Lawton High receiver Chateau Reed (6) runs down the field after making a catch against the Stillwater defense. Reed finished with two catches for 36 yards.
Lawton High football coach Ryan Breeze met with The Lawton Constitution’s Kevin Green ahead of the Wolverines’ Thursday night road matchup with Choctaw (4-3, 2-2).
Breeze discussed a variety of topics, several of which concerned events that happened in and around the Stillwater game last week.
Week 7 debrief
It had the same eerie feeling from the Oklahoma State-Central Michigan game in 2016.
Unlike that game, though, the officials were well within the rules in rewarding Class 6A-II No. 1 Stillwater with an untimed down, which resulted in the game-winning touchdown for the Pioneers.
It was an odd coincidence considering both games featured an untimed down that resulted in an offensive touchdown and involved a team from Stillwater and a member of the Gundy family.
In a way, Gunnar Gundy was avenging his father’s controversial loss to the Chippewas, but he didn’t need a rule misinterpretation to do it.
Unfortunately for LHS, it resulted in the program’s first loss to Stillwater. The Wolverines now lead the series 5-1.
“It was a tough way to lose, but I’m proud of the way we played hard and came back,” Breeze said. “We still feel like we shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with, and we left some points out there early.”
The infamous PI
Gundy had only four seconds to cover 25 yards and simultaneously get the ball in the end zone.
He failed both tasks, but an untimely mistakes from LHS linebacker Jeremiah Magee helped Stillwater make up about 60 percent of those yards.
Magee shoved receiver Michael Lauvetz as the ball sailed high over the players’ heads and out of the end zone, prompting the back judge to throw a penalty flag off the pass interference variety.
Although the pass was well overthrown, there is no “uncatchable” rule in high school football to rule out interference.
Breeze said Magee, who dons the prestigious No. 5, was simply trying to be physical and reroute his man, but his desire to essentially “play the game” backfired, resulting in the infraction.
“Jeremiah is our No. 5, so there’s no one more bought in than him,” Breeze said. “I used it as a teaching point, and I wanted to know what he was thinking. That play wasn’t what got us beat, but naturally, people are going to say that. They lose sight of the fact that in the first half we had two drives inside the 20 and get no points. It wasn’t Jeremiah’s fault, and I mean that. We’re never going to put the game on one player or one position group.
“A lot of other coaches have watched it and said it could’ve been a no-call. We don’t have the uncatchable rule, and I try to put myself in their shoes, and I’d be wanting that call as well.”
Going viral
To make matters worse, Gundy’s touchdown toss didn’t go unnoticed around the state.
Jimmy Gillispie of the Stillwater News Press captured the play unfolding with his phone and posted the final product on Twitter, exposing it to thousands of users.
As of Tuesday night, Gillispie’s original tweet has racked up more than 30,400 views and has 124 retweets and 405 likes. To view the game-winning throw and catch from his perspective, go to Gillispie’s Twitter account, @jgillispie_stw.
The official Hudl account (@Hudl) tweeted the press box angle of the play, and as of Tuesday night, it has more than 9,000 views, 54 retweets and 250 likes.
Breeze has watched the play on loop as well, but not on social media — in his mind.
“I don’t like watching it repeatedly; I’ve watched it enough already,” Breeze said. “It takes me back to live every time. We were in position, and the kid made a play. Hopefully we learn from it.”
Kicking decisions
Hindsight is always 20/20 after a loss, and one of the areas of possible regret for the coaching staff was the Wolverines’ final kickoff.
After Miles Davis scored on a 15-yard run to give LHS a 20-16 lead with 57 seconds remaining, rather than trying for a touchback, Breeze had kicker Daniel Kim perform a deep pooch toward the north hash on the ensuing kickoff. As a result, Stillwater began its final drive at its 34-yard line with 52 seconds left.
Despite Stillwater needing only 66 yards for a score, Breeze said he doesn’t regret not kicking it deep because he thought the deep pooch was the smartest choice for the situation.
“If we have someone who can put it in the zone, I’m putting it in the zone,” Breeze said. “Daniel (Kim) gets it anywhere from the 10 to the 15-yard line, and we felt like putting it on the hash and pooching it with our coverage was our best option.”
Window shenanigans
In a high-stakes football game, emotions can get high.
That was the case on Friday night when a Stillwater assistant coach, who will remain unnamed, became frustrated and pounded his fist on a window in the press box just before halftime.
The pressure caused the glass to shatter into several pieces that fell into the crowd below.
When asked what happened, the coach replied, “I got too emotional.”
According to Lawton Public School athletic director Gary Dees, two students were treated for minor injuries, and their parents were made aware of the situation. The coach was then removed from the press box by police and escorted out of the stadium.
According to reports, the coach spent the second half sitting in the Stillwater team bus.
“We’ve contacted their coach, and we contacted their AD, and I’m sure they’ll be taking care of (the window) and it’ll be replaced,” Dees said on Friday.
Breeze didn’t learn about the incident until after returning to the school after the game, but he became infuriated after being updated on the manner by his wife.
“That glass was really, really close to my 5-year-old daughter,” Breeze said. “It was scary close to my daughter. It didn’t get it her, fortunately. They were sitting down, from what I understand. It hit about 14 rows down.
“In his defense, I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose, but the glass falling out is not good.”
Schedule change
As bad as last week’s result was, this week’s could’ve been even worse if not for a friendly email.
Despite it being Fall Break, the Choctaw game was scheduled for Friday night. Or so Breeze and the Wolverines thought.
However, Breeze received an email on Monday from the game’s head official, who said he was looking forward to reffing LHS’s game on Thursday night.
Confused, Breeze contacted the Choctaw coach, who confirmed the game is scheduled for Thursday because of the break.
Had the Wolverines not shown up, the game could’ve been reschedule or possibly forfeited in favor of the Yellowjackets.
Rest assured, though, LHS fans. Your Wolverines will be in full force in Choctaw tonight.