The MacArthur defense has experienced problems giving up big plays this season, and it became an unrelenting cycle on Thursday night.
Del City (3-3, 2-1) converted five touchdowns of 44 yards or more, handing the Highlanders their first district loss by a 44-31 tally at Cameron Stadium. It was Mac’s first 5A-1 defeat since Oct. 16, 2014 — a 27-22 decision to Ardmore.
The Highlanders (3-3, 2-1) gave up 500-plus yards for the third time this season, and coach Brett Manning said the Eagles held the momentum in every aspect of the game.
“They ran the ball, and they threw the ball — they pretty much did what they wanted,” Manning said. “It was frustrating. We’d get to a point where I thought we were about to overcome stuff, and then they’d have a long pass or a long run to put us back two touchdowns behind.
“It was a frustrating night, and I don’t think we necessarily played well. They’ve got athletes — they’re a good team.”
The Eagle most responsible for the game-changing plays was quarterback Quinlan Ganther.
In his first start of the season, Ganther looked like a seasoned pro, throwing for 394 yards and five touchdowns on 16-of-21 passing, while also rushing for a score. His touchdown passes came on tosses of 9, 44, 85, 80 and 51 yards.
Three of the scoring passes went to Jeff Foreman, who finished with 209 yards on seven catches. Isaac Beverly recorded the other two — tallying five receptions for 158 yards.
“(Ganther) did a good job, especially for a new quarterback,” Manning said. “He put the ball on the money. Those receivers (are tall) and can run, and they’re all great players. He put it in a spot where they could make a play, and with our younger and inexperienced secondary, we just struggled.”
Running back Tyrus Messner also gave Mac trouble, rushing for 166 yards on 16 carries — averaging more than 10 yards per touch. His lone touchdown, a 68-yard run, put the game out of reach for good, coming only 11 seconds after a Nick Mahan touchdown run narrowed the Highlanders’ deficit to seven at 38-31 with less than five minutes remaining.
Mahan was perhaps the lone positive of the night for Mac, rushing for 205 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries.
Manning said something needs to be done about the defense’s proneness to give up such big plays, but he hasn’t quite figured out what to fix or how to do it.
“We’re just…I don’t know,” Manning said. “We’re going to have to go back and look at it and see. I don’t know if it it’s just a getting better thing, or if we’re going to have to change something in our defensive scheme to prevent that.
“That was the one thing we said we couldn’t give up coming into tonight, and that’s exactly what we gave up.”
A week after passing for 395 yards and three touchdowns, Racer Felter couldn’t find any open receivers thanks to a stingy Eagles defense, throwing only incompletions on his first 10 passes of the night. He ended completing only 9 of his 30 passes for 197 yards and an interception with no touchdowns.
Felter was also held to a season-low 10 yards rushing on 16 carries.
Jarious McKnight, Felter’s favorite target, was bottled up for only 63 yards receiving on three catches.
Manning said the pressure put on by Del City’s defensive line prevented Felter from making all his necessary reads before having to throw the ball away or scramble.
“All night long, we never really had a lot of time,” Manning said. “I think more than anything, it was probably the pressure, but their secondary was athletic, too.
“I felt like they were more athletic than us at all of the skill positions on both sides of the ball, and when you have a tough front-seven like they have who are good at stopping the run and rushing the passer, that makes for a rough night.”
The Highlanders will try to bounce back next Thursday night in Oklahoma City when it takes on Southeast (3-2, 0-2). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.