Learning curve

By JEREMY SHORT

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Turnovers proved to be Tahlequah’s undoing on Friday night as they committed four in a 28-3 loss to Claremore at Doc Wadley Stadium.

“You can’t win with four turnovers,” said Tigers coach Tuffy Thornton. “They’re a good football team and we didn’t play very good.”

Tahlequah (1-1) started off the game well as the Tigers defense forced a Claremore three-and-out which allowed the offense to take over on their own 37-yard line.

A big 15-yard pass on third down from Tigers quarterback Colin Scarsdale to receiver Zack Thornton moved Tahlequah inside Claremore territory to the 40-yard line. However, an illegal formation penalty and a sack then halted the drive and forced Tahlequah to punt on fourth down.

The defense answered the call again on the next drive as they forced another three-and-out and after Claremore punter/quarterback Gavin Little punted the ball out of bounds, Tahlequah took over on the Claremore 26-yard line.

After three plays, the Tigers found themselves in a fourth and seven at the 23-yard line and brought out senior kicker Ramin Ramani for a 37-yard field goal attempt. The kick never had a chance, however, as it was blocked at the line of scrimmage and the Zebras took over at the 4:10 mark in the first quarter at the 30-yard line.

Claremore again failed to get anything going as they went three-and-out, but this time on fourth down Little launched a 57-yard punt which bounced down to the Tahlequah 12-yard line.

On the next play, the game turned for the worst as a fumbled handoff led to a Tahlequah turnover at their own 13-yard line.

Claremore (2-0) capitalized on the mistake two plays later when Chase Talbert scored on a 16-yard run. Jake Litterell added the extra point to put the Zebras up 7-0 with 2:10 left in the first quarter.

On the next drive, Tahlequah used three straight rushes to get to a fourth and four situation and were line up to punt the ball away, but Claremore jumped offsides to give the Tigers the first down at the 45-yard line.

Two plays later, Tahlequah ran a reverse pass and Thornton connected with Tanner Weston for a 22-yard gain down to the Claremore 34-yard line. The drive stalled out and Tahlequah was forced to punt on fourth and 12 at the 36.

Tahlequah’s defense got what looked to be another three-and-out on the next drive, but Claremore elected to try a fake punt on fourth down and were stopped short of the first down to give the Tigers the ball at the 23-yard line.

Taylor Harris gained four yards on first down, but was stopped for no gain on second down and Scarsdale threw and incomplete pass on third down to make it fourth and six at the 19-yard line. Ramani came back out for a 36-yard field goal attempt and this time split the uprights to make it 7-3 with 7:30 left in the second quarter.

Claremore finally got their offense going on their next drive as they marched 80 yards on 13 plays to push their lead to 14-3 over the Tigers. James Tolson capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 2:49 left in the half. Litterell again connected on the extra point.

Both teams had one more drive before the half, but failed to score as it remained 14-3.

Tahlequah got the ball first in the second half and began their drive at their own 19-yard line. On second down, Harris got free for a 17-yard rush to move the Tigers to the 37-yard line.

The drive only moved three more yards and on third down Tahlequah drew an unsportsmanlike penalty to make it fourth and 22 at the 25. On the ensuing play, Scarsdale could not field the snap cleanly and Claremore recovered the ball at the Tigers 2-yard line.

Two plays later, Tolson reached the end zone for a second time. Litterell added the extra point to push the Zebras lead to 21-3 with 9:15 remaining in the third quarter.

The only other score in the game came early in the fourth quarter when Claremore’s John Heimdale picked up a Tahlequah fumble and ran 80 yards for a touchdown. Litterell added his fourth extra point of the game to give Claremore the 28-3 advantage with 9:14 left in regulation.

“We weren’t ready to play tonight,” said Thornton. “We just didn’t have the spunk tonight. The first half was bad and the second half was worse.”

Scarsdale led the Tigers offense with 79 yards passing (10-of-19) and 32 yards rushing. Thornton was his primary receiver as he caught five passes for 61 yards. Thornton also completed two passes for 28 yards.

Harris led Tahlequah in rushing with 67 yards on 19 carries. Colin Downs added 17 yards.

Claremore was led by Tolson who finished with 55 yards on nine carries and two touchdowns. Little completed 10-of-18 passes for 106 yards.

“The defense was out there the whole night,” said Thornton. “When they don’t see a lot from the offense it seems like their efforts are in vain. It’s tough.”

Tahlequah’s next game is Friday against Sallisaw on the road.

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

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