Muñoz kick saves the day

The good news is this: Kingfisher won.

Alan Muñoz booted a 25-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining Friday to lift Kingfisher to a dramatic 30-28 win at Douglass in their District 3A-1 showdown.

The play capped a wild fourth quarter (plus the final play of the third quarter) that saw both teams trade multiple miscues before Douglass’ proved most costly.

The Trojans possessed a one-point lead, possession of the ball and had Kingfisher down to its final timeout.

However, the Trojans opted to attempt a pass on 3rd-and-13, one that ultimately fell incomplete and preserved Kingfisher’s final timeout.

On the very next play, an errant snap went over the Trojan punter’s head on a play that set KHS up at the Douglass 10 with 1:27 remaining.

The Jackets were content to run the ball, milk as much time as possible and trust the leg of Muñoz if need be.

“He made several field goals for us last year and has been successful so far this year,” head coach Jeff Myers said. “We knew he had the ability.”

Ironically, the Jackets trailed because of a missed extra-point attempt in the third quarter.

Jax Sternberger had just delivered his third rushing touchdown of the game - this one from 6 yards out

- to give KHS a 27-21 lead with nine seconds left in the quarter.

The Muñoz kick was low and left, keeping the

Jacket lead at six.

The lead disappeared on the very next play from scrimmage, which was also the final play of the third quarter.

Like they did all game, the Trojans went to the air and found success as Cam Jackson caught a pass from Kaleb Moore, broke a tackle and raced for a 54-yard touchdown.

David Giron’s successful extra-point gave the Trojans their first lead of the game, 28-27, entering the final quarter.

As hectic as things had been to that point, they only got crazier…just with fewer points scored.

On the ensuing possession, KHS converted what was a 2nd-and-28 into a first down with a 46-yard screen pass from Sternberger to Cade Cooper.

The drive reached the Trojan 13 before KHS turned it over on downs with 7:56 to play.

With an opportunity to burn clock, the Trojans faltered when Slade Snodgrass stripped their ball carrier and Kale Westfahl pounced on it to give KHS new life.

That was short-lived as Elijah Jackson picked off Sternberger less than a minute later.

Kingfisher’s defense held strong and forced a punt, one that set up the Jackets at the Douglass 46 with 4:30 to play.

But, just over a minute later, Snodgrass had the ball knocked out of his hands and the Trojan defense had another takeaway.

Once again, the Trojans couldn’t capitalize and did Kingfisher the favor with the third-down pass attempt.

“That kept us from having to burn our final timeout,” Myers said. “It’s always best to have that in your pocket if you need it.”

On what turned out to be the game-winning kick, Muñoz somehow squeezed the kick through an onslaught of Trojans.

“I have no idea how it got through,” Myers said. “They had four guys close and one guy who was right there.

“It just found a way.”

Douglass’ final attempts to score proved unsuccessful and KHS escaped with the victory.

“It’s a game that honestly we didn’t deserve to win,” Myers said.

Now for the bad news.

A team that was already injury-riddled entering the game left it with even more banged up Jackets.

Sternberger was noticeably hobbled in the second half as he took multiple hits from the Trojans’ defense, whether on run or pass plays.

On the Wednesday before the game, starting center Noah Friesen injured a knee in practice and was forced out of action.

That put Grayson Bromlow at center and freshman Bert Haag as the starting right guard.

“Grayson has at least played the position before,” Myers said. “But Bert, while he’s got the ability, had never been in that situation.”

The Jackets had already lost Aaron DeLaTorre and Kyle Borelli to season-ending injuries.

Dallen Barton and Tanner Parker - two players who would see significant time - have yet to play this season and Diego Muñoz wasn’t at practice all last week with an illness.

The rash of injuries necessitated moving Cooper from outside linebacker to free safety and Harrison Evans from a defensive end to outside linebacker.

“So we had a linebacker playing safety and we had to take a defensive end away from what he does best on the line,” Myers said.

“It wasn’t ideal.”

In the game, Cooper got dehydrated and had issues at halftime and then eventually tweaked a previously injured shoulder in the second half.

Sternberger finished the game, but his exact injury is unknown.

What is known is that he won’t be able to play this week when the Jackets host McLoud.

Snodgrass will take over the quarterback position, which takes away Kingfisher’s most consistent receiver.

“It’s been one thing after another for us,” Myers said. “I think we’ll have eight would-be starters out this week, which has to be a record for us.”

Early on it appeared KHS would walk to its fourth victory of the season.

Kingfisher’s defense forced a pair of three-and-outs that were sandwiched around a 44-yard scoring drive.

Sternberger capped it with a 1-yard run for a 7-0 lead at 6:17 of the first quarter.

The Jacket offense stalled on its next possession and, after a punt, Douglass got its first dose of success.

Without a first down to that point, the Trojans’ Moore hit Collin Stewart on a slant.

The senior wideout broke one tackle and then outran the rest of the KHS defenders for an 81-yard touchdown to tie the game with 1:50 left in the quarter.

Kingfisher had an answer and drove 58 yards to reclaim the lead when Sternberger found Jake Reagan for a 4-yard touchdown pass on fourth down.

Later in the quarter, Stewart and Moore struck again, this time for a 75-yard scoring play.

Snodgrass boosted the Jackets before halftime as his 52-yard kickoff return gave Kingfisher the ball at the Douglass 28.

“He had a great game on both sides,” Myers said of the senior. “He’s a big reason we were able to win that game.”

One play later, Stern berger ran in a 28-yard TD to give the Jackets a 21-14 halftime lead.

But Douglass stole back the momentum in the second half.

Elijah Jackson picked off Sternberger on the opening drive and returned it to the Jacket 21.

One play later, Moore hit Ethan Buyckes for a touchdown to once again tie the game, this time at 21-21 with 8:40 left in the third.

It stayed that way until Sternberger’s touchdown run in the waning moments of the quarter.

Sternberger finished his night 12 of 21 for 181 yards and a touchdown through the air. He added 72 yards and

He added 72 yards and three more scores on 16 carries.

“He battled because he obviously wasn’t at 100 percent,” Myers said. “But he kept going at them.”

Sternberger was the only success KHS had on the ground.

The Trojans were able to bottle up Muñoz who only had 22 yards on his 16 carries.

Snodgrass added three catches for 85 yards and also led the team with 10 tackles.

Muñoz added seven tackles and Reagan six.

They spent their night chasing Moore, who completed 19 of 34 passes for 387 yards. He was picked once by Covalt in the first half.

Stewart caught five passes for 221 yards, all in the first half.

The Trojans went almost exclusively to the air as KHS shut down the run game.

Douglass’ 19 attempts netted eight yards.

“We moved a lot of guys around, put guys in positions they’re new to playing and put in guys who had almost no experience,” Myers said. “It was a tough night in a lot of respects, from our injury situation to the way we played.

“But I will give the guys credit for ultimately getting it done.”

The win moved Kingfisher’s overall record to 4-1. The Jackets are 2-0 in district games.

Douglass dropped to 3-2 and 1-1.

This week’s opponent, McLoud, is 1-4 and 0-2. The Indians were defeated 34-27 by Mount St. Mary last week.