By RICHARD STROUD
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — The Sequoyah Indians had no trouble adjusting to their new surroundings at Muskogee's Indian Bowl Friday night.
After moving their final home game of the season to Muskogee due to wet field conditions, the Indians ran all over the Adair Warriors, racking up over 400 yards rushing on their way to a 51-18 victory that clinched the district 2A-8 championship.
The Indians honored their 30 seniors before the game, and then the senior running back duo of Rykar Salazar and Justin Lepley ran wild against one of the stingiest defenses in Class 2A.
"We have a great offensive line and good running backs," Sequoyah head coach Brent Scott said. "They only need a crease and they take advantage."
Both Lepley and Salazar accounted for three touchdowns. Salazar had 218 yards on 17 carries, while Lepley piled up 112 yards on only seven carries. Ryan Mouse added 76 yards on seven carries.
Salazar got things started for Sequoyah, finishing up a 10-play drive with a 10-yard run that put Sequoyah up 7-0.
But the Warriors (6-3, 3-3 in 2A-8) came right back as sophomore wideout Michael Fraley returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for an answering score. A missed extra point made the score 7-6.
Sequoyah took all of 36 seconds to come up with an answer. After an 11-yard run by Mouse, Lepley swept left and sailed for a 49-yard touchdown. Mouse ran in the two-point conversion to make it 15-6.
But later in the quarter, it was Salazar's fumble that gave Adair new life and the ball at Sequoyah's 26-yard line. Six plays later, it was senior quarterback Christian Luper running it in from three yards out to make the score 15-12 early in the second quarter.
From there, it was all Sequoyah, as the Indians would score on their next four possessions. Salazar took the ball on the first play of the ensuing drive and ran for 49 yards. On the next play, Mouse dashed up the middle for the final 23 yards to make the score 23-12 after Salazar's two-point conversion run.
After an Adair punt, it was Lepley who got back into the act, finishing an eight-play, 83-yard drive with a 36 yard touchdown run to make the score 30-12.
Salazar would add a 41-yard touchdown run on the next possession, and Lepley had his third touchdown of the half from nine yards out with less than 30 seconds left in the half to make it 44-12 at halftime.
Salazar would later add his third touchdown from five yards out early in the third quarter to end the scoring.
"Overall we played pretty good," Scott said. "We made some mistakes on special teams and with penalties that hurt us in the first half, but we got those corrected and got the job done."
Sequoyah, now 9-0 and 6-0 in district play, will wrap up the regular season next week when they travel to Colcord to take on the Hornets.
