VIAN, OKLA. - The Prairie Grove Tigers got a taste of arrogance in spoiling Vian, Okla.'s Homecoming, 35-14, in the first meeting of the school's Friday.
Blindside late hits
While Vian showcased a Homecoming court, their hospitality didn't match with Vian players taking a number of blindside free shots at Prairie Grove players beginning in the third quarter. Once Prairie Grove built a 27-7 lead, Vian players resorted to hitting various Prairie Grove players in the back after the whistle had blown and the play was over. This behavior went unchecked. Neither Vian head coach Gary Willis nor the officials halted the late hits.
Prairie Grove head coach Danny Abshier didn't want to comment on the officiating, but was obviously displeased having several conversations with the referee crew in the later stages of the contest. On at least two occasions when a flag was thrown for a Vian late hit, Prairie Grove was also flagged for protesting the late hits with officials deciding the penalties negated one another.
"Beating Vian at their home place is bigger than you know," Abshier said. "They rule the roost in their conference, they have a very sound program. They take pride in their football."
Within the field of play, the Tigers dominated early. Although their initial drive stalled, the Tigers got the ball back three plays later when Sol Walker knocked the ball loose and DeMarkus Cooper recovered a Wolverine fumble at the Vian 23.
Turnovers and touchdowns
Prairie Grove converted on fourth down at the Vian 15 with Reed Orr (7 rushes, 48 yards, 1 touchdown) running around right end for 5 yards. The Tigers also overcame a penalty on second-and-goal from the Vian 16 with Dustin Burton sweeping the same direction for a touchdown. Anthony Johnson blocked two different defenders on the play. Clay Fidler's kick gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.
Vian punted and Prairie Grove drove 53 yards to the Wolverine eight before an interception in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 13. Vian moved the ball to midfield before punting again but Prairie Grove gave up the ball on a fumble. The Wolverines covered three yards in two plays, scoring on Rayne Cloud's quarterback sneak. Vian's P.A.T. tied the game at 7-7 at the 7:31 mark of the second quarter.
The kickoff return was fumbled with Elijah Mendoza recovering for Vian at the Tiger 43, but the Tiger defense held after Rayne Could completed a pass to Bodhi Vann for 31 yards to the Tiger seven. Two fumbles, a stop by Zeke Laird on defense and a penalty pushed the Wolverines back to the 21 where they attempted a field goal which missed.
Flipping the field
As they had done the week before, Prairie Grove again flipped the field on an opponent. The Tigers drove 80 yards in six plays for a go-ahead touchdown. Zeke Laird handled a high snap in the shotgun and handed off to Johnson (15 carries, 112 yards, 2 touchdowns), who ripped off a 33-yard touchdown run breaking a tackle at the 15 and stiff-arming his way past Terron Moses into the end zone. Fidler's kick advanced Prairie Grove to a 14-7 lead with 1:49 left in the second period but the Tigers weren't finished. Fidler interception returned possession to Prairie Grove on the next play from scrimmage.
Zeke Laird (10-17, 201 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) managed the clock, leading the Tigers 71 yards in 1:26 for a touchdown. Mixing one pass with five runs from a no-huddle offense, Prairie Grove reached the Vian 17 before calling time-out with 38 seconds to go. Zeke Laird then found Fidler, who was injured but held onto the catch at the Vian 10. Orr polished off the drive by bulling over a defender on a touchdown run. Zeke Laird kicked the extra-point out of J.D. Elder's hold, lifting the Tigers to a 21-7 halftime lead.
Second half action
Late in the third quarter, Prairie Grove fashioned a five play, 92-yard touchdown drive to once more flip the field after a Vian punt. The big play was a 73-yard completion from Zeke Laird to Isaac Disney (3 catches, 107 yards) moving the ball deep into Vian territory at the 11. Johnson ran off left tackle for a six-yard touchdown. The P.A.T. failed and the Tigers settled for a 27-7 lead with 3:46 remaining in the third period.
Terrion Moses ran 85 yards for a Vian touchdown in the fourth quarter and Mendoza's kick trimmed the Tiger lead to 27-14 with 10:06 showing. Aaron Preston's 26-yard kickoff return helped the Tigers offset the score. Beginning at their own 30, Prairie Grove went 70 yards in 10 plays with Zeke Laird hitting Disney for the final 24 yards. The pair combined for a 2-point conversion pass play to extend the margin to 35-14 in favor of Prairie Grove 6:32 to play. Abshier was pleased with how his players held their own.
"There were turnovers both ways," Abshier said. "Things happened to both teams to make it an interesting game. This is a game of guts. There was hard hitting on both sides. There was lots of hustle, wanting to beat somebody down."
Prairie Grove is home against West Fork Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Sports on 09/14/2016