The OSSAA State Quarterfinals game pitting Newcastle against the Poteau Pirates was much closer than it appeared.
The Racers scored each of the first three quarters, as did Poteau; however, the host team scored again in the fourth quarter and connected on all of their extra points to make the difference.
Newcastle Head Coach Jeff Brickman said that late in the game, “We scored to bring it within three points, but they returned the kick into our territory and scored to make it 28-18.”
The Racers’ first two extra points were blocked, and then they couldn’t convert on a two-point conversion. Brickman said the Racers were misaligned in the secondary on Poteau’s first touchdown. He added that the Racers had two interceptions which helped put them in great scoring positions.
Brickman said Newcastle had quite a few fans who traveled, “and that was great,” but Poteau also had a great crowd.
“The entire team played hard the whole game,” he said. “We are very proud of the players, especially the seniors who raised the bar for future expectations.”
Most valuable player of the game was Taj Smith. On offense, Clayton Riggs took the honors, while Hunter Barry was awarded defensive player of the game. Kaden Longman was pointed out for his special teams performance.
Poteau went on to play Blanchard last Friday, but lost for their first time this year, 26-14. The Blanchard win set up the OSSAA Class 4A State Championship game tonight (7 p.m. Thursday, at the University of Central Oklahoma) against Wagoner, who made it to the finals by beating Ada, 42-7.
The annual football banquet is December 13, and post-season honors will be announced any day.
