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November 3, 2009

By JEREMY SHORT The Tahlequah Daily Press Tue Nov 03, 2009, 07:26 PM CST

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — For the seniors on the Tahlequah football team, Friday night’s game against East Central will mark the final time they suit up in high school.

Gunner Luna and Logan Morang are two of those and have played their entire careers at Tahlequah.

“We just want to go out there and have a good week of practice and get a win,” said senior Gunner Luna. “We have to make every rep count.”

The one game that sticks with Luna is the season opener against Catoosa. In that game, the Tigers rallied from a 14-point deficit and beat the Indians in overtime.

“When Taylor Harris ran the ball for a touchdown in the first game of the season,” said Luna. “That really stands out to me.”

While that game was one of the highlights of Luna’s career, one of the low points came three weeks later when the Tigers were stunned by Stilwell on the road. Luna had one catch for 20 yards in the loss.

“That was pretty tough,” said Luna. “It helped us out as a team to realize we have to be ready to play. That one probably hurt the most of any.”

Luna currently has 10 catches for 108 yards this year. His average of 10.8 yards a catch is fourth on the team.

For Morang, this season has been about leaving positive things for the underclassmen.

“I love to play football,” said Morang. “I try not to leave any bad memories, just good ones.”

Morang has been a force on the offensive line all season and has five tackles on defense.

Other seniors on the team are Ramin Ramani, Jackson Smith, Matt Frits, Tyler Barr, Zach Halsey, Hunter Eastham, Martez Poole, Jose Ibarra, Josh Stilwell, Harry Patel and DJ Worth.

Seth French, Cody Bolin and Billy Frye will also be honored on Friday night, but will not play due to injuries.

Game time for the East Central game is set for 7:30 p.m. at Doc Wadley Stadium.

“We’d like to win the last game,” said Morang. “I probably won’t play in college so I want this to be my best game. I want to leave it all out on the field.”