Mahan's slow day
It was an odd day for MacArthur running back Nick Mahan on Friday night.
The senior is used to tallying near 30 carries per contest, but that changed against Altus. For the second-straight week, Mahan had less carries than normal, running the ball only 16 times for a season-low 55 yards. Mahan came into the contest averaging 165.1 yards per contest.
Mac coach Brett Manning attributed Mahan's lack of carries came about due to a combination of Altus' sturdy defense and the coaches trying to expose a weakness in said defense elsewhere.
"They were good against the run, and we were trying to do some stuff out on the edge against them and having some success with it," Manning said. "Looking back, I wish we would've given Nick the ball more, and hopefully I'll learn from my mistakes, too."
Manning does, however, want to get Mahan back on a regular carrying schedule, citing 25 as a good number to shoot for moving forward.
"I really don't like when we get into the 30s," Manning said. "But at this point in the season, I think it's just a matter of if that's what we gotta have, that's what we'll do. Early in the season is when I'm more conscious about how much we give our backs the ball."
Artzberger wins Hammer again
Deciding who to give the Hammer each week can be a tough decision, especially with how well the defense played against Altus.
Mac surrendered only 271 total yards against the Bulldogs, all of which came on the ground.
Despite several standout performances, the coaching staff ultimately rewarded Michelle Artzberger the Hammer for the second-straight week.
The senior recorded 14 tackles in the 26-15 loss.
"He played great from his safety spot," Manning said. "He came up and made a lot of big tackles and had a forced fumble, which, unfortunately, we didn't get on.
"We had several candidates. Trey Currin had 19 tackles, and Rylan Webb played well again. I just felt like Michelle was a big one and has really stepped up these past few weeks."
Lacking Winningham
Since losing the starting job after Week 3, JR Winningham has had his fair share of snaps at quarterback for Mac. In the interest of fairness, Manning gives the senior at least two series per game. This has been the trend the past six weeks, but that wasn't the case on Friday night.
Winningham didn't see any time at the position against the Bulldogs, but it wasn't because of anything he did wrong, according to Manning.
"I thought Racer played really well in the first half, and I didn't want to disrupt that," Manning said. "I plan on playing (Winningham) this week. It wasn't a planned thing, it was just kind of a spur of the moment, in-game decision."
Felter completed 7 of his first 10 pass for two touchdowns, but finished 9-of-19 with three interceptions.
Manning said Winningham handled the situation well.
"JR is a great kid who's been put in a pretty tough spot," Manning said. "He's a very mature player and he's handled all of this with a lot of grace, and I really appreciate him for that."
Scheme change causes problems
With his team having struggled defending the run for most of the season, Manning knew he had to make a change to combat Altus' run-heavy attack.
He did just that, and it worked quite well. The Highlanders held the Bulldogs to less than 200 yards in the first half, giving up only 10 points.
"It was a 5-3 defense, basically," Manning said. "We put Chandler Green in the middle and had Rylan Webb and Tre Currin as the 50 backers out over offensive tackles. The main thing is we took a defensive back out, put an extra front guy in and we were able to have our best run stoppers on the field.
"I was really proud of our defensive game plan and the way our kids came out and rose to the occasion. If we continue to play like that, we'll be in every game we play."
Even Altus coach Todd Vargas was caught off guard by Manning's new defensive scheme.
"They came out in a different defense than they've run against us," Vargas said. "They had a really good game plan, and it just took a little bit for our kids to get used to, to be honest. When things clicked, they clicked. We had to be real patient."
Long-drive blues
Losses are never easy to cope with, and being on the road can make the recovery even harder.
The Highlanders played probably their best game of the season on defense, but it wasn't enough to get the job done against a gritty Altus squad.
The look of defeat and disappointment consumed the faces of every player as they exited the locker room on the south side of Hightower Memorial Stadium and made their way to the awaiting buses.
Like most road trips resulting in a loss, the hour-long drive back to Lawton was silent, but Manning said that time frame served as a time for reflection and recovery of confidence.
"They were obviously disappointed," Manning said. "When you put as much time and effort into this as we all do, it's disappointing to come up short. At the same time, they understand we're still alive, we still have a big rivalry game this weekend and we've got a chance in the playoffs.
"By the time we got home, they had all come to the understanding that we need to go back to work and make the most of this. They've been really resilient through a pretty tough season — a season we're not used to. Hopefully we can get some stuff rolling late and make a run."
Around 5A-1
Although one week remains in the regular season, the playoff scenarios are all but decided for Mac and the rest of District 5A-1.
Regardless of this week's results, Ardmore and Altus have secured the top two spots for the district. However, there is a slim chance of chaos for the final two seeds.
Del City and Mac are in, but where they will end up is not a 100 percent certainty.
The Highlanders look destined for a fourth-place finish and a first-round meeting with No. 1 Carl Albert. If Del City is somehow tripped up against 4-5 Southeast (1-5 in 5A-1), though, all Mac would need to only upset Ardmore to finish third.
A Del City win, regardless of Mac's result, would lock Mac in at fourth. A loss from both would produce a similar outcome, given the Eagles defeated the Highlanders 44-31 on Oct. 5.
Although Mac won't be favored against the Tigers on Friday night, there is a good chance it could prevail. Ardmore, with the district title already locked up, could choose to rest its players, essentially handing the game to the Highlanders.
Manning doesn't expect that from the Ardmore coaching staff, though.
"We've been in their position before, and that's not what we did," Manning said. "I expect them to come play a tough game against us. I've never wanted to go into the playoffs with a loss. That's why some of the games that we've played, where we had the the district championship wrapped up and playing a meaningless game, we still wanted to go out there and give it a good shot and try to get a win."
Kickoff confusion
Although MacArthur has played only 7 p.m. kickoffs this season, there are mistakes on two popular websites that might cause some confusion for spectators.
The OSSAA Rankings website and MaxPreps have the Highlanders' contest with Ardmore on Friday night listed for a 7:30 p.m. kick at Cameron Stadium. That is not correct, however.
From Manning himself, the game is to be held at the normal time — no changes have been made.
Season Stats
RUSHING (Car-Yds): Nick Mahan 242-1,376 (21 TD), Racer Felter 113-648 (11 TD), Dashaun Davis 23-105 (TD), Ty Neugebauer 7-38, Jarious McKnight 3-15, Eric Willoughby 1-6, JR Winningham 11-(-16). TOTAL — 400-2,172 (33 TD).
PASSING (Compl-Att-INT-Yds): Felter 79-143-7-1,342 (10 TD), Winningham 38-70-4-450 (TD), Mahan 0-1-0-0. TOTAL — 117-214-11-1,792 (11 TD).
RECEIVING (Rec-Yds): McKnight 41-789 (6 TD), Trey Longacre 29-381 (3 TD), Mahan 15-209, Ja'Sean Carter 7-180 (TD), Trey Currin 16-154 (TD), Brad Hoskins 7-56, Weston Golson 1-12, Neugebauer 1-11.