FOOTBALL: Verdigris, Claremore Christian highlight challenging Week 1 across Rogers County

VERDIGRIS 34, SPERRY 14 — Verdigris entered its season opener with experience everywhere, and it showed. The Cardinals received an efficient performance from quarterback Jensen Underwood and plenty of production from Brett Schauffler to open their season with a 34-14 road victory over Sperry. Underwood completed 16 of 24 passes for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns without an interception. Schauffler accounted for more than half of that production, hauling in 10 passes for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. Braxton Dean added 2 catches for 52 yards and another score. Verdigris was equally balanced on the ground, rushing for 144 yards to finish with 354 yards of total offense. Ayden Collins led the way with 67 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries, while Kolby Ford added 55 yards on 8 attempts. Sebastian Villalobos scored the Cardinals' other rushing touchdown while gaining 22 yards on 5 carries. Perhaps most impressive was how cleanly Verdigris operated in its opener. The Cardinals did not commit a turnover and were penalized only once for 5 yards. They also converted 4 of 5 fourth-down opportunities despite finishing only 2-of-10 on third down. CCS 38, WELCH 30 — Claremore Christian had to wait an extra week to play a real football game. Grant Schulze apparently used the extra time to warm up his right arm. The senior quarterback threw for 355 yards and 5 touchdowns as the defending Frontier Christian Athletic Association champion Warriors held off Welch for a 38-30 victory at Wright Christian. Schulze completed 15 of 25 passes and produced touchdowns to four different receivers. Jaxon Robinett hauled in a 76-yard touchdown from Schulze and finished with 3 receptions for 100 yards. He also rushed for a 30-yard score, giving him 2 touchdowns on the night. Derek Smith caught 6 passes for 73 yards and 2 touchdowns, scoring on receptions of 12 and 41 yards. Coeplen Widener added 4 catches for 102 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown. Max Kirk supplied another explosive play with a 75-yard touchdown reception. He also carried 6 times for 17 yards. HILLDALE 48, OOLOGAH 28 — Oologah found its share of explosive plays Friday night. Hilldale simply found more ways to consistently move the football. The Hornets rushed for 236 yards and finished with 304 yards of offense while handing the Mustangs a 48-28 loss. Kristopher Gonzalez shouldered much of Hilldale's workload, rushing 25 times for 121 yards. Quarterback Talon Schaffer added 72 yards on 12 carries, while Micah Chewey rushed 8 times for 43 yards. Schaffer attempted only 8 passes, completing 4 for 68 yards. Oologah actually outgained Hilldale 342-304 behind several big plays. Sophomore quarterback Brock Lustig provided the biggest one, breaking a 71-yard run on his way to 80 rushing yards on 9 carries. He also completed 10 of 20 passes for 134 yards. Easton Gilmore added a 56-yard completion on 1 of his 4 pass attempts, giving the Mustangs 190 yards through the air. Colt Decker turned his 2 receptions into 95 yards, while Jett Griswold caught 5 passes for 62 yards. Carter Miller led Oologah's conventional rushing attack with 47 yards on 11 carries, and Ben Hogue broke a 21-yard run on his lone attempt. The difference came in Hilldale's ability to sustain drives. The Hornets ran 45 times compared with Oologah's 28 and generated 10 rushing first downs. Oologah finished with 8 total first downs. MANNFORD 46, CATOOSA 12 — For a half, Catoosa gave itself an opportunity to show just how far it had come. Then the third quarter arrived. The Indians trailed only 14-6 at halftime before Mannford scored 12-unanswered points in the third quarter and another 20 in the fourth to pull away for a 46-12 victory. The Pirates did almost all of their damage on the ground, piling up 380 rushing yards on 43 carries — an average of 8.8 yards per attempt — despite completing no passes. Ryder Tidwell rushed 13 times for 117 yards, while JJ Hindsman added 116 yards on 16 carries. DJ Sanderson needed only 5 attempts to accumulate 91 yards, and Wilee Glassco added 41 yards on 3 carries. Catoosa coach Sal Guerrero saw considerably more progress than the final score suggested. "Had some big plays called back including a touchdown. Three turnovers," Guerrero said. "Had a terrible third quarter, went in at halftime down 14-6. But pushing forward, not looking back, focused on Verdigris and happy not to see the Wing-T offense." Guerrero said the Indians also dropped several potential big plays, although LJ Harrison still eclipsed 100 yards rushing. The coach even picked up an unusual statistic of his own. "For the first time in almost 20 years on a sideline, I received an unsportsmanlike penalty," Guerrero said. "That's not who I am, but I will always protect our kids. Scoreboard didn't show improvement, but it was still 10 times better." ADAIR 62, INOLA 7 — One week after Inola appeared to answer many of its preseason questions, the defending Class 2A-II state champion provided a harsh reminder of how quickly fortunes can change. Adair overwhelmed the Longhorns 62-7, scoring in every quarter and holding Inola scoreless over the final three. The Longhorns actually struck first-quarter pay dirt, but the Warriors took an 8-7 advantage into the second before erupting for 24 points. They added 18 in the third and 12 in the fourth. Adair amassed 528 yards of offense, including 273 on the ground and 255 through the air. Kyler Green completed 16 of 25 passes for 245 yards, while Camden Ferder caught 7 passes for 166 yards. Kale Rampey rushed 11 times for 110 yards, and the Warriors averaged 8.3 yards per carry as a team. KETCHUM 67, CHELSEA 6 — Chelsea's concerns about Ketchum's running game proved well founded. Then the Warriors showed they could throw it, too. Ketchum amassed 560 yards of offense in a 67-6 victory, rushing for 347 yards while adding another 213 through the air. Keegan Johnston completed 8 of 9 passes for 177 yards, and Ketchum finished 11-of-13 collectively. Gracian Jones was the primary beneficiary, turning 3 receptions into 110 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cooper Chandler added 2 catches for 30 yards and a touchdown, while Lucas White also caught a scoring pass. The Warriors were even more explosive on the ground, averaging 12.9 yards per carry. Isaih Truster rushed 6 times for 71 yards, Carter Johnston added 67 on 5 attempts and Keegan Johnston gained 54 yards on only 2 carries. Ketchum improved to 2-0, while Chelsea dropped to 0-2 under first-year coach Tim Robison.