In another epic showdown between Class 3A’s top two teams, the Sulphur Bulldogs came up three points short in a strong bid to unseat the now 3-time state champion Lincoln Christian Bulldogs.
For Sulphur, it was a heart-wrenching defeat for a team poised to take the throne away from their rivals to the north.
For several times in the game last Saturday in Edmond, Sulphur appeared to have LC on the ropes after taking a 13-7 lead going into the last few seconds of the first half. But seconds matter, and the LC Bulldogs took advantage of their precious moments, and a fortunate bounce of the football, to score on a miracle pass play to end the half and retake the lead, 14-13.
Although there was plenty of time for a comeback, the play seemed at the time it could be a game-breaker for Sulphur’s title hopes.
Sulphur regrouped at the half, however, full of determination and grit they have shown all year, and scored midway through the third period to retake the lead again, 21-14.
That was what was needed to recover from the Hail Mary miracle pass and set Sulphur’s Bulldogs on a path to victory. Sulphur did not win 13 consecutive games by giving up at the first sign of adversity.
On the next series of downs after their score, Sulphur stood tall in one of their best goal-line stands of the season, holding back a talented LC team with a 41-game winning streak.
Unfortunately, Sulphur was unable to move out from the shadows of their goal-posts and lost two points on a safety, and from there, LC took the momentum to score a final TD and win the coveted gold ball.
In last year’s title game, Sulphur lost a 28-27 thriller to LC as their upset bid was just inches short on a two-point conversion attempt.
