Cole said the games between the two schools, last year and last Saturday, were one of the most anticipated match-ups in Oklahoma high school football.
“Lincoln has brought out the best in us and we have brought out the best in them,” he said. “Two heavyweight programs that play the game the right way and two programs that have the utmost respect for one another. Last Saturday was a classic contest between two incredible teams that left everything on the field trying to win a championship. Coach Ricke and his staff and his players do a tremendous job and they have an incredible program and we respect what they have done.”
Game Recap
Sulphur won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first, kicking to the Lincoln Christian 19.
Lincoln Christian opened the game on passes of 5, 10 yards, and 9 yards in their first five plays, then picked up five more on a Sulphur illegal procedure penalty to near mid-field. Their talented runner, Braden Baker, then zipped into open field on a first and 10 play and raced 52 yards for the score, to give his team a quick, 7-0 lead after the PAT kick.
Sulphur responded with an impressive drive against the one of the best defenses in the state in any class, moving methodically down-field after the kickoff. The big play was a 30-yard burst up the middle by junior running back, JoJo Gray.
Maddax Mobly, Carter Cole, and Kale Brakefield then took over to get short yardage, but enough to gain two first downs, moving the Dogs into scoring position to the LC 12.
The Dogs, however, were unable to convert on a 4th and one situation from the 10, giving LC possession deep on their end of the field.
Sulphur declined a holding penalty on first down, opting to take the down instead. Bulldog linebacker, KaleBrakefield,who also leads the Dogs at quarterback, met his counterpart, Carter Ricke, on a jarring tackle for no gain, forcing the foes to punt. It was only their ninth punt all season.
Sulphur got good field position on the punt, taking over at the LC 44-yard-line.
Gray picked up a tough one yard on the first play of the drive, then Mobly raced 35 yards down the sideline to the LC 10, putting the Dogs in scoring position with a first down.
Mobly pickup up another tough five yards on first down, then was stopped for no gain on second down. He picked up four on third down, then made a nice block on fourth down to spring Brakefield into the end-zone for the one-yard TD.
Colten Cole’s PAT kick tied the score at 7-7 with 11:56 left in the second quarter.
LC took over at their own 32 following the kickoff.
They opened the series with a 4-yard pass, then a10-yard run. On first and 10 from their own 47, the Dog’s Jayden McClure and Bridge Barrett, combined on a strong hit to bring down the LC runner for no gain.
Completing passes of 11 and 10 yards, LC made it the Sulphur 26, but the Dogs got a break on the next play when LC’s running back fell down in the backfield. A 10-yard LC holding penalty and a pass incompletion on the following plays left them with a 4th down at Sulphur’s 35.
LC then attempted a 52-yard field goal which went wide to the left. The play was almost as good as a punt, however, putting Sulphur back at their own 20 with the spot.
The Dogs began with Gray getting a tough two yards on first down, then Sulphur was flagged for a false start penalty, putting them back at the 17.
With second and long, Brakefi eld dropped back into the pocket with good protection and fired off a 42-yard strike to Barrett in one of the more thrilling plays in the game.
Gray then added 11 yards on a strong run the next play, but Sulphur again was flagged for a holding penalty two plays later that put them back at their own 42.
Mobly then picked up nine on a pass, then bolted 32 yards on a run for the TD to give the Dogs a one score lead. Although the PAT kick was blocked, Sulphur enjoyed a lead over a team that has never trailed once the entire season.
The score came at the 4:24 mark in the second period.
Stunned, the LC Bulldogs managed only one first down after taking over at their own 21 following the kickoff. They were forced to punt three plays later after being flagged for their fourth holding call of the game.
Sulphur downed the punt at their own 25 with 1:22 left in the first half, but could not move the ball either and punted out to their own 47.
A controversial no-call from the referee after a Lincoln Christian player banged into Sulphur punter, Colten Cole, gave LC a few seconds to try to score before the end of the first half.
LC fired off a short, 3-yard pass, then downed the ball to stop the clock. Then, with three seconds left, Ricke dropped back deep in the pocket, scrambled around, and fired off a Hail Mary pass to the end-zone. The Dog’s Mobly batted the ball away, but the ball went back over his head into the waiting arms of LC’s Kylan Schultheis for a TD.
The PAT kick was good, and LC went into the locker room with a one-point lead, 14-13.
The Dogs recovered, though, taking the opening kick 80 yards in 12 plays to regain the lead, 21-14.
A couple of strong runs from Gray netted 11 yards on the first two plays of the drive and Sulphur was now in good position at their own 30.
In another thrilling play, Brakefi eld found Barrett on a 52-yard pass, then all four Dog runners combined for some tough yards to move Sulphur to the 1-yardline. Brakefield then scored his second TD of afternoon with 7:13 left in the third quarter, plunging over for the TD. Carter Cole, coming out of the backfield, was an easy target on the extra-point pass from Brakefield that gave the Dogs a two-point conversion and a 21-14 lead.
Even though Lincoln Christian returned the kickoff to Sulphur’s 33, then completed a 26-yard pass to the Dog’s 5, Sulphur dug in and kept the foes out of the end-zone in one of the best goal-line stands of the season.
The Dog’s Jayden McClure sniffed out a play from his linebacker position and made a hard tackle, then a host of Dogs swarmed the runner on fourth down to keep them out of the end-zone.
On first down from the one, Brakefield again spied Barrett, but the long pass was ruled incomplete, and now the Dogs faced a 2nd and 10 from their own one. Mobly took the hand-off, but he was swarmed and tackled in the end-zone for a safety.
With their lead trimmed to five, 21-16, LC took over at Sulphur’s 45 and took advantage of the good field position as Hudson Farris sped 28 yards on a scoring pass from Ricke, giving them the lead, 24-21, with the third quarter coming to a close.
The Dog’s Madden Duck, McClure and Carter Cole left their mark, however, with jarring tackles on a receiver and the quarterback during the drive.
From there on, though, Sulphur was unable to mount any more drives, being forced to punt twice, and losing their last possession to an interception.
And that ended another epic thriller between the two teams, LC taking the 24-21 win to capture their third consecutive gold ball.
PHOTO BY BLAKE SEALE
