As it turns out, it was, in fact, the last game of the season for Sequoyah, and the Indians went out in style.

Kyle Helsley ran left, right and through the Bulldogs, amassing 260 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries as Class 3A No. 6 Sequoyah blasted the Bulldogs, 63-40, at Thompson Field on Friday night.

With the win, Sequoyah, which clinched the District 3A-7 title last week by shutting out Hilldale, improved to 9-1 overall and 6-0 in 3A-7. Lincoln Christian, the fourth-place finisher in 3A-7, wrapped up the regular season 6-3 and 3-3.

Early on it appeared Lincoln Christian would do what Hilldale failed to do last week: compete with the Indians.

Both clubs traded touchdowns back and forth with Sequoyah leading 35-27 at halftime.

The second half was all Sequoyah, though.

The Indians scored two touchdowns in the third quarter (Bradyen Scott’s 20-yard pass to Ryan Helsley and Karter Woodruff’s 1-yard run) to put the game away. A 13-yard touchdown catch by Nick Kingfisher and a 47-yard run by Woodruff added to Sequoyah’s lead in the fourth quarter.

“I said, ‘Hey let’s get this thing rolling,’” said Sequoyah quarterback Brayden Scott. “’I told them, this may be our last time wearing a Sequoyah uniform. Lets come out with a bang. Lets dont worry about tomorrow or next week, let’s worry about tonight. Go have some fun. And I think thats what we did. I think everyone just finally stopped worrying about what’s been going on these last few weeks. I have to give a shout out to everyone. All of these seniors have just done a phenomenal job of not letting this get to them. I think we just let it all go tonight.”

Scott passed for 298 yards and four touchdowns on 21 of 35 passing, while the Indians set a school record for yards offensively in a game with 707. Sequoyah’s 63 points was also fourth highest in school history.

All of Kyle Helsley’s scores came in the first half.

Saturday afternoon the OSSAA announced that Sequoyah would be forced to forfeit each of its wins and would be ineligible for postseason play, effectively ending the Indians’ campaign.

With a large group of graduating seniors and a coaching change to boot, the unceremonious conclusion marks the beginning of a significant rebuilding process.

“These seniors are a special group, no doubt about it,” Sequoyah interim coach Shane Richardson said. “They’ve won football games since the day they got on campus here. Their legacy will go on and be positive. They’re a special group and they created a special team. They enjoy playing for each other as much as they enjoy playing for themselves.”

By forfeiting all of its wins, Sequoyah ends the season 0-10 overall.



Sequoyah 63, Lincoln Christian 40

LC          14     13       0     13     --     40

SEQ       21     14     14      14    --      63

First quarter

SEQUOYAH — Robert Smith 17-yard pass from Brayden Scott (Forrest Cully kick), 9:50.

LINCOLN CHRISTIAN — Anthony Wilkinson 33-yard pass from Austin Grauer (Dean Goodrich kick), 6:37.

SEQUOYAH — Kyle Helsley 45-yard run (Cully kick), 6:37.

LINCOLN CHRISTIAN — Andrew Wright 3-yard pass from Grauer (Goodrich kick), 3:31.

SEQUOYAH — Cody Hooper 48-yard pass from Scott (Cully kick), 1:32.



Second quarter

LINCOLN CHRISTIAN — Wilkinson 23-yard pass from Grauer (kick failed), 9:20.

SEQUOYAH — Helsley 63-yard run (Cully kick), 9:04.

SEQUOYAH — Helsley 45-yard run (Cully kick), 4:27.

LINCOLN CHRISTIAN — Tim Schwoegler 16-yard pass from Grauer (Goodrich kick), 2:32.



Third quarter

SEQUOYAH — Ryan Helsley 20-yard pass from Scott (Cully kick), 7:08.

SEQUOYAH — Karter Woodruff 1-yard run (Cully kick), 4:27.



Fourth quarter

SEQUOYAH — Nick Kingfisher 13-yard pass from Scott (Cully kick), 10:58.

LINCOLN CHRISTIAN — Wright 1-yard pass from Grauer (conversion failed), 6:41.

SEQUOYAH — Woodruff 47-yard run (Cully kick), 4:35.

LINCOLN CHRISTIAN — Justin Flewellen 15-yard run (Goodrich kick), 0:50.



LC    SEQ

First downs    22    26

  Rush    6    14

  Pass    16    12

  Penalty    0    0

Rush Att-Yds            26-95    31-409

Pass Comp.    24    21

Pass Att.    45    35

INT’s thrown    1    1

Passing Yards    377    298

Total Yards    472    707

Punts-Avg.              4-38.0 0-0

Fumbles-Lost    1-1    3-1

Penalties-Yds    2-15    12-76    



Individual Stats

Rushing

Lincoln Christian: J. Flewellen 18-114; A. Wilkinson 2-14; Austin Grauer 6-(-33). Sequoyah: Kyle Helsley 14-265; Karter Woodruff 9-96; Brayden Scott 4-51; Robert Smith 3-19; Team 1-(-22).



Passing

Lincoln Christian: Grauer 24-45-1 377;.Sequoyah: Scott 21-35-1 298.



Receiving

Lincoln Christian: A. Wilkinson 8-134; J. Flewellen 6-136; Andrew Wright 5-54; Alec Davidson 3-34; T. Schwoegler 2-19. Sequoyah: Robert Smith 7-88; Cody Hooper 3-75; Ryan Helsley 3-58; Nick Kingfisher 2-33; Karter Woodruff 2-31; Kyle Helsley 2-7; Grant Neugin 1-3; Niko Hammer 1-3.