OKLAHOMA CITY — Demarcus Andrews was always taught to swarm the ball.
When Putnam City quarterback Tyrece Romesberg dropped back for pass and rolled to his right, Andrews shadowed his movements from his free safety position. As Romesberg struggled to avoid pressure from several Lawton High defenders, Andrews sprinted toward the action to assist his comrades.
Then the ball popped out.
Andrews scooped up the loose ball in stride and returned it 9 yards for a touchdown, serving as the trigger for the Wolverines’ 56-7 pounding of the winless Pirates at PCO Stadium in Oklahoma City on Thursday night.
Andrews also caught a 27-yard touchdown in the second quarter, finishing with two receptions for 53 yards.
“Every week, coaches say to play with intensity and don’t stop until you hear the whistle,” Andrews said. “I never heard the whistle, so I just kept on going. It’s my first defensive touchdown this year, and everybody gets hyped if it’s a defensive touchdown. It’s one of the best things you can do, especially for a defensive player.”
It was the third scoop-and-score touchdown since the Choctaw game on Oct. 17 for LHS, which finished the season as the fourth seed out of District 6A-II-1. The Wolverines (6-4, 4-3) will travel to No. 2 Bixby next week for the first round of the playoffs.
Defensive end Nick Daniels was responsible for the takeaway, his second forced fumble resulting in a touchdown of the season. The first came against Choctaw when he stripped the quarterback, and Elijah Reyes returned the ball 25 yards for a score.
With the help of Daniels and two more fumble recoveries, the Wolverines held Putnam City to only 156 yards total. The Pirates’ only score came on a 42-yard throw from Romesberg to Trevor Hallum with 8:09 remaining in the second quarter.
LHS coach Ryan Breeze said having a game-changing rusher is a big attribute, and he makes everyone on the defense better.
“We’ve been missing that,” Breeze said. “Nick started the year at linebacker, and he has leverage, and we needed to find a way to get him on the field. He’s got the athleticism to beat the tackle, and he’s doing really good and getting better weekly.
“Defensively, we played immensely better. We tackled better. They’re not as big up front as what we’ve seen, but we still had to tackle better, and I was pleased with that.”
The Wolverines took advantage of the defense’s aggression, racking up 408 yards.
Miles Davis rushed for 112 yards on 13 carries, scoring on runs of 45 and 2 yards in limited action. Jaketrian Nolan and Devin Simpson also notched scores on the ground when the starters were removed in the second half.
Eric Wiley completed only seven of his 16 passes, but three of them went for touchdowns, including his first throw of the game — a 47-yard strike to Chateau Reed.
Caelab Fuller was Wiley’s other touchdown target, finding him in the flat for a 25-yard score on fourth down to close the first quarter, extending LHS’s advantage to 21-0.
Wiley said his performance gave him the assurance he needed with the No. 1 defense in Class 6A-II looming.
“It boosts my confidence by showing I can actually come out here and throw three touchdowns early on,” Wiley said. “If Miles isn’t getting any rushing yards, we can go to Chateau, Demarcus or even Caelab — downfield or short-range — any way we can gain yards.”
Now that the playoffs are here, Breeze said his team can’t dwell on the setbacks suffered during the regular season.
The Wolverines must focus on the positives, and according to Breeze, there are several.
“We’re going into the playoffs really healthy, and we’re going in with a lot of confidence,” Breeze said. “That’s what we need.”