ENID – It was not a good night on the plains of northern Oklahoma for the Waurika Eagles in the second round of the Class B playoffs here last Friday night.
The Eagles dropped a 45-0 verdict to Oklahoma Bible Academy in a contest that ended late in the third quarter by the mercy rule.
The Eagles finished 6-5 on the year after playing a difficult schedule. OBA advances to the Class B quarterfinals where they will face Dewar tomorrow night at Cashion.
The tone for the night was set on the very first play as Oklahoma Bible returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
Things went from bad to worse midway in the first quarter when a punt snap went over the head of Waurika punter Jake Smart and into the end zone where Smart fell on it to give OBA a safety.
Things never got any better for the Eagles as the quickness of the Trojan defense stymied the Eagles on offense and the talented duo of Bodie Boydstun and Jud Cheatham were a force the Eagle defense did not have an answer for most of the night.
Despite the outcome of the game, the Eagles gave outstanding effort most of the contest that ended the careers of nine Waurika seniors.
A big difference in the game was successful conversions on third and fourth down for OBA. The Trojans were 4-8 on third downs and 2-4 on fourth downs. Waurika did not convert a third down during the game and was one of three on fourth downs.
It was Cheatham that took the opening kickoff and sprinted up the field running into traffic near midfield, but he broke free and headed down the right sideline for the 82-yard kickoff return. He added the two-point conversion and the Trojans were in front, 8-0, with 11:45 left in the first quarter.
Waurika took advantage of a personal foul penalty on the Trojans’ scoring play. The return by Smart gave Waurika possession at the Eagle 49. The Eagles went for it on fourth-and-one and Smart was stopped for no gain at the Trojan 42.
That would be the deepest penetration into Trojan territory by the Eagles in the game.
The Waurika defense held the Trojans without a first down and a 47-yard punt pinned the Eagles at their own 12.
After the Eagles could not earn the line to gain, they were forced to punt and the snap sailed over the head of Smart and into the end zone where Smart fell on the ball to prevent a Trojan touchdown. The safety gave the Trojans a 10-0 advantage with 5:22 left in the first quarter.
The free kick by the Eagles went out of bounds and gave the Trojans possession at the Waurika 45.
It took the Trojans seven plays to go the distance with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Cheatham from Boydstun capping the drive. The try for two points failed, but OBA was in front, 16-0, with 2:17 left in the first quarter.
Waurika went three and out and after a 33-yard punt the Trojans were in business at their own 34.
OBA drove the 66 yards in only three plays – two of them on big plays.
On the last play of the first quarter the Trojans completed a 29-yard play and on the first play of the second quarter, OBA took it to the end zone on a 36-yard dash up the middle by Ian Eastin. The run failed, but the Trojans had increased the lead to 22-0 with 11:54 left before intermission.
After holding the Eagles without a first down on the next series, the Trojans set up their offense at the OBA 43. The Trojans moved to the Waurika 29, where on fourth down a Boydstun pass fell incomplete giving Waurika the ball.
On a second down play by the Eagles, Treyton Torrez’ pass bounced off the receiver’s hands and Kaleb Mendoza intercepted the ball for the Trojans and returned it four yards to the Eagle 27.
The Trojans took advantage of the turnover to record their final score of the half with a two-play, 27-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard run by Boydstun. Cheatham ran for the two points giving the Trojans a 30-0 lead with 3:38 left in the half.
The half ended after each team traded possessions.
Waurika’s first possession of the second half looked promising after two consecutive 11-yard gains by Smart to open the drive, but Smart’s pass on third down went off the hands of the Waurika receiver and Cheatham was there to intercept the ball at the Trojan 39.
The Trojans put together their longest possession of the night as they drove 61 yards in 10 plays for another score.
The drive ended when Boydstun found Harry Nunez on a nine-yard touchdown pass. Eastin ran for the two-point conversion and the Trojans upped the lead to 38-0 with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
Waurika took the kickoff and Trent Arellano returned the ball 19 yards to give Waurika the ball at its own 31. Two runs picked up only the second first down of the game for the Eagles.
After a five-yard loss, Torrez found Smart downfield and Smart made the leaping catch, but when he came down – and it looked like he was on the ground – the Trojans’ Mendoza wrestled the ball away to give OBA possession at their own 37.
A 63-yard drive ended the game and it was fueled by 22- and 20-yard pass receptions by Cheatham.
Boydstun got the score on a one-yard dive on a first down. Nunez kicked the extra point giving the Trojans the 45-point advantage that ended the game on the mercy rule with 2:16 showing in the third quarter.
EAGLE FLIGHTS: The Eagles only gained 77 total yards in the game and that was the fewest number of yards by the Waurika offense this season…Waurika is now 31-29-2 in school history in the post-season….The Eagles have an 11-20-1 record in playoff games on the road….The 45-point loss was the second worst playoff loss in school history with a 52-0 defeat at the hands of Davenport being the worst….Waurika head coach Joe Allen is 26-5 in games ended by the mercy rule…Waurika’s last shutout came at the hands of Empire in the 2021 season….The Eagles last playoff shutout was the 2018 game with Davenport….The Eagles have been shutout eight times in playoff games in school history…The 45 points scored by OBA is tied for the fifth most in a playoff game against Waurika in school history….
The Eagles finished with a mark of 7-4 on the year.
It is the 37th season in school history that Waurika has recorded seven or more wins during a season with three seasons’ records not complete.
Head coach Joe Allen is responsible for three of those seasons in the five years he has been the Eagles’ coach.
….Nine Waurika seniors completed their grid careers with the loss – Torrez, Arellano, Angel Garcia, Nic Wilson, Bobby Aldape, Cody Ramsey, Gabriel Willis, Smart ad Rodrigo Carrillo.
Game in Figures
WHS OBA
First Downs 2 16
Yards Rushing 26-51 25-148
Yards Passing 26 182
Passes 1-6 16-20
Passes Int. By 0 2
Fumbles, Lost 1-1 0-0
Punts 2-34.5 1-47
Penalties 1-7 6-50
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Waurika 0 0 0 x—0
OBA 16 14 15 x—45
SCORING SUMMARY
OKLA. BIBLE – Jud Cheatham 82 kickoff return (Cheatham run), 11:45, 1st Quarter
OKLA. BIBLE – Safety, bad snap recovered in end zone, 5:22, 1st Quarter
OKLA. BIBLE – Cheatham 27 pass from Bodie Boydstun (run failed), 2:17, 1st Quarter
OKLA. BIBLE – Ian Eastin 36 run (run failed), 11:54, 2nd Quarter
OKLA. BIBLE – Boydstun 8 run (Cheatham run), 3:38, 2nd Quarter
OKLA. BIBLE – Harry Nunez 4 pass from Boydstun (Eastin run), 6:50, 3rd Quarter
OKLA. BIBLE – Boydstun 1 run (Nunez kick), 2:16, 3rd Quarter
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
WAURIKA: Rushing – Jake Smart 9-50, Treyton Torrez 13-11, Johnathan Winegeart 3-11, Team 1-(-21); Passing: Torrez 1-5-26-1, Smart 0-1-0-1; Receiving – Smart 1-26.
OKLA. BIBLE: Rushing – Ian Eastin 9-91, Bodie Boydstun 10-32, Jud Cheatham 6-25; Passing – Boydstun 16-19-182-0, Cheatham 0-1-0-0; Receiving – Cheatham 7-87, Harry Nunez 5-36, Jakob Colby 3-43, Kaleb Mendoza 1-16.
