Pawhuska pulled away in the second half Friday night and handed Stroud a 53-21 season-opening loss.
The Tigers trailed by nine, 24-15, at the half, but Pawhuska dominated the third and fourth quarters, outscoring the Tigers 29-6.
“The kids played hard. They just got away from us in the second half,” coach Josh Presley said Monday. “We made too many mistakes in all phases of the game. We’re working on fixing mistakes and getting better. “We had a practice this morning and the kids did a great job. We just have to get better and move forward - put that loss behind us and move on.”
Statistically, there wasn’t that much difference in the game. Pawhuska gained 246 yards to the Tigers’ 209, and Stroud out-rushed the Huskies, 180 yards to 160.
Kadom Young carried the ball 15 times for the Tigers and gained 94 yards and scored a touchdown. Aiden Collins carried it eight times for 47 yards and caught four passes for 26 yards and a touchdown. “We took care of the first level blocking pretty well,” Presley said. “We just have to sustain the second level pretty well.”
Defensively, Collins made 11 tackles and Young had eight. Ivan Morris, Brandon McNeill and Kacin Martinez had six each. “We’ll get better,” Presley said. “We’ll coach better. We’ll play better. We tell the kids all the time that we’re in this thing together “We have some lack of experience and it showed at times, but we’re going to get better every game throughout the season and keep on progressing. We want to be playing our best football going into the playoffs. This week the Tigers go to Okemah. The Class A Panthers are 0-2 for the season after playing up a class in their first two games and losing to Okmulgee, 42-7, and Henryetta, 52-0. “Everything we’re working on in practice, we hope we see it on Friday and see a noticeable change from last Friday,” Presley said. The Tigers will head to Chandler the following week for the annual rivalry game with the Lions.
Kacin Martinez (21) battles for a pass and comes down with the interception. Photo/Beth Young