Stroud’s Tigers continued their drive to the playoffs Friday, dispatching Luther, 63-8, to finish the regular season 9-1 and unbeaten in seven district games.
Since they emerged 2-1 from a difficult non-district schedule, the Tigers have looked like the high school football equivalentofSherman’sMarchtoTheSea.
They won their seven district games by a cumulative score of 374-33, racked up two shutouts and allowed just one touchdown in their last four games.
“When you start the playoffs with a nine-game winning streak, that always makes you feel good,” said Stroud head coach Josh Presley. “We had a tough non-district. You know, when you play Chandler, Pawnee andTonkawa, those are three really good football teams.
“So, we were tested early in the season. But we always talk about being the best version of ourselves we can be. That starts on the practice field and working on fundamentals and then staying sharp and clean and heading to the post-season.”
Against Luther, there was no drama regarding the outcome. Stroud led 19-0 after one quarter and 55-0 after two. After halftime, the officials kept a running clock, football’s equivalent of a run-rule.
“We started off a little rocky, but we cleaned it up in a hurry,” Presley said. “Our kids executed well in all three phases of the game.We had several interceptions and did a good job on special teams.”
The Tigers had 322 yards of total offense and limited Luther to just 84, which included minus-13 yards rushing.
Aiden Collins had a highlight reel of a night, scoring on a pass interception, a punt return and a pass reception.
Quarterback Jeremiah Cropp completed three of eight throws for 60 yards and two touchdowns and Trystan Baker carried three times for 52 yards and two touchdowns.
London Ward was the leading ball carrier, racking up 95 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Jacob Beck added 51 yards on four carries and caught a 13-yard touchdown pass.
“We made plays in all three phases,” Presley said. “Aiden had a fantastic game, had an interception for a td, a punt return for a td and recovered a sky kick. and had a receiving touchdown.
“To score on offense, defense and special teams is pretty special.”
Now, the Tigers’ attention turns to the Beggs Demons, who come in with a 6-4 record after winning three of their last four games.
Friday night, they dropped a 35-6 decision to Dibble.
“They have a lot of team speed at their skill positions,” Presley said. “They’re very fast, so if we miss a tackle or bust an assignment, they’re fast enough to go score on us.
“And they play really hard. All 11 guys run to the football and they do a great job of gang tackling.”
A win over Beggs would put the Tigers into a second-round matchup with the winner of the Valliant-Wyandotte game.
Valliant finished second in District 2A-II-4, in eastern and southeastern Oklahoma, with a 9-1 overall record and a 6-1 district mark.
Wyandotte finished third in District 2AII- 3, mostly made of teams from northeastern Oklahoma. The Bears finished with an 8-2 overall record and a 3-2 district mark.