NORMAN — The Timberwolves are district champions.
With a 54-0 victory over Moore on Friday, Norman North moved to 8-1 on the season. More importantly, the fourth-ranked T-Wolves went to 6-0 in District 6A-4, a record that guarantees them the district championship.
And the Timberwolves did it in style. They asserted their will from the opening drive of the game, when they stuffed Moore on three straight plays and then blocked the punt. That set up a six-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Gavras to Payton Prince that put North on the board.
From there, the T-Wolves didn’t look back. Quan Hogan scored on the next possession from four yards out, and Jaxon Uhles then powered it in from two yards out in the “U-Haul” formation. The Timberwolves also got a pair of long touchdown scores from Bryan Payne, with the second coming on a beautiful 58-yard kick return, as well as a deep ball to Jake Higginbotham.
It was more than enough for North, which jumped out to a 47-0 halftime lead and rested its starters in the second half. The T-Wolves will now enter the final week of the regular season knowing they have accomplished their goal of winning the district.
“It’s awesome,” Gavras said. “It’s a big deal to come out and accomplish one of our goals like that.”
With the contest essentially decided by halftime, the game turned sloppy in the second half, with both teams having a difficult time holding on to the ball. Each squad fumbled the ball five times and lost two of those. One bright spot for North in the second half was junior running back Jordan Pryor, who made several nice runs in the half.
Next up for the Timberwolves is what amounts to a meaningless road game at Lawton Eisenhower on Thursday. Even if North were to lose that game and Edmond North win out, Norman North would win the district by virtue of holding the tiebreaker.
That means North will host a playoff game in two weeks, a milestone achievement in coach Wade Standley’s second season at the helm.
“This was a great team win tonight,” he said. “I’m really proud of the way these guys came out tonight and took care of business. Now we need to finish out our regular season, then we’ll celebrate.”
Gavras agreed with his coach, noting that despite the district being decided the Timberwolves needed to continue improving to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning in the playoffs.
“This is something to be excited about and celebrate,” he said. “But it’s a stepping stone to reaching our next goal.”
Corbin HoslerFollow me @Chosler88chosler@normantranscript.com
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