Aug. 21—STILLWATER — Norman High’s scrimmage inside Pioneer Stadium Friday night could not have began much worse.
Of the Tigers’ first nine offensive snaps, two were interceptions, one each thrown by quarterbacks Tias McClarty and Holden Kee, two plays went for negative yardage and the longest positive play, a run from Edric Lambert, covered 5 yards.
But it could not have ended much better. In the final moments of about a quarter’s worth of simulated game action against Yukon, here were the last seven snaps:
The Millers coughed up the football and the Tigers pounced on it at the Yukon 25; Kee found Zack Stone for 16 yards; Kee found Max Bass for 9 yards and a touchdown; Dax Noles intercepted a pass; Kee threw incomplete; Kee carried for 20 yards; with seconds remaining, Colin Wade kicked a 32-yard field goal that would have been good from 50.
Though the scoreboard wasn’t in use, if there can be a winner and loser two weeks before the games count for real, the Tigers defeated the Millers 10-7.
“You know what,” said senior cornerback Luke Morrow as the Tigers retreated beyond the north end zone to hear some post-scrimmage words from coach Rocky Martin, “we’re looking real promising this year.”
It’s hard to make sense of NHS’ early struggles, as it, Yukon, Stillwater and Ponca City traded offensive and defensive snaps before taking turns with actual episodes of game simulation.
Offensively, the Tigers were not close to sharp. Defensively, as Ponca City and Stillwater traded snaps, they allowed 80 yards in seven plays.
On the next play, defensive tackle Xavier Mason brought down a Ponca City running back for a loss of 6.
It was a turning point.
“We stay calm,” Mason said. “We know we’ve got time on the clock; we play until the clock finishes. In practice, we play through the whistle.”
Even if the Tigers hadn’t scored 10 points in the final moments against the Millers, the scrimmage still would have been marked by a real turnaround.
In NHS’ second run of offensive plays, after the forgettable first nine, McClarty hit Stone and Lambert for a pair of 30-yard touchdowns in the space of three snaps.
In a quarter of simulated action against Ponca City, the Tigers prevailed 7-0, the touchdown coming on a 19-yard pass from Kee to Bass. Three snaps earlier, facing third-and-10 at his own 36, Kee hit Max Wilson for 24 yards.
Though McClarty, a junior, is the returning starter, Kee, a sophomore, also took first-team snaps. Martin maintained the competition remains open.
“I think we’re still evaluating, we’re evaluating every position,” Martin said. “I think quarterback is one of those positions that could go either way.”
There was a comeback aspect to NHS’ simulation against Ponca City, too.
On the third snap, a Wildcat running back blew through the line and past every Tiger near him in a blink. Somehow, Morrow came from nowhere to chase him down 10 yards short of the end zone after a 53-yard gain. Morrow also had the coverage four plays later when a fourth-and-goal pass from the 14 went incomplete.
Two of the Wildcats’ three snaps before that fourth-down interception were tackles for loss from Tiger linebackers Andre McCoy and Brody Boyd
“We come out physical, we stay physical,” Morrow said, “and once we get on a roll, that roll stays with us.”
Martin liked the way his defense played.
“Our front seven is playing physically,” he said. “I think we’re firing off the ball.”
The Tigers have one more scrimmage, when Stillwater visits Thursday, before opening the season against Norman North Sept. 2 at Harve Collins Field.
Clay Horning
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