By Bruce Campbell, Staff Writer
STILLWATER — King-fisher’s 35-0 loss to Lincoln Christian in the Class 2A state championship game Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium could be put in perspective.
Kingfisher quarterback Derek Patterson was carted off the field on a stretcher after being hit out of bounds by the Bulldogs’ Zac Fullingam.
Patterson gave a thumbs-up sign as he was leaving the field.
X-rays were negative at a Stillwater hospital.
“What they did on the sidelines was more precautionary methods,’’ Kingfisher coach Jeff Myers said. “He was feeling some tingling in his arms, neck and legs a little.’’
The Yellowjackets were behind 21-0 at the time. Senior Jordan Woods, who had never taken a snap at quarterback, even in practice, replaced Patterson. Backup Logan Nault sprained his ankle in practice Friday and was unavailable.
Kingfisher did not make a first down in the second half.
“We’re pretty limited without Derek,’’ Myers said. “Jordan did the best he could.’’
Patterson, before the injury, had taken a beating from the Bulldogs defense. Kingfisher had only five first downs and did not advance past the Lincoln Christian 41.
“Derek was running for his life,’’ Myers said. “He got dinged early where he whipped his head back on the turf. He was totally 100 percent before the last hit. We were keeping an eye on him. If he took another shot, he would have been on the sidelines with us.’’
The tone of the game was set early.
On the first play of the game, Austin Vokoun picked off a Patterson pass and went 33 yards to score.
“Derek didn’t put enough air on the pass,’’ Myers said. “The kid made a good jump on the ball. It was just one of things. We thought we could come back.’’
Things got worse for the Yellowjackets after that.
The Yellowjackets, thanks to a holding penalty and an intentional grounding penalty, faced a third-and-62 from their own 5-yard line.
The Yellowjackets were called for eight penalties for 79 yards, including two intentional groundings when Patterson was about to be sacked for huge losses.
“We don’t have a play for third-and-62,’’ Myers said. “The penalties just rocked us. They usually let the kids decide the ballgames like this. I’m not saying it made any kind of difference but it put us in the hole early.’’
A short punt gave the Bulldogs the ball on the Kingfisher 27. Quarterback Cale Grauers snuck over from the 1 to cap an eight-play drive to make it 14-0 with 5:09 remaining.
Midway through the second period, an intentional grounding penalty turned a second-and-1 from the KHS 47 to a fourth-and-23 from the Yellowjackets 25.
Roman Wilson returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown and added an extra point to make it 21-0 with 5:09 left in the half.
“We could never catch a break,’’ Myers said. “Every time we took a step forward, we took a step back.’’
Matt Lawwill, who rushed for 192 yards on 33 carries, scored two touchdowns in the third quarter.
Kingfisher, Myers said, showed its pride in keeping the Bulldogs out of the end zone in the fourth period.
Jeremy Smith stopped one drive when he picked off a Grauer pass in the end zone.
Joe Gaither, playing his last game as a Yellowjacket, forced and recovered a fumble on the Bulldogs’ final drive.
“I was proud of the kids,’’ Myers said. “They never gave up. It could have been a track meet.’’
The shutout was the seventh of the season for the Bulldogs. Lincoln Christian gave up only 24 points in its five playoff games.
Patterson threw for 69 yards before going out. The Yellowjackets had only nine yards rushing.
Grauer threw for 188 yards, completing passes to six different receivers.
Patterson had the longest play for the Yellowjackets with a 26-yard scramble.
Lincoln Christian finished the season with a 14-1 record.
Kingfisher finished the season with a 12-3 record. It was the second time in the last three years the Yellowjackets reached the state finals.
“It was a great season,’’ Myers said. “I couldn’t have been more proud of a group of young men. We were pretty bunged up going into the game. We overcame a lot to get here.’’
