Sequoyah rips Berryhill

ZACK STOYCOFF

Sports Sunday Correspondent



They seldom come in prettier, better-rounded packages.

Sequoyah racked up 341 yards and limited Berryhill to a total of mere feet through the first three quarters, giving coach Jody Iams fodder for what may be the understatement of the month.

“There weren’t very many things out there tonight that didn’t go our way,” he said after Friday’s 42-7 District 3A-3 romp.

That’s for sure.

It was Berryhill which ended Sequoyah’s 18-game winning streak a season ago, and the Eagles didn’t seem to forget.

In typical drain-the-clock fashion, Iams’ squad used 16 running plays during an 81-yard scoring drive that ate up most of the first quarter and left only 46 seconds for Chiefs quarterback Dominic Grippando to validate Sequoyah’s defensive prowess. His interception to Gage Delozier did the trick, setting the stage for an early second-quarter touchdown as the Eagles improved their district record 3-0 and moved to 3-2 on the season behind an all-around domineering performance.

“Defensively, just a phenomenal effort,” Iams said. “Our kids played so well.”

After sandwiching net losses of three and six yards around a 10-yard second quarter, Berryhill managed 80 against Sequoyah’s second-stringers in the fourth, but not before missing first downs in its first nine drives. Its first extended possession came at the 9:21 mark of the fourth — a six-play, 13-yard effort stopped on a fourth-and-7.

Two turnovers and seven forced punts ended the Chiefs’ sequence of dismal drives, which culminated in a high snap on a third-and-15 that marked a 22-yard loss and cemented an output of minus-19 yards by the Berryhill running game in the third period.

But don’t forget about the offense.

Sequoyah’s 324-yard rushing performance may well take a back seat to its 17 yards through the air. At least, quarterback Cody Richardson’s aerial game — a lone completion to Cody Greer — was in itself enough to top the total 16 yards garnered by Berryhill’s ground efforts.

But Sequoyah stayed in character. The Eagles took all but six of their 57 snaps with intent to run as six counted double-digit totals on the ground, including Michael Wangsgard’s game-leading 104 yards on 15 carries — better than the 81-yard output of the entire Chiefs offense.

And don’t forget special teams. Taylor Inman was the story of the day.

The junior launched field goals from 30 and 21 yards and hit all four extra point kicks, including one extended to 30 yards after a series of penalties in the second. And his kickoffs were booming: a string of four went into the end zone for touchbacks in the second and third quarters.

That booming sound — that of the old Eagles — may have signaled something else: A return to the high-flying tradition of Sequoyah football.

After losses to Sperry and Oologah that dropped Sequoyah from the preseason Top-10 poll, flying high is once more part of the Eagles’ repertoire. They’ve rattled off three straight wins to go undefeated in early 3A-3 play, outscoring district opponents by an average of 37-8.

“We hit rock bottom at Sperry. Every since then, we’ve gotten better every week,” Iams said. “Sometimes you’ve got to hit rock bottom.”

The Eagles showed unmistakable signs of progress on Friday.

They led in time of possession, 29:13 to 18:39, dominated the first down margin, 15-6, and limited the Chiefs to 38 offensive plays for an average of 2.1 yards.

A 21-point second quarter proved the biggest margin-setter.

Touchdown runs by Wangsgard and Justin Shelton cushioned Inman field goals as Sequoyah racked up a halftime advantage of 28-0 behind scoring drives of 81, 83, 39, 19, and 31 yards.

The Eagles added a 4-play, 39-yard drive in the fourth to increase their lead to 42-0 after A.J. Rhine scored on a 36-yard run in the third after just one play.

Richardson counted 61 yards on 8 carries for one TD, hitting one of six passes.

Berryhill is 1-2 in 3A-3 and 3-3 overall.



SEQUOYAH 42, BERRYHILL 7



Berryhill 0 0 0 7 — 7

Sequoyah 13 15 7 7 — 42



Sequoyah — Shelton 1 run (Inman kick)

Sequoyah — Richardson 1 run (Inman kick)

Sequoyah — FG, Inman 21

Sequoyah — FG, Inman 30

Sequoyah — Wangsgard 16 run (Wangsgard run)

Sequoyah — Rhine 36 run (Inman kick)

Sequoyah — Wangsgard 7 run (Inman kick)

Berryhill — Jonathan Johnson 33 pass from Grippando (Lasson kick)



Individual statistics



Berryhill



Rushing — Dunbar 16-28, Taylor Johnson 7-22, Cody Johnson 2-4, Brown 1-3, Grippando 2-(-41)

Passing — Grippando 7-10-65, int.

Receiving — Brown 2-40, TD; C. Johnson 2-5; Lasson 1-9; T. Johnson 1-8; Scantlen 1-3.



Sequoyah



Rushing — Wangsgard 15-104, 2 TD; Richardson 8-61, TD; Greer 6-56; Rhine 3-48, TD; Green 6-27; Eidson 3-12; Delozier 2-7; Mills 2-4; Shelton 4-3, TD, Devore 1-2; Choate 2-0.

Passing — Richardson 1-5-17.

Receiving — Greer 1-17.

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