Wolverines Struggle In Second Half; Fall To Bixby

The Bixby Spartans came into Friday night's state 6A-II championship with a well established game plan; give Lawton a heavy dose of Nic Roller. And that exactly what the Spartans did as the 6-foot, 232-pound junior running back was handed the game early and responded with 233 rushing yards on a season-high 43 carries while scoring two touchdowns to carry Bixby to the first state football title in school history as the Bixby Spartans beat the Lawton Wolverines 35-21 at Moore Stadium.

A packed house saw Roller carried the ball on more than half of Bixby’s offensive snaps (81) in the game. His 15-yard run up the middle for a TD on Bixby’s second possession of the second half snapped a 14-14 tie and put the Spartans ahead for good. He added a second touchdown from 4 yards out to cap Bixby’s game-changing 21-point third quarter. His rushing performance marked the fourth time he eclipsed the 200-yard mark this season.

A disastrous 3rd quarter cost Lawton High any chance of beating Bixby in the title game. After battling to a draw in the first half, the Spartans took a 21-14 lead on Roller's 15-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing possession, Adrian Mica intercepted Jack Meservy, who was hit as he threw, and ran it back for a score, extending the Bixby lead to 28-14. Roller would add his second touchdown of the quarter to give the Spartans a 35-14 lead heading in to the 4th quarter.

Meservy scored on a 1-yard td plunge with less than five minutes to play. But it was too little, too late as the Wolverines fell for only the second time this season. Meservy accounted for two touchdowns on the night, a 64-yard td pass to Marcheenan Hair, and a 1-yard td run. Senior running back Darreyl Patterson scored on a 22-yard run in the 2nd quarter. Patterson added an interception in the 3rd.

It was Lawton High's first trip to the title game since 1987. The Wolverines finish the season 11-2. A small bit of consolation for the Wolverines is both losses this season came to eventual state champions, as their only loss was at the hands of their cross-town rival MacArthur Highlanders, 35-33 in week 2. The Highlanders took the division 5-A championship Saturday night, downing Skiatook 39-12.