WEATHERFORD, Okla. – A defensive stand with 4:00 remaining in the fourth quarter allowed Tipton to claim their third Class C State Championship in the past five years with a 28-26 victory over Pond Creek-Hunter on Friday evening at SWOSU’s ASAP Energy Field in Weatherford.
Pond Creek-Hunter took a 14-6 lead into the break and got the ball to open the second half, but reserve quarterback Tyler Kerr – on in relief of Derek Holcomb – was the victim of pick-sixes on each of the Panthers first two drives. First, it was SemaJ McBride with a 32-yard interception return that tied the score before Andrew Lechuga took back an interception 67 yards to give the Tigers a 22-14 lead with 7:02 to play in the third.
A nine-play scoring drive for PCH got the Panthers within two, but Kerr’s pass attempt to tie the game with the two-point conversion failed and sent the game to the fourth with Tipton ahead 22-20. The Tigers used a short field to build their lead back to 28-20 on a 15-yard run by quarterback Shon-Claude Boothe with 8:07 to play, but their conversion failed and the game remained a one possession affair.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Pond Creek found paydirt on a 75-yard strike from Kerr to Blake Raynor, making it 28-26 after a missed two-point conversion. The Panthers got another opportunity after Tipton fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but the Tigers defense tightened to finish the game. Bryce Waugh, who led the game with 11 solo tackles, had his two biggest efforts with sacks of Kerr on consecutive plays that ended the Panthers last chance with 4:00 to play.
FINAL SCORE
Tipton 28, Pond Creek-Hunter 26
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Pond Creek-Hunter: 6-8-6-6 – 26
Tipton: 6-0-16-6 – 28
GAME SUMMARY
1st (2:37): PCH – Blake Rayner 15-yd pass from Tyler Kerr (Kerr rush failed)
2nd (9:05): THS – SemaJ McBride 26-yd run (Shon-Claude Booth rush)
2nd (1:17): PCH – Brandon Gibson 11-yd pass from Kerr (Kerr rush)
3rd (10:34): THS – McBride 32-yd INT return (Booth rush)
3rd (7:02): THS – Andrew Lechuga 67-yd INT return (Booth rush)
3rd (2:56): PCH – Kerr 1-yd run (pass failed)
4th (8:07): THS – Booth 15-yd run (rush failed)
4th (7:49): PCH – Rayner 75-yd pass from Kerr (rush failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Pond Creek-Hunter: Brandon Gibson, 3-37; Zac Davis, 14-35; Tyler Kerr, 21-10; Derek Halcomb, 2-9.
Tipton: Shon-Claude Booth, 13-63; Gavin Jones, 12-62; SemaJ McBride, 7-55; Dillon Schmidt, 6-27
Passing
Pond Creek-Hunter: Tyler Kerr, 13-24-3-151
Tipton: Shon-Claude Booth, 2-5-0-40
Receiving
Pond Creek-Hunter: Brandon Gibson, 6-29; Zac Davis, 4-22; Blake Raynor, 3-100
Tipton: Bryce Waugh, 1-37; SemaJ McBride, 1-3
Tackles (UA-A-Total)
Pond Creek-Hunter: Blake Rayner, 8-2-10; Trey Howard, 7-2-9; Zac Davis, 8-0-8; Jevan Overton, 4-1-5
Tipton: Bryce Waugh, 11-0-11; Shon-Claude Booth, 7-1-8; SemaJ McBride, 5-1-6; Gavin Jones, 4-2-6