FINALLY!

For the second straight week, it was a tale of two halves for the Kingfisher football team.

This time, however, the tale had a happier ending.

KHS got its first win of the season last Friday as a homecoming crowd packed the stands to see the Yellowjackets handle Mount St. Mary 24-6.

The Jackets scored in all three phases of the game in the first half in building a 24-0 lead before completing a less-productive second half.

“The win was nice,” said head coach Jeff Myers as his team moved to 1-4 on the season and 1-1 in District 3A-1 games. “But we’ve still got to find a way to put a game together on both sides of the ball. A whole game.”

The roles were reversed the week before when the Jackets fell behind Perkins- Tryon 21-0 at halftime, but out-played the Demons in the second half of an eventual 21-7 defeat.

This time around, it was the Jackets taking the commanding lead at the break.

It started with a field goal on Kingfisher’s first possession of the game as Jake Sisk punched through a kick from 30 yards out.

On the visitors’ next possession, their second of the game, Jake Reagan’s strip sack forced a fumble that Daniel Guerrero recovered.

“It was a really good start to the game, especially defensively,” Myers said. “We forced a punt and then a turnover and sandwiched some points in between.”

Kingfisher didn’t take advantage of the takeaway as Jhett Birdwell was intercepted on the ensuing drive.

However, the Jackets forced a turnover on downs and then found the end zone for the first time.

It came on senior Ethan Karcher’s legs as he took a handoff, cut back to his left and found open field for a 22-yard score at 9:30 of the second quarter.

Karcher wasn’t done as he picked off Harrison Tesio on Mount St. Mary’s next drive and returned it 57 yards for a score.

“That was a huge sequence for us,” Myers said. “Ethan gave us a lot of momentum with those plays.”

The score came with 6:24 to go in the half and the defense gave the Jackets the ball back at their own 21 with 2:15 left in the second quarter.

Birdwell soon launched a bomb into the fierce south wind.

Somehow, with a Rocket defender draped all over him, Kasen Blair hauled in the catch. As he was trying to gain extra yardage, Blair fumbled the ball only to have teammate Damien Haynes, who lost his helmet in the process, make the recovery.

The play was good for 45 yards, which was also aided by a penalty on the Rockets.

That put KHS at the Rocket 15 and from there, Birdwell struck Haynes in the end zone for a 24-0 lead.

“That capped a really strong half,” Myers said. “We had really started to do some things better offensively that half and knew we could really put the game away considering we’d get the ball to start the second half.”

Though never threatened, the Jackets also didn’t distance themselves.

KHS gained 167 total yards in the first half, but only 13 while being held scoreless in the second.

“We either made some mistakes that lost us yardage or got penalties that put us behind the chains,” Myers said. “But one way or another, we just never got anything going.”

Fortunately, the Jackets didn’t have to.

Mount St. Mary three times had a first-and-goal in the game, but didn’t capitalize until the last time… and that was with under a minute to play.

In all, the Jackets had three takeaways.

The Rockets managed to dominate the time of possession not only by limiting KHS in the second half, but also by converting eight third downs (8 of 21) and three fourth downs (3 of 8).

“They got a couple of plays here and there and they threatened to score a couple of times,” Myers said. “But we kept denying them until they finally got in at the very end.”

Karcher recovered the Rockets’ onside kick attempt to essentially end the game.

He had 27 rushing yards on five attempts.

Dallen Barton added 23 and Birdwell 27.

Birdwell was 6 of 16 passing for 99 yards.

All five of the Jackets’ second-half possessions (which excludes the final one after Karcher’s recovery of an onside kick) ended with a punt.

Jairo Velarde led the defense with 12 tackles from his linebacker position.He recovered a fumble just under the midway point of the third quarter.

Chase Cooper, playing in place of Tanner Parker at the middle linebacker position, was in on 10 tackles while Hunter Delozier added nine.

The Jackets now hit a two-game road stretch where they travel to Mannford this Friday and Metro Christian the following week.

At least one win during that span will keep the Jackets on pace for a 24th straight playoff appearance.

Myers desires more than one, but know it will take work.

“If we can put both sides of the ball together, then in my opinion we will have an opportunity to win the remaining games on our schedule.”

Game Notes

• Prior to the game, Reagan was named the homecoming captain and Jennifer Garcia crowned the 2023 KHS homecoming queen.

• Also prior to the game, members of the 2003 and 2013 state championship teams gathered in the junior high cafeteria just east of the football stadium. They were then introduced to the crowd prior to the homecoming coronation. Among those in attendance was the head coach of that 2003 team, Rick VanCleave. Myers, head coach of the 2013 team, was on the field with those team members as well.

• The Jackets were without Parker, who suffered an apparent knee injury in the loss to Perkins-Tryon. The team’s starting center and middle linebacker, Parker awoke the next day to a sore and swollen knee. The extent of his injury won’t be known until later this week.

• Cooper took Parker’s place at middle linebacker.

• The offensive line continued its shuffling. Robert Barnett moved from right tackle to center. It’s the third position Barnett has played on the offensive front this season.

• Diego Muñoz got the start at right guard and Jose Santoyo at right tackle.

• Perkins-Tryon made a statement last week. One week after defeating KHS 21-7, the Demons knocked off Metro Christian by the exact same score. Metro Christian was the defending district champion.

See More Photos of the Homecoming Ceremony and KHS Football Game at:

• www.khsphotography. smumug.com &

• www.simon-sportsphotos. smugmug.com