It wasn’t supposed to end this way for Lawton High.
The Wolverines took every precaution, fought hard and came within seconds of upsetting the No. 1 team in Class 6A-II, but in the end, it didn’t matter.
With no time remaining, Gunnar Gundy — son of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy — delivered a pass to the middle of the end zone to Anthony Bland for a 10-yard walk-off touchdown, giving Stillwater a 23-20 win over the No. 7 Wolverines at Cameron Stadium on Friday night.
It was Bland’s first catch of the game, but it came at the perfect time for the Pioneers, who improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in District 6AII-1. The junior entered the contest averaging 114 yards receiving per game.
Miles Davis, Elijah Reyes and Devin Simpson were all in position to make a play on the ball, but Bland used his 6-3 height to his advantage, snagging it high above the defenders’ heads before falling on his back in the westside end zone.
LHS coach Ryan Breeze said no one was at fault for allowing the game-winning score, it was simply an athletic catch by a receiver who has garnered interest from several Division I schools, including OSU, BYU, Indiana, Minnesota and San Diego State.
“We had him high-low, but (Gundy) threw it in the only place he could catch it,” Breeze said. “He went up and caught it in traffic and came down with it. I was hoping it might fall out when he hit the ground, but the kid made a great play.”
Gundy had a quiet night as well, throwing for only 101 yards, but he completed seven of his final eight passes, including four-straight on the final drive to lead Stillwater 66 yards down the field with only 52 seconds remaining.
Although that play will haunt the Wolverines (4-3, 2-2) for the rest of the season, perhaps the events that led to it will stick out even more in their minds.
With the ball on the LHS 25-yard line, Gundy was forced to scramble, and he failed to make it out of bounds in time to prevent the clock from running out.
Wolverine players and coaches stormed the field as the clock struck triple zeroes, but it was revealed the Pioneers called their final timeout with four seconds remaining.
Then, on what was supposed to be the final play of the game, Gundy overthrew a pass out the back of the end zone, once again signaling a monumental LHS win.
However, Jeremiah Magee was flagged for an untimely pass interference, giving Stillwater one more chance with the ball at the 10.
Gundy made the Wolverines pay on the next play with the 10-yard strike to Bland — his only touchdown pass.
It was a sequence of events Lawton High players and coaches will want to erase from their memories.
On the pass interference play, the ball was so overthrown, in fact, it nearly bounced off the play clock, which is placed about 5 yards behind left corner of the end zone.
“We had no reason to (interfere),” Breeze said. “We hammered him — it was a good call. The ball was completely overthrown, and we mauled the kid in the back of the end zone for no reason. If we let that go, the ballgame is over. We can’t do that, we have to be more intelligent. It was not a ball we needed to challenge because it was well overthrown.”
Despite the loss, Breeze said he was proud of the way his defense played.
LHS held the Pioneers to exactly half of their season points average (46) and a 4-of-11 third-down conversion rate while also forcing two turnovers.
The second turnover came with only five minutes remaining and Stillwater on the LHS 4-yard line.
With Gundy forced to miss the play after losing his helmet, the Pioneers' backup quarterback Caleb Allen fumbled the snap, and the Wolverines recovered it at the 9.
LHS managed capitalize on that giveaway, capping off a 91-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run from Davis.
Davis’ longest run of the game gave LHS a 20-16 lead with 57 seconds left. The senior running back was greatly limited by the Pioneers’ stout defense, finishing with only 75 yards rushing on 25 carries, well below his 204.3 yards per game average.
Davis also caught five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown from quarterback Eric Wiley, who threw for 198 yards and an interception on 14-of-28 passing.
“Defensively, they wanted to crowd the box and take away everything between the tackles,” Breeze said. “The middle linebacker had two or three touchdown-saving tackles, otherwise (Davis) pops a couple 70-yarders.”
Despite not having their star running back Qwontrel Walker, who missed the game thanks to an ejection last week, Stillwater still managed to find success on the ground, which contributed to Gundy’s low passing numbers.
The Pioneers rushed for 286 yards, led by Cal Tracy and Sean Preston, who tallied 153 and 109 yards, respectively. Preston scored twice on runs of 5 and 14 yards.
“They’re very big up front and very physical,” Breeze said. “That’s their bread and butter, so it didn’t matter who they put back there — they were going to get yards. (Walker) being out wasn’t a factor in the game, as far as we are concerned. We actually wanted him to play. We felt the game would’ve been more in our favor had he played.”
The Wolverines now turn their attention to Choctaw (4-3, 2-2) for a road contest next Friday. The Yellowjackets beat Putnam City West on Thursday, 35-7.
LHS currently sits at fourth place in District 6AII-1 with Choctaw close behind at fifth. With the regular season nearing its end, the loser of this game would likely be out of a playoff spot.
“We’re going to stay positive,” Breeze said. “We’re going to use this as a learning experience, but we’re obviously extremely frustrated things didn’t go our way. That’s the No. 1 team in the state, and we should’ve beat them.
“Hopefully something crazy happens and we end up in a tie with two district losses.”