THE HOME WARRIORS
Jackets’ regional title game win caps undefeated career at APB for seniors
KHS SENIORS (from left) Ian Daugherty, Matthew Stone, Bijan Cortes and Maverick Ridenour celebrate after Stone scored and was fouled during the team’s 76-21 regional title game win over Weatherford. Kingfisher’s seniors never lost a home game during t
When the Kingfisher High School seniors walked off the APB court last Saturday night, they did so after having just played their last game at home.
And they never lost one of them.
The Yellowjackets overwhelmed No. 17 Weatherford 76-21 to claim a Class 4A regional championship and land themselves one win shy of qualifying for state for a fifth consecutive year.
They get the first shot at 8 p.m. Friday when they play No. 8 Holland Hall in an area championship game at Enid High School. A win there qualifies the Jackets for state. A loss means they’d get another shot in Saturday’s consolation championship.
Lossesinthe APB weren’t rare for the KHS seniors... they were non-existent.
The Jackets were 51-0 in the building the last four years.
“There have been a lot of accomplishments by our guys over the last few years and this one is right up there,” KHS coach Jared Reese said. “Not many people can graduate and say they never lost at home.”
Weatherford did its best to end the streak and was even within 10-5 after a quarter against the No. 1 Jackets.
It was a 20-11 game after AJ. Stevenson made back-to-back treys for the Eagles beyond the mid-point of the second quarter.
But that was it for the Eagles.
KHS ended the first half on a 13-0 run for a 33-11 halftime lead.
It only got worse for the visitors as KHS went on a 30-3 run in the third quarter.
At one point, KHS scored 29 straight points and didn’t allow a Weatherford second-half field goal until late in the fourth quarter.
The Jackets held Weatherford to just five field goals overall as the Eagles shot 14.7 percent (5 of 34) for the game.
Kingfisher forced 30 turnovers, scored 36 points off of them and had 20 more rebounds than the Eagles.
The win gave three KHS seniors who have suited up for four years –
Jarret Birdwell, Matthew Stone and Bijan Cortes — the perfect mark on their home court.
Overall, KHS (21-1) has won 61 straight home games dating back to December 2016.
Cortes scored 23 points to go with four rebounds and four steals in his final home game.
Stone had 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals while Birdwell provided eight points and three boards.
That trio is also 1034 in their four years. The win total matches the program’s best four-year mark that was set from 2016-2019 when Jett Sternberger started all four seasons.
“Hopefully we add to that this week,” Reese said. “That’s certainly our goal.”