NORMAN — Norman High has had a few slow starts to games so far this season, not pulling away from inferior opponents until after the first quarter. But it didn’t take them long to dispel any chance of that possibility Friday night at Shawnee.
The Tigers scored two touchdowns in 68 seconds and never looked back as they routed the Wolves 48-12 behind some big plays on special teams and a bevy of mistakes from Shawnee.
NHS got on the board without even taking an offensive snap. Shawnee’s Matt Daniel shanked the opening kickoff right into the waiting arms of backup running back Jonathan Peters, who easily got past the confused wall of Shawnee defenders to sprint 50 yards for the score and put NHS up 7-0 eight seconds into the game.
Shawnee completed a short pass on its first snap of the game, but receiver Jeremy Barrientos fumbled the ball as he was tackled, setting up a 32-yard touchdown pass from Zach Long to George Kittle.
Just like that, NHS was up 14-0 in three offensive snaps with just over a minute run off the clock.
“It’s big to jump out on a team like that right off the bat,” coach Greg Nation said. “That play, when the ball came right to Jonathan Peters, is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.”
After the quick start, Donovan Roberts took over for the Tigers, breaking an 85-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He followed that up on the next possession with runs of 13 and 33 yards to put the Tigers in position before punching it in himself from two yards out.
Roberts finished the game with 143 yards on just seven carries, averaging more than 20 yards a run.
The special teams came up big again in the second half. After Shawnee’s Wolf Kienzle scored from four yards out to put the Wolves on the board, Rico Hogan received the kickoff for the Tigers and pitched it to Brad Davis on the reverse. Davis got a block upfield and kept his balance after the last defender tried for the shoe-string tackle near the 30-yard line, completing the 94-yard return with a touchdown.
Davis, who was playing with a hurt foot after a Shawnee running back stepped on it in the first half, didn’t allow himself to be taken out on the kickoff unit.
“I was definitely feeling it [the foot injury], but I really wanted that score,” he said. “It started hurting near the end, but I didn’t want my teammates to make fun of me if I didn’t score a touchdown.”
It took the Tigers just 24 plays to score 48 points, as Shawnee’s long drives controlled the clock but were unable to put points on the board. The Wolves’ offense, led by Kienzle, moved the ball well on the Tiger defense, but four turnovers were too much for the Wolves to overcome.
“Our defense did a good job capitalizing on their mistakes and forcing turnovers,” Nation said.
The victory keeps the Tigers unbeaten on the season, moving to 5-0 with a 2-0 district record.
