Sapulpa travels to Tahlequah this week to attempt to gain momentum going into the second half of the season after last week’s loss to Collinsville. The Chieftains will face the Tigers in their third conference game of the year.
The Chieftains aim to keep their season alive in Tiger town to avenge their first district loss and to see if they can get the ball rolling again to finish out their season with just two total losses. They are in a position to do just that with Pryor being the final challenge in the district after Tahlequah.
Last week the Chieftains played without their star quarterback, Zac Mason, and the Collinsville Cardinals managed to find a way to slow down running back Tyreese Jones, who went scoreless for the first time this season.
Related: Zac Mason is “out for the year,” according to Sapulpa’s Athletic Director
That will not deter the Chieftains’ gameplan of tough running by Jones and Marco Smith on Friday, who showed a lot of grit in the last quarter against Collinsville.
Sapulpa’s defense saw success in holding Collinsville to just one touchdown in the first quarter and may try to put together four quarters of the same defensive strategy against the Tigers.
Another highlight of the Chieftain defense was an interception stopping an early Cardinal drive in the second quarter. Big moments like this were in short supply for the Chieftains on Friday, however, as they fell 43-13 to the Cardinals’ stiff defense.
It was a tough loss for the Chieftains, but like their earlier loss to Sand Springs, a lot of promise was shown on both defense and special teams after an impressive onside kick conversion in the last minutes of the game.
Tahlequah and Sapulpa are both 3 and 2 for the season, and Tahlequah has one win and one loss in conference play, having already lost to Pryor. The Tigers recently traveled to Tulsa Hale, defeating the Rangers handily, 61-6.
Last year Sapulpa beat the Tigers 34-24. Tahlequah went 6 and 5 last year with only two district losses.
