Hartshorne held Stroud scoreless for the final three periods and took a 42-12 district win Friday night at Stroud.
The win leaves the Miners tied with Holdenville and Beggs for first place in District 2A-II-4. All are 2-0. The Tigers are tied with Wilburton at 1-1, but have a tie-breaker over the Diggers, having beaten them 32-28 in the district opener.
“Our kids played really hard and I felt they played hard the whole way,” said Stroud coach Josh Presley. “The biggest thing was, we got ourselves behind the chains, and that’s tough to overcome.
“Hartshorne is a good team and we knew we had our hands full with them. The quarterback broke some tackles in the second half and allowed them to capitalize on some things and it just got away from us.
“I thought we did a really good job in the interior run game. Kadom Young had a great night - I think he had his best game all season.’
Young carried the ball 13 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. Aiden Collins added 34 yards on 11 carries and returned a punt for the Tigers’ other score.
Sophomore Lane Day led the defense with nine tackles. The Tigers have a young squad, with seven sophomores and one freshman getting significant playing time. Presley sees improvement at the halfway mark of the regular season.
“We’re triggering faster, just the speed at which they’re able to play has increased,” he said. “When they’re young they think they’re playing hard, but they just have to see it on film.
“We constantly preach that in practice. I’ve noticed our young ones are just playing harder and being more physical every week and we’re getting better at the small things. And small things add up.”