Okmulgee unable to overcome early deficit in 30-14 setback
The Okmulgee Bulldog varsity football team dropped to 0-2 on the year this past Friday with a 30-14 loss to the Antlers Bearcats in their first road game of the 2023 campaign.
The Bulldogs found themselves in a double-digit hole in the second quarter and were unable to overcome the early deficit in the 16-point defeat.
The Okmulgee squad will continue its search for Win No. 1 of 2023 this Friday in the Bulldogs’ final non-district game of the season, hosting the Tulsa Central Braves, who enter the non-district finale with a 1-1 record following a 26-0 win at Tulsa Memorial.
Friday’s non-district showdown with Tulsa Central is set for a 7 p.m. start time at historic Harmon Field in Okmulgee.
In Friday’s road game at Antlers, the host Bearcats broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter on a 5-yard TD run by Daniel Caldwell. Caldwell crossed the goal line on the conversion attempt to put the visiting Bulldogs in an 8-0 deficit.
Antlers extended its lead to 14-0 in the second quarter on a 14-yard TD run by Micah Parkins.
Okmulgee ended the first-half scoring late in the second stanza, as Nolan Yates found Javin Hutchinson on a 10-yard aerial strike to make it a 14-6 contest at the intermission.
The lone score of the third quarter came on a 4-yard TD run by Antlers’ Kooper Johnson and successful conversion run by Reece Cowsey, pushing the host Bearcats’ lead to 22-6 with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
The Bulldogs opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a 2-point safety on defense, then cut the deficit to eight, 22-14, on a 4-yard scamper by QB Joseph Robertson.
The comeback was thwarted, however, as the Bearcats completed the 30-14 decision with a 6-yard TD run by Cowsey and successful conversion run by Parkins later in the final frame.
— Antlers 30, Okmulgee 14 Okmulgee: 0 – 6 – 0 – 8 (14) Antlers: 0 – 14 – 8 – 8 (30) — First Quarter No Score — Second Quarter
Antlers – Daniel Caldwell, 5-yard run (Caldwell run) Antlers – Micah Parkins, 14-yard run (Run Failed) Okmulgee – Javin Hutchinson, 10-yard pass from Nolan Yates (Pass Failed) — Third Quarter Antlers – Kooper Johnson, 4-yard run (Reece Crowsey run) — Fourth Quarter
Okmulgee – Safety Okmulgee – Joseph Robertson, 4-yard run (Pass Failed) Antlers – Crowsey, 6-yard run (Parkins run)
