Bizarro world in south Oklahoma

It was a scene out of “The Twilight Zone.”

Kingfisher had just knocked off No. 6 Plainview 30-26 on the road last Friday night to wrap up a stellar 7-3 regular season.

Yet as they walked off the field, it was the Indians doing so with their arms raised in triumph while coach Reagan Roof and the rest of the Yellowjackets looked like they’d been gut punched.

Because they had. “It was a first for me,” Roof said. “We won, but it felt like we lost.”

The bizarre situation at game’s end was due to the final district standings.

Kingfisher’s win coupled with Anadarko’s win at North Rock Creek created a three-way tie for second place in District 3A-1 between the Jackets, Plainview and Anadarko.

For KHS to earn second place in the tie-breaker and achieve a home playoff game this week, it needed to win by eight or more points.

That possibility seemed like a probability with 7:56 left in the game when Cale Reagan capped a magnificent stretch of the game by him when he sacked Henry Harlow for a safety.

That play gave KHS a 30-19 lead and with KHS about to get the ball back, that home playoff game was within grasp.

But then it slipped away. Plainview pulled off an onside kick on the ensuing kick and - like that playoff game - the ball was within grasp before it slipped away.

The Indians’ Jayden Smith jumped on the loose ball, giving them possession at their own 32 with 7:17 to play.

“We were expecting it, but we also still had to guard against a pooch kick so we couldn’t go with our usual hands team lineup,” Roof said. “It was an impressive kick and impressive play, but we still should have recovered.

“And we still had a chance to stop them.”

But the Jackets didn’t. Plainview came back with a scoring drive that included converting a 4thand- 3 to keep it alive. The Indians got within four points when Jett Frankum broke multiple tackles on a 39-yard scoring run with 3:31 left.

Yes, the Jackets were still winning, but they were no longer above the eight-point threshold.

“We still had our opportunities,” Roof said.

However, Kingfisher’s potential scoring drive halted at the Plainview 28 with less than a minute to play.

Facing 4th and 8 from the 32, Jhett Birdwell was flushed out of the pocket and his scramble was stopped shy of the first down marker.

“There were three plays on that drive where we should have scored,” Roof said. “But something happened each time to keep us from it.

“I feel like we’re snakebit. We get so close in great situations and we find some way to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

So instead earning second place and hosting Perkins- Tryon - the third-place team in 3A-2 - this week, the Jackets finished third and will travel back to Ardmore on Friday night where they’ll play Lone Grove in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Longhorns were second in their district.

“Looking back, it’s still a good win. That’s a good team and really tough place to play,” Roof said. “And by Saturday morning I was feeling better about it until I watched film on Lone Grove.

“After doing that, I feel like Perkins would have been a much better matchup for us, so it’s that much more frustrating.”

The Jackets never trailed Plainview, but also couldn’t pull away despite controlling large chunks of the game.

That was especially true early.

After holding the Indians to a three-and-out on their opening possession, KHS drove 65 yards for a score that saw Birdwell drop a 36-yard pass into the arms of Carter Stephenson at 7:15 of the first quarter.

The Jackets then perfectly executed a surprise onside kick that saw Rhett Schlegel bounce it toward the sideline and Hayes White recover.

However, the offense couldn’t capitalize but soon was driving again with a chance to go up two scores.

That’s when the game took one of its funky turns as Braden Walden came out of a pile that was started by a Brett Calamateo run.

Walden had apparently stripped Calamateo and raced 51 yards for a Longhorn TD.

“I didn’t even know the fumble happened,” Roof said. “I couldn’t see it. Then in watching the film, he was laying on the ground with the ball, stood up and started running.

“But I didn’t know it at the time, because I didn’t even know what had happened. I couldn’t argue the call.”

The Jackets answered right back.

Birdwell hit Kasen Blair with a 52-yard pass to flip the field and set up the Jackets at the Plainview 18.

On the first play of the second quarter, Birdwell’s 1-yard sneak capped an 81-yard scoring drive for a 14-6 lead.

Plainview found offense for the first time on the ensuing drive and Harlow hit Dom Corsey for a 19-yard touchdown pass on a 3rdand- goal play.

The two-point conversion failed and the Jackets eventually took a 14-12 lead into the half.

Kingfisher opened the second half with a 61-yard scoring drive that ended with Jackson Willbanks running it in from a yard out. The drive was nearly four minutes and put KHS up 21-12.

But again, Plainview answered.

The Indians increasingly found success with their run game as the contest wore on.

Frankum broke a tackle in the backfield and raced 76 yards for a score to make it 21-19 with 6:37 to play in the third quarter.

The game looked like it was slipping away as the Jackets were forced to punt after three snaps on their next possession.

On the next play, Bo Brewster broke through the KHS defense for a 57-yard scamper.

Stevenson ran him down at the 8 to save the touchdown.

It proved to be a massive tackle.

The Jacket defense stiffened and forced a Plainview field goal attempt.

Reagan bulled his way through the line of scrimmage and blocked the kick, which tumbled all the way down to the 46 yard line.

The next snap saw Birdwell deliver another dime, this one to Blair, who hobbled into the end zone for a 54-yard score.

“You could tell he wasn’t healthy, but he was going as hard as he could,” Roof said of Blair, who was one of multiple Jackets playing through injuries suffered the week before.

Blair missed most of the previous week’s loss at Anadarko with a hip pointer. Willbanks did the same with a strained calf and Calamateo missed time with a separated shoulder.

“All of them were limited in some way, but they all gave it a go,” Roof said.

Blair had three catches for 106 yards.

His touchdown extended Kingfisher’s lead to 28-19 with 2:46 left in the third.

Plainview’s next drive ended with a punt that was forced by a Reagan sack on third down.

After a Jacket punt, Reagan then capped his night with the safety. He finished with eight tackles and the two sacks to go with the blocked kick.

“We just didn’t fully capitalize,” Roof said. “We had it right there.”

Frankum’s touchdown run finished off a big night for him as he ran the ball 28 times for 217 yards.

As a team, the Indians picked up 301 yards on the ground, which accounted for a bulk of their 340 total yards.

Harlow completed only 4 of 14 passes.

Kingfisher’s end opposite of Reagan gave him fits as well.

Eduardo De La Torre led Kingfisher with 13 tackles. Eight of them were solo, including two for a loss.

“I thought he played a great game,” Roof said.

Willbanks added seven tackles while Kaden Cline chipped in six.

The Jackets still outgained Plainview with 375 yards of their own.

“I thought the offensive line played their best game of the season,” Roof said.

He tinkered with the positions of the starting group as he moved Taegen Pool from right tackle to center, Donovan Dunn from right guard to right tackle and Boston Kostka from center to right guard.

Roof also had to do some in-game shuffling as starting left tackle Carson Swafford twice left with injuries, which brought Brayden Livingston into the mix.

“I felt really strongly that we’d be able to run the ball on them because most teams had this year,” Roof said.

He was right. Kingfisher gained 191 yards on the ground.

Playing with that hurt shoulder, Calamateo got a season-high 27 carries and a season-high 120 yards.

Birdwell added another 52 yards rushing.

The senior QB was 6 of 18 passing, but they covered a lot of ground with 184 yards.

Stephenson joined Blair in having a big day with three catches for 74 yards.

The last time KHS won a playoff game was 2022.

The Jackets were the third seed in their district and knocked off Lone Grove 28-27 on the road.

This year’s Longhorn team is 6-4 overall and was 5-2 in their district.

They finished behind Sulphur, which is undefeated.

Lone Grove’s other district loss was 34-28 to Seminole, which eventually finished fourth.

The other two losses were to common foes: 3635 in overtime to Anadarko and 19-6 to Plainview.

“They’re really, really good on the defensive line,” Roof said. “I’d say this is the best d-line we’ve seen all season and that includes Heritage Hall.

“And the same guys play on the offensive line.”

Winners of their last four games, the Longhorns average 33.2 points a contest.

“Their quarterback is ‘a dude,’” Roof said. “He really makes them go.”

Tatum Quinn, also a standout baseball player, had two touchdowns as Lone Grove knocked off Bristow 23-21 last week on the road to secure second place.