Wildcats tackle Terriers

Cashion’s Lynn Shackelford faced a big decision on the very first play of the fourth quarter.

His team faced a 4th-and-goal from the opponent’s 2-yard-line.

A touchdown meant a two-score lead over visiting Thomas. A field goal would have still been worth a 10-point advantage.

Turns out, there was no decision at all.

Shackelford called on his human piledriver to finish up the drive and senior Caden Harrell delivered.

Harrell powered his way into the end zone to extend Cashion’s lead in what turned into a 28-7 victory over Class A’s third-ranked Terriers.

Cashion - ranked No. 1 in multiple polls - improved to 4-0 with its toughest, yet most impressive win of the season.

“No,” he said when asked if he even considered attempting a field goal.

“I figured the worst-case scenario for us was, if they stopped us, they’d have to go 99 yards to score.”

Such drives were non-existent for Thomas, which dropped to 1-1 on the season and features the biggest front line Cashion will face all season.

The Terriers boast the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Aden Kelley, an Oklahoma State commitment who was as good as advertised at defensive end and right tackle.

They also had 6-3, 270-pound junior lineman Camden Billy among their more sizable assets.

With the speedy Ethan Mannering behind them, the Terriers posed one of the biggest problems for Cashion’s defense this season.

“We just tried to limit him,” Cashion’s defensive coordinator Tony Wood said of Mannering. “We wanted to keep them running side to side and not give up the deep ball.”

The Wildcats did just once, which eventually led to Thomas’ lone touchdown in the second quarter.

“That was a communication breakdown on our part,” Wood said. “Outside of that, we were really good. We played really physical and used our speed to our advantage.”

The bigger Terriers were held to just 57 rushing yards on 31 attempts while Jaxon Ward was held to 6-of-14 passing for another 118 yards.

The Terriers didn’t turn the ball over, but were forced into seven punts.

“I thought our defense controlled the game on that side of the ball,” Shackelford said.

And his offense made big plays when it mattered most.

The offense did its part to help out early with scoring drives on its first two possessions.

Brexten Green had two drive-extending catches before Mason Manning hauled in a 22-yard catch and run from Ben Harman to put the Wildcats up 7-0 at 8:03 of the first.

After Thomas was stopped on downs, the Wildcats drove 73 yards to go up 14-0.

This time it was Landon LaGasse on the score as he and a defender knocked the ball into the air, but it was LaGasse who stayed with it and turned it into a 47-yard TD at 3:16 of the first.

The Thomas defense tightened up the rest of the half and the Terriers pulled within 14-7 with their score with 4:29 remaining in the half.

Hamberlin picked off Harman on Cashion’s final drive of the half, but the Wildcats’ defense kept Thomas from capitalizing.

Same went for the third quarter when Jeremiah Fernandez came away with an interception for the Terriers on Cashion’s initial drive of the half.

Yet again, the defense was up to the task as it forced a three-and-out.

Despite there being more than 16 minutes of football remaining, the game was about to decisively turn in Cashion’s favor.

Unable to get much traction on the ground, the Wildcats kept plugging away.

It began to pay off as holes started to open for Harrell, the Wildcats’ 6-foot-2, 230-pound sack of hammers.

“I thought our offensive line in the middle of the third quarter on was really good,” Shackelford said. “We really started to do a good job of running the ball and controlling the clock.”

The Wildcats had a 63-yard touchdown pass to Green called off due to a penalty. Other than another third-down pass to Green on the drive, they kept it largely on the ground.

Eventually they got to 1st-and-goal at the 7. Shackelford called Harrell’s number three straight times as he got closer and closer to the goal line before the quarter ended.

When play resumed on the opposite end, only Hamberlin stood between Harrell and the end zone.

No contest.

Harrell put Hamberlin on his backside en route to the score.

After another Thomas punt, it was back to the air for the Wildcats.

This time Manning took away a contested pass from a defender, juked three Terriers on the Cashion sideline, leapt over another and ran in for a 33-yard TD with 7:57 to play.

“It was a highlight play,” Shackelford said. “You don’t see a lot of kids who can make a play like that, but we’ve got four to five guys who are really good with the ball in their hands.”

Indeed.

LaGasse ended up with four catches for 109 yards and the score.

Manning had three for 75 and two TDs while Green hauled in the most passes - six - to cover 69 yards.

“This receiver group might be the best we’ve had here overall,” Shackelford said. “And that’s saying something.”

Harman ended his day with 267 and three scores through the air. He completed 14 of 18 attempts.

Harrell ran 12 times for 59 yards.

But it was the defense that likely sealed the win.

It not only bottled up Hamberlin and limited Ward, but accumulated eight tackles for a loss.

Jacob Farrow led the bunch with 10 tackles while Harrell added nine.

Kyler George was in on five of them.

Cashion will now turn its attention to its District A-3 slate of games. It begins this week with a trip to Watonga.

The district portion of Cashion’s schedule wasn’t nearly as daunting as its non-district slate of games during which Cashion beat a 2019 semifinalist and two teams currently in the top-10 of Class A.

And it did so handily.

“The guys really stepped up,” Shackelford said. “But we all realize it’s just getting started. The games that count for us are just starting.”