FLAGGED

Ask Reagan Roof - and we did - his choice of foes for his debut as the Kingfi sher High School head football coach.

“Anyone, but Weatherford” was the reply.

It’s understandable as Roof made the move from the Eagles to Kingfisher in the offseason.

“When you leave a place on good terms - and I did- you want to root for those kids and coaches because you really care about them,” Roof said.

“Now don’t get me wrong, I want to beat them.”

The latter didn’t happen last Friday night as it was Roof’s longtime defensive coordinator Taylor Sossaman who won his head coaching debut.

Weatherford visited Kingfisher and left town with a 20-3 defeat.

“On a personal side, that’s no fun,” said Roof after the game. “It’s bigger than that, though. This was the opening game and home debut for us.

“But I guess I’m glad the drama of that game is behind us.”

However, the sting of the defeat remains.

On paper, Weatherford was certainly favored.

The Eagles are bigger, have more depth and return many of the same weapons that helped lead them to the playoffs a year ago.

Yet KHS had more first downs, passing yards and total yards than the Eagles.

“That’s what makes it tougher to swallow,” Roof said. “We beat them in a lot of statistical categories except the scoreboard.”

One of the leading factors?

Penalties.

KHS was flagged 13 times for 116 yards.

“It just felt like on every drive, we were behind the sticks,” Roof said. “Those penalties are drive killers and then if we did find a way to overcome one, we’d get another.”

Several of those flags signified holding calls.

The Jackets’ offensive line struggled to contain Weatherford’s defensive front, namely the likes of C.J. Nickson, the four-star recruit who has committed to play at the University of Oklahoma.

Kingfisher’s quarterbacks dropped back to pass 30 times in the game.

“I bet 25 of those times, someone was coming at them untouched,” Roof said after watching film.

Still, Weatherford didn’t record an official sack.

“That was a testament to our quarterbacks’ athletic abilities as they were both able to move around the pocket and try to make some plays,” Roof said.

And they did make a few.

Paytun Burnham and Jhett Birdwell combined to go 14 of 30 for 137 yards.

They also combined for 109 of the Jackets’ 121 rushing yards.

Some of the biggest plays saw them connect together.

Burnham hit Birdwell on consecutive pass plays of 13 and 29 yards, which allowed the Jackets to get into Weatherford territory in the second quarter, but the drive ended with an interception.

Birdwell was able to find Burnham with a 19-yard reception in the fourth. That drive ultimately stalled on downs.

All the while, the Jackets were “in it” with the Eagles.

Kingfisher’s defense held Weatherford to 219 total yards.

The Eagles did run for 166 yards, but needed 40 attempts to get them.

“Physically, I was glad to see we went toe-to-toe with them, especially defensively,” Roof said. “Up front we were able to stop their run game enough where if we were able to maintain any kind of offense at all, we had a chance to win the game.”

All four starting defensive linemen recorded at least four tackles.

T.J. Washington had four.

Jose Santoyo was in on five tackles, including one for a loss.

Daniel Guerrero recorded seven stops with two tackles for a loss among them.

Ryker Long tied for the team lead with 11 tackles, including a TFL as well.

He shared the team lead with middle linebacker Mauricio Valles, who had seven solo stops among his 11 tackles.

Weakside linebacker Jairo Velarde was in on six stops.

Newcomer Hayes White picked off Weatherford’s Stone Chism on Weatherford’s second possession of the game. Santiago Ortega added a pick later in the game after Chism was hurried by Santoyo.

Ortega and Jackson Willbanks had four catches apiece. Willbanks’ covered 45 yards while Ortega’s were good for 16.

Daxx Compton and Birdwell caught two passes each.

Birdwell led the team with 63 rushing yards on 10 carries. Burnham also had 10 carries, which were good for 46 yards.

The Jackets’ lone points came with 5:11 to play in the third quarter.

With two Eagles crashing in from either side, senior Jake Sisk booted a 43-yard field goal through the south uprights.

“He’s going to be a big weapon for us,” Roof said. “Not just on field goals, but also his ability to kick it deep on kickoffs.”

Sisk’s field goal cut Weatherford’s lead to 6-3.

The Eagles got their first touchdown with 8:02 to play in the second quarter when Stone Chism found Steele Chism from 14 yards out.

After Sisk’s field goal, the Eagles drove 58 yards for a TD, picked off Burnham and drove 33 yards for their final score.

KHS went from down three points to 17 in a span of 5:22.

“The penalties, the mental mistakes and the missed opportunities. It was just a couple of plays here and there,” Roof said.

“But in the end, when you’re playing someone as good or better than you, you can’t have all the penalties and make all the mistakes and expect to be able to win the game.”