By Michael Kinney
MOORE -- Southmoore has never been known as a physical team. With their quick strike offense and big play defense, they have been labeled a finesse squad.
However, with a trip to the semifinals on the line, the SaberCats showed their true stripes. They turned their matchup with Bartlesville into a backyard brawl and sent the Bruins packing 49-28.
"We came out here and hit them in the mouth," senior Julian Wilson said. "We came and hit them in the mouth and let them know we weren't coming out here to play any games. We had one thing on our mind and that was to get the W."
The victory sends Southmoore (11-1) into a semifinal match with No. 1 Jenks next week. It's a matchup the Cats have been waiting for all year. They just hope to take the same mentality they took the field with against BHS (9-3).
"It was a huge win," junior Kendal Thompson said. "We are right where we want to be. But I think we can keep going. We have Jenks next week. It's going to be a tough week of practice and we have to focus up and play like we did this week."
Defensive end Kimes Gilbert made the first big play of the night when he intercepted Kirby Shoenthaler on the Bruins first possession deep into Southmoore territory.
But it wasn't until the SaberCats' next possession that they put points on the board. After driving 83 yards, tailback Andrew Long broke two tackles in the backfield to earn a 5-yard touchdown run.
Bartlesville responded with a 60-yard strike to Jack Wiseman. The game was tied at 7-7 with 11:03 left in first half. That is when the scoring barrage took over
Derek Serowski put the Cats back on top when he caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from Kendal Thompson that bounced off his defenders' hands and he snatched it out of midair before jogging into the endzone. Long added another score to give the Cats a 21-7 advantage.
After Austin Brooks picked off Shoenthaler, the SaberCats went for the jugular. Thompson connected with Serowski for a second time on a 59-yard bomb and they led 28-7.
After exchanging touchdowns, the Bruins had the ball twice with a chance to cut the lead to 14 points before halftime. But Ethan Baker collected the SaberCats third and fourth interception of the first half to take a 35-14 advantage into the locker room.
"It was just a big momentum boost for our team," Baker said. "We prepared real well all week. We came soft against Ike, but we knew how to pick it up."
The SaberCats put the game away with a 10-play, 72-yard drive to start the third quarter. Despite tweaking his knee, Haywood tossed a one yard pass to Serowski for his third TD of the night and a 42-14 lead.
"It's real big," Serowski said. "I haven't had a game like this in a while. This was pretty important for me to play like this."
Led by Long's 213 yards, Southmoore pounded the Bruins defense for 445 on the ground. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the team from the East had nothing left in the tank.
"We wanted to attack them and stay on them so they wouldn't have effort to come back," Serowski said.
The SaberCats walked off the field in a much better mood than last week when they squeaked by the first round contest. They believed they showed what type of team they are when they put their minds to it.
"We sent a message that we are coming," Wilson said. "We have been working hard just like everybody else and we want the gold ball just like everybody else."
Michael Kinney 366-3537 mkinney@normantranscript.com
