Perhaps the fate of Kingfisher’s much-anticipated football season opener with Tuttle was sealed on the first snap of the respective teams’ offenses.

For the Yellowjackets, there was a misunderstanding of the play call, which resulted in the quarterback turning one way to hand it off and the running back going the opposite direction.

Although Cade Stephenson turned the mishap into a first down run, it was an inauspicious beginning.

As for the Tigers, they watched senior running back Triston Truelove take his first touch 71 yards for a touchdown.

And so, with that start, it was no surprise that Class 4A’s defending state champions and top-ranked team left Kingfisher with a 41-18 victory.

However, much of what happened between the start and the final buzzer leads to optimism for the Jackets as they march toward the rest of their regular season.

“I think the score was very misleading,” said KHS head coach Jeff Myers, who began his 16th season with the Jackets.

“Tuttle is a really good ball team and they deserved to win. But I also think we did a lot of stuff tonight that showed we are and can be a pretty good team, too. We just have a lot to work on, which is the case every year after the season opener.”

Despite falling behind 14-0, Kingfisher was within 14-12 at halftime and even had a chance to tie the game with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter.

Stephenson had just thrown his second touchdown pass of the game, this one a 12-yarder to senior tight end Riley Myers, to pull KHS within 20-18.

The ensuing two-point pass was unsuccessful and the Tigers - with considerably more depth than the Jackets - dominated the final 15 minutes on the hot and humid September evening.

Tuttle responded to Kingfisher’s score with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Cole Battles to Ethan Paxton just 1:20 later.

Truelove added two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

It was Truelove and Tuttle’s offensive front that did a bulk of the work for the Tiger offense.

The quick-footed back ran 35 times for 268 yards and four scores overall.

“He’s a solid back,” Myers said. “He runs hard, runs downhill, runs with a purpose. And he’s also got that ability to not only break tackles, but make people miss.

“It’s a great combination in a running back.”

But for the better part of two quarters, Kingfisher’s defense was able to limit Tuttle’s attack.

After allowing Tuttle to score on its first two possessions, Kingfisher’s defense forced a punt on the third and KHS was able to set up at Tuttle’s 46.

A couple plays later, Stephenson burst up the middle and then outran everyone to the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown run.

The extra-point was blocked, which left KHS chasing points the rest of the night.

The momentum stayed on Kingfisher’s side as an errant snap got by Battles on Tuttle’s next possession and Keaton Abercrombie pounced on it at the Tuttle 20.

He was rewarded later with a 9-yard touchdown catch. The two-point pass failed, but after looking overmatched for a quarter, KHS had pulled within 14-12 with 5:30 to go before halftime.

Tuttle threatened to add to its lead before halftime, but the Kingfisher defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs at its own 7 with 34 seconds remaining.

The Tigers got the ball to start the second half and again threatened.

But - again - Kingfisher’s defense denied the Tigers inside the 10 and forced the turnover on downs.

Kingfisher’s offense ultimately led way to a punt and Tuttle set up shop at its own 45 at 7:02 of the third quarter.

Battles sparked the drive with a 26-yard scamper to the KHS 5. One play later, Truelove had his second score of the game and Tuttle led 20-12 with 5:59 to play in the quarter.

After the Jackets fired right back with the Stephenson-Myers connection, the night belonged to the Tigers.

The Tigers ran for 274 yards on 42 attempts and Battles used that to help set up an efficient passing game.

He was 14 of 19 through the air for 194 yards.

The Jackets countered with 120 passing yards and 76 rushing yards from Stephenson.

Overall, KHS had 120 yards on 33 carries.

Keaton Abercrombie led the defense with 11 tackles. Riley Myers added eight.

One noticeable negative for the Jackets was the number of players cramping up on the field or being tended to on the sidelines.

“It was really warm and really humid so you’re going to lose a lot of fluids. And we did have a couple of starters who were sick a lot of the week,” Myers said. “But that’s something we have to do a lot better job of preparing for all week. You can’t just drink a lot Friday night and hope you’re going to be good.

“You have to take care of yourself and your body all week and it will take care of you on Fridays. We have to be better there.”

But, all in all, Myers wasn’t discouraged with his team heading into this week’s showdown with county rival Hennessey.

“We’ve got a lot to build on,” Myers said. “You saw a lot of good in that game and Tuttle is one of the best - if not the best - teams we’ll play this season.

“So for us to do what we did for two quarters against them proves to our guys and everyone else watching that we can hold our own.

“We just have to continue to improve each week and everything else will take care of itself.”