EL RENO — It was quite a run for MacArthur.
However, it is now over thanks to El Reno.
For the first time since 2001, the Highlanders won’t make an appearance in the playoffs. The Indians sealed Mac’s fate with a 53-42 win at Memorial Stadium on Friday night, advancing to the postseason for the first time since 2009, ending a four-game losing streak to the Highlanders in the process.
El Reno (6-4, 4-3) will play No. 1 Carl Albert (10-0) in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs next week. Meanwhile, Mac return to Lawton with a record of 4-6, its worst finish under 10-year coach Brett Manning.
The Highlanders were without several key starters on both side of the ball, which Manning said led to the disappointing early end to the season.
“It was just a nightmare year,” Manning said. “There were a lot of things that happened that were out of our control, and they kind of depleted us, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It’s frustrating. I was proud of the kids who were out there and played hard. You can only have so many injuries before it really catches up with you. That was evident tonight.”
One of the key injuries that greatly influenced the Highlanders’ offense was running back Nasir Kemper.
Kemper left last week’s game against Duncan with bruised ribs and didn’t play on Friday night, and Mac’s rushing attacked suffered in his absence.
The Highlanders couldn’t get anything going on the ground, finishing with minus-8 yards rushing on 25 carries.
“Not having him and the fact that we have a freshman and a sophomore on our offensive line really hurt us,” Manning said. “But the run game wasn’t a big part of our game plan. I don’t know how many times we rushed the ball, but it wasn’t many.”
With the running game taking a hit, quarterback Racer Felter had a career night, completing 29 of his 48 throws for 481 yards and five touchdowns to go along with two interceptions that didn’t lead to any points.
Four of those touchdowns went to Ryan Andrews, who finished with an impressive 235 yards receiving on only 10 catches, scoring on receptions of 17, 22, 5 and 66 yards.
Aeron Woodson and Weston Golson also had performed well in the passing game. The senior duo combined for 216 yards receiving and two touchdowns, finishing with 126 and 90 yards with a score apiece, respectively.
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, even those numbers weren’t enough to get the job done and extend the program’s playoffs streak to 17-straight seasons.
“It hurts a lot more than people would think,” Felter said. “I don’t think everybody sees what was under this season and how much adversity we faced with injuries and people not being there for us when we needed them. It hurts a lot.”
Manning said Felter and the receiving corps did a good job of handling the pressure of having to make game-changing plays in the absence of a consistent run game.
“We told them we had to make plays,” Manning said. “We needed to be able to put points on the board offensively because we weren’t going to be able to run it, and they did. They had a good game.”
Of course, El Reno had plenty of success offensively as well.
The Indians managed to overcome five lost fumbles behind the legs of quarterback Dorian Plumley, who rushed for a staggering 375 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries.
In all, El Reno accumulated 535 yards rushing, averaging about 9.2 yards per carry.
Plumley didn’t throw the ball much, finishing with only 57 yards on four completions, but he did throw a 24-yard touchdown toss to Kolton Hunt on a fourth-down play on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Manning said the youth and inexperience of the defense made it tough to make stops on Plumley and the Indians’ offense. The Highlanders simply couldn’t overcome the absence of senior starters Michelle Artzberger, Ronnie Johnson, Jason Arrington and Dshaun Merriweather.
“We just didn’t have any of our players,” Manning said. “The guys that trotted out on the field defensively against Eisenhower, there’s maybe only three of them still playing. I think that’s the biggest deal. I’m not saying he’s not a good player because he is, but it’s tough defending someone like that when you don’t have your guys.”
Hunt also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the first half after Andrews fumbled on an attempted reverse, giving the Indians a 26-24 lead at halftime.
“It was a good play call, but the defense did a good job of getting to me,” Andrews said of the play. “I tried to make play for myself, and I messed up. It hurts bad.”
Despite going 10-11 the past two seasons, Manning said he feels good about the future of the program, especially with the likes of Felter, Kemper and Andrews returning to lead the offense.
“I think we’re only losing three offensive starters,” Manning said. “I’m not sure defensively, but I feel good about the kids we had, and we had a good freshman class. Those kids will be growing up and getting better, so I think the future is bright.”