Bulldogs as good as advertised

There’s a reason this was considered a “David vs. Goliath” matchup on the field.

And there was a reason there was no legitimate expectation of winning.

So much so that Kingfisher accomplishing the simple task of scoring a touchdown against Lincoln Christian in their Class 3A football quarterfinal could be considered a “win.”

And for a fleeting moment, that “win” was falling toward Carter Stephenson’s hands.

“We were really close to doing something nobody has done to them,” said KHS head coach Reagan Roof.

Indeed. The KHS defense shocked much of the home crowd by forcing the topranked Bulldogs into a three-and-out on the game’s first possession.

Then, after a short punt, Kingfisher was in Bulldog territory when quarterback Jhett Birdwell sat in the pocket, saw that Stephenson had his man beat on the outside and launched the ball into the end zone.

It was reminiscent of the week before when Birdwell found Kasen Blair with a 56-yard bomb to set up the winning touchdown against Lone Grove.

This pass was just as good.

“I thought it was a touchdown,” Roof said.

But at the last second, Lincoln Christian’s C.J. Wright completed his trek from across the field and knocked the ball away just as it was about to land in Stephenson’s hands.

“He covered a lot of ground,” Roof said. “Not many high school kids can cover that from where he started.”

And not many high school teams can play like Lincoln Christian.

Kingfisher’s near-miss on its first drive was about as good as it got as the two-time defending champ Bulldogs quickly put the game away after that in a 55-0 victory over the Jackets at Dennis Byrd Stadium in Tulsa.

The win moved Lincoln Christian to 12-0 and into the semifinals for an eighth straight year.

The Bulldogs will play Heritage Hall in the semifinals on Dec. 5. It’s a rematch from Week 1 in which Lincoln Christian won 35-6.

Heritage Hall’s touchdown in that game is the only one allowed by the Bulldogs against 11 Oklahoma foes this season.

They defeated reigning Class 6A Arkansas state champion Shiloh Christian 41-3 the next week.

Since then - in nine games - Lincoln Christian has allowed a grand total of three points.

The Jackets were their fifth consecutive shutout as the Bulldogs won their 40th consecutive game overall and 59th straight home game.

After Wright knocked away Birdwell’s pass, the Jackets turned it over on downs.

On the next Lincoln Christian offensive snap, Wright burst through the line and outran everyone for a 67-yard touchdown.

He scored again on a 17yard run on Lincoln Christian’s next drive and the home team was eventually up 21-0 after a quarter.

The Bulldogs had 281 total yards by the end of that quarter, 237 of them on the ground.

The lead grew to 48-0 by halftime.

About the only thing that didn’t go their way was a missed extra-point attempt after their sixth touchdown of the half.

The Bulldogs finished with 521 total yards with 363 of them rushing. They averaged 16.5 yards per carry.

Carter Ricke, the Bulldogs’ quarterback, was an efficient 10 of 14 passing for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

Wright had just three carries and tallied 143 yards.

Braden Baker added 108 yards and two TDs on seven attempts.

The Jackets were limited to 99 total yards.

Birdwell was 8 of 16 for 52 yards and KHS picked up 47 net yards on 30 rushing attempts.

Birdwell managed 37 of those on his eight carries while Brett Calamateo had 35 yards on 14 attempts.

Brody Boeckman and Blair caught three passes each while Stephenson hauled in two.

But nothing “popped” for the big gain against the Bulldogs’ swarming defense.

“Overall, that’s probably the best team I’ve ever gone up against,” said Roof, who has deep playoff runs at both Bethany and Weatherford on his resume.

“They looked like that on film and they showed it on Friday. They don’t make mistakes. They don’t have any weaknesses.

“There’sareasonthey’ve won that many games in a row and probably will win their third straight title.”

And, added Roof, the Bulldog roster is littered with underclassmen.

“I’m not sure who is going to beat them next year,” he said.

For Kingfisher, the season ends with an 8-4 mark.

The Jackets were 5-2 in District 3A-1 and finished third. They were only a few points shy of being in second.

Their first-round win at Lone Grove was the program’s first playoff victory since 2022, sending this crop of seniors out on a high note, said Roof.

“I thought we had a really good season,” he said. “We had some goals we wanted to accomplish and they were able to achieve some of them.”

During this group of seniors’ tenure, Kingfisher extended its playoff streak to 26 years.

And, said Roof, it was an enjoyable bunch to coach.

“We had a lot of fun with this group. It’s a bunch of good kids,” he said. “There’s sometimes you get a group that, by end of year, you’re all sick of each other. This was not one of those groups.

“They were bought in to the very end and we enjoyed it to the very end.”