Wolverine Offense Sputters, Lawton Falls to McArthur 33-12

There were a lot of heroes Friday night for the MacArthur Highlanders as the defending State 5-A Champs downed the Lawton Wolverines 33-13 at Cameron Stadium. None were bigger than 5-11, 168 pound J.R. Winningham.

MacArthur's game, and possibly season, flashed before it's eyes early in the second quarter, when starting quarterback Anthony Love-Kemper went down, leaving the game with a leg injury early. But just like Keanu Reeves' Shane Falco in The Replacements, Winningham, a sophomore, stepped in and didn't miss a beat.

On his second snap from scrimmage, Winningham took a pitch on a flea-flicker and let the ball sail, hitting wide receiver Jarviear Christon for a 55-yard touchdown, propelling the Highlanders to a 13-0 lead over the Wolverines.

"It felt real amazing. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous going in there. But when I let go of the ball, I was like, 'Wow this is going pretty far.' And he (Christon) just ran right underneath it, it was perfect. Great job by the o-line protecting me and everything was good."

~~ J.R. Winningham

The Highlanders opened the scoring in the first quarter after the initial Wolverine drive faltered and Lawton was forced to punt. Starting quarterback Anthony Love-Kemper hit Christon for a 67-yard touchdown pass and after the two point try failed, Mac led 6-0. Winningham's heroics gave the Highlanders a 13-0 lead, and after a 37-yard field goal from Reed Webb, MacArthur took a 16-0 lead to the half.

Lawton's offense couldn't seem to get on track all night long, with two drives ending deep in MacArthur territory on turnovers, one on downs and a fourth on a blocked field goal attempt. It was a rough night for senior Lawton kicker Caitlyn Cox who had two field goal attempts and an extra point attempt blocked. MacArthur's special teams also tallied a blocked punt on the night.

The Wolverines made some noise to start the second half as junior quarterback Zack Hanna led them on a 65 yard drive, capped off by a 14-yard reverse for a touchdown from Marcheenan Hair. The two point try failed and MacArthur's lead was cut to 16-6.

The Highlanders answered back, taking a 19-6 lead on a 42-year field goal by Webb. The Wolverines would take the next drive 47 yards into the MacArthur red zone, but on fourth and 3 their offense again faltered and turned it over on downs. MacArthur was then forced to punt at their own 35-yard line, and after a bad snap, Lawton's Dia Vonta Michael scooped up the loose ball and rambled 35 yards for the score. The extra point attempt was blocked, but the Wolverines pulled to within a score at 19-12.

It would be all Highlanders from that point, as Winningham would hit Christon with a 10-yard touchdown pass for a 26-12 lead and linebacker Savion Carter stepped in front of a wounded duck pass from Hanna and ran it back 41 for the final score.

"We didn't block them up front in the passing game. They had a real good pass rush and got to our quarterback multiple times, not just the sacks but the hurries. I thought defensively they played very, very well." ~~LHS head coach Randy Breeze

Besides the heroics of Winningham, the Highlanders were led by the running of Teddy Thomas, who ran for 133 yards on 30 carries and the receiving of Christon, who hauled in 8 catches for 188 yards and two big touchdowns. Lawton was inconsistent all night on offense. Hanna was just 2-of-16 passing for just 15 yards on the night. He was replaced late in the fourth quarter by sophomore Jayden Garcia, who was just 1-of-3 for 9 yards. Hanna turned the ball over 3 times, with a pair of interceptions and a lost fumble. The Wolverines rushing attack was led by Tre Curry, who rushed 17 times for 88 yards and DeQuan Weaver who carried 18 times for 71 yards. Lawton managed just 195 total offensive yards on the night.

"We felt like throughout the ball game we could run the football, like the opening drive of the third quarter. It was a good drive, ran down there and scored, it was very important for us, but they answered and that's what hurt us. If you're going to have a ground attack, you better have a dagum good defense and we didn't stop them." ~~LHS head coach Randy Breeze

MacArthur earned its second straight win over Lawton High, beating the Wolverines 33-12.The Highlanders improve to 2-0. They can wrap up their second straight City Championship with a win over Eisenhower in Week 3. With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 1-1 on the young seasson. Lawton will travel to Sapulpa in Week 3. Kick-off will be at 7:00pm and you can catch all the Wolverine action Friday night, starting with the pre-game show at 6:35 on Z94 and z94.com.

quotes courtesy of the Lawton Constitution.