WEATHERFORD — Seeing four Pond Creek-Hunter players in front of him, Lane Chandler didn’t think there was a chance he could go from end zone to end zone.
But with a nifty spin move following his interception on an overthrown ball, Chandler wove his way down the field and picked up some timely blocks down the sideline to spring him 96 yards for a game-changing pick-6 in Tipton’s win.
“We have some savvy players. As soon as they saw me with the ball, it’s offense mode. Go block, get down the field and make the best out of what we have,” Chandler said. “Defensive touchdowns are rare. You only get a couple a year, and since we struggled tackling early in the game, that pick really gave us momentum. It was big for us defensively.”
Chandler’s pick-6 from one of the field to the other was one of five unanswered touchdowns for Tipton, which got off to a shaky start but secured a goal line stand just before halftime to race past third-ranked Pond Creek-Hunter, 50-28 in the Class C semifinals Friday night in Weatherford.
“Every year it takes on such a different feel,” Tipton coach Travis White said. “This is new territory for us and a potential 3-peat is new territory for most people in the state.”
Tipton (11-2) will play for its third straight Class C state championship next Friday — likely back in Weatherford at SWOSU again — against undefeated Southwest Covenant (12-0), which knocked off Buffalo, 42-20, in the other semifinal. Pond Creek-Hunter (11-2) watched its third straight season end at the hands of the Tigers.
“I’m getting really tired of playing Pond Creek-Hunter,” White said jokingly. “They have great coaches, are always prepared and everything you scheme, they got an answer to it. This game was so weirdly similar to really the past two years.”
On the first play from scrimmage, PCH running back Noah Miller, who had 91 yards and two scores, broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run.
“The Miller kid was making plays and he’s a heck of a player,” White said. “It was us not getting focused on wrapping him up. We were just trying to hit him rather than tackle with form.”
It was clear right off the bat that the Panthers weren’t going to be a pushover the third time around following Tipton’s 56-8 shellacking of PCH to win last year’s Class C state championship.
“After that first TD, I thought, ‘My goodness. This is the same thing as last year,’” White said. “Nobody was panicking, though. These guys have been in this situation and we understand every game is four quarters.”
So just like last postseason when the Panthers scored the first touchdown, Tipton promptly answered right back.
SemaJ McBride — who broke his collarbone last month, but made a comeback and played valiantly when called upon — was in the right place at the right time as the senior standout recovered a Jeremiah Smith fumble in the end zone following his teammate’s 12-yard run.
McBride, who caught a 39-yard catch on a post route and fell hard on his shoulder when reeling in the deep downfield pass from Chandler, scored two touchdowns and also caught the 2-point conversion to give Tipton an 8-6 lead with 5:16 left in the first.
Aaron Hill answered Noah Miller’s tackle-shedding 26-yard touchdown run with a 25-yard TD run of his own to put Tipton back in front, 14-12 in the final two minutes of the opening quarter.
It marked the start of 36 unanswered points from the Tigers, eerily following last year’s script.
Following Chandler’s pick-6, Jeremiah Smith — who led the Tigers with 221 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries — broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run on the second play of a Tipton drive after the Tigers’ defense forced a 3-and-out punt — one of five consecutive Tipton stops.
Smith hit the jets and won a footrace, out-sprinting a pair of Panthers the final 40 yards to give Tipton a 30-12 lead with 4:12 before halftime.
Despite a shaky start tackling, Tipton’s defense also stepped up to the plate, with two takeaways in the first half, the latter of which came with 28 seconds left with the Panthers threatening to cut into the lead on third-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
But the Tigers stood firm in the trenches as Chandler contained the edge and swallowed up Miller for a nine yard loss. On his way to the turf, Miller coughed up the football and Smith recovered the fumble to secure a goal line stand and protect Tipton’s 30-12 halftime lead.
“I feel like that was one of the biggest plays in the game,” White said. “If they convert that, we’re in trouble.”
“It was big for us going into halftime,” echoed Chandler. “They have some great athletes and would’ve drawn up a good fourth down play so it was real big to get that stop.”
The Tigers’ defense — harshly criticized after giving up nearly 60 points in last year’s quarterfinals — still appeared motivated on that side of the ball as they suffocated PCH following the Panthers’ two opening touchdowns.
“Our defense has gotten us through these playoffs because we’ve played with aggression,” Tipton senior defensive captain Bryce Waugh said. “We weren’t wrapping up and it went through our minds we’re not playing like we should be and to our level. We flipped a switch and kept working.”
Tipton held PCH to 419 yards and notched five straight stops, including a 3-and-out punt and a turnover on downs, both of which resulted in quick touchdowns by the Tigers.
A sack by Damian Fierro forced a third-and-long and lead to the turnover on downs midway through the third quarter, essentially sealing the Panthers’ fate.
Chandler dropped a dime down the sideline and hit McBride in stride on fly for a 70-yard touchdown pass before Smith followed up Fierro’s sack with a nifty cutback and a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 44-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We have talented route runners and having SemaJ really helps me as a quarterback to assert that deep ball threat and put the defense on their heels,” Chandler said.
But PCH wouldn’t go quietly as John Thophilus caught back-to-back touchdown passes, including a 79-yard score to trim into Tipton’s lead, 44-20 with 8:21 remaining.
Just 14 seconds later, Smith put the game to bed for good when he broke free down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown run to put a 50-burger on the Panthers for the second straight season.
It was a typical 8-man game featuring explosiveness in the open field as the Tigers, who had 429 yards of total offense, and Panthers combined with five offensive plays of 20 yards or more in the first quarter alone.
Three of Tipton’s six touchdowns came from 70 or more yards out. The two teams accounted for six touchdowns from 50 or more yards out.
Now a third straight state title is at stake for Tipton’s dynasty.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Chandler said of playing in another state championship. “There’s nothing like it.”
Scoring Summary
Pond Creek-Hunter — Noah Miller 52 run (conversion failed) 10:59, 1st
Tipton — SemaJ McBride 3 fumble recovery (McBride pass from Lane Chandler) 5:17, 1st
PCH — Miller 26 run (conversion failed) 2:12, 1st
Tipton — Aaron Hill 25 run (conversion failed) 1:54, 1st
Tipton — Lane Chandler 96 INT return (Jeremiah Smith run) 7:47, 2nd
Tipton — Smith 86 run (Bryce Waugh run) 4:35, 2nd
Box Score
Tip PCH
First Downs 14 19
Rushing (Att-Yds) 27-102 42-198
Passing Yards-TDs 274-2 215-2
Passes (Comp-Att-Int) 17-25-1 21-35-1
Punts-Avg. 4-36.3 4-24.8
Fumbles 3 0
Penalties-Yards 7-60 6-55
Score by quarter
1 2 3 4 Total
Tipton 6 8 0 7 21
PCH 0 7 7 20 34