DUBLIN – A pair of turnovers at the opponents’ 2 yard line resulted in two length-of-the field scoring drives for the Oglesby Tigers, who also scored on a pair of kick returns en route to ending the Richland Springs Coyotes’ season, 62-48, Saturday in the Class A Division II state semifinals.
“It was self-inflicted and we deserved to get beat,” said Richland Springs first-year head coach Shawn Rogers. “We turned the ball over twice on about the 1, we gave up two long runs when we were supposed to be kicking the ball out of bounds, and we had a lot of penalties. It was just sloppy.”
With Richland Springs (13-1) trailing Oglesby (13-0) by a 46-40 count with 5:14 remaining in the contest, the Coyotes were in a first-and-goal situation at the Tiger 2 after a pass interference call on fourth-and-goal extended the drive. Richland Springs was stuffed for no gain on the first snap, then the second play a fumbled exchange resulted in the ball hitting the turf, which Oglesby’s Jack Hendricks pounced on at the 3.
“We’ve got in all year on that play, I can’t explain it tonight, we just didn’t have it,” Rogers said. “Hats off to Oglesby.”
On the very next snap, Hunter Walter connected with Landon Williamson, streaking down the right sideline, for a 77-yard touchdown pass as the Coyotes suddenly faced a 54-40 deficit.
Still with 5:04 left in the clock, Richland Springs’ next possession ended with its third fumble of the game, again recovered by the Tigers’ Cash Lee at the Coyotes 26. Two plays later Kyler Fossett – who rushed for 265 yards and five touchdowns – reached the end zone for the final time on a 25-yard carry, boosting the advantage to 62-40.
In exactly 60 seconds of game time, the Coyotes went from the verge of taking the lead halfway through the fourth period, to trailing by 22 points.
Richland Springs added a final touchdown on a Cohen Ethridge 6-yard carry with 1:19 left, but Oglesby recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock for the final 14-point margin.
The Coyotes finished with 433 yards of total offense – 313 rushing and 120 passing – with three turnovers, as Billy Perry led the way with 221 yards on the ground and a touchdown while completing 6 of 11 passes for 87 yards and two scores. Ethridge tacked on 71 rushing yards and two scores and passed for 29 yards, while Hutton Rogers pulled down six receptions for 104 yards and scored twice. Gage Behrens tacked on a 1-yard touchdown run as well.
Along with Fossett’s 265 rushing yards, he returned kicks 75 and 67 yards for touchdowns as well, and completed all five of his pass attempts for 33 yards. Walter caught three passes for 27 yards and completed 2 of 5 passes for 81 yards with an interception and a scoring strike, while EJ Aviles rushed for 89 yards and a score and caught two passes for 9 yards.
Leading 8-6 with 8:16 left in the first half after a 37-yard touchdown pass from Perry to Rogers on their first drive, the Coyotes were poised to potentially take a two-possession lead when Richland Springs lost the ball for the first time on a fumble at the Oglesby 2. Three plays later, Fossett broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown and the Coyotes instead trailed 12-8 with 6:52 left in the first half.
Richland Springs took its final lead, 16-12, on a 4-yard plunge by Behrens with 4:18 left in the first half. Oglesby answered with Fossett’s 75-yard kick return for a 20-16 edge at the 3:11 mark of the second period.
Then, after a Coyotes four-and-out, Oglesby took over at its own 35 and scored in two plays, the second being a 32-yard scamper by Aviles for a 26-16 lead.
With 19 seconds left before halftime, Perry scored on a 53-yard sprint down the sideline for the Coyotes, making the score 26-24, but again Fossett scored on a kick return – this time from 67 yards away – for a 32-24 halftime edge.
Richland Springs pulled even at 32 just one minute into the third period on a 7-yard scamper by Ethridge, while the Tigers regained a 40-32 advantage on Fossett’s 45-yard carry at the 8:51 mark of the third.
The Coyotes again knotted the score at 40 on a 15-yard scoring toss from Perry to Rogers with 1:47 left in the third quarter, but Oglesby surged ahead for good, 46-40, on a 15-yard touchdown run by Fossett 53 seconds into the fourth period.
Despite the loss, the future looks bright for the Coyotes, who were one step away from a state championship game berth after a string of 20 consecutive district championships ended just a year ago.
“The year was great, we had a great comeback year and we only have two seniors so we’ll reload and be ready to go,” Rogers said. “We’ll correct some things, but the future looks great. We’re going to get there.”
