Published: October 24, 2009 12:21 am      

Sinking feeling

Loss to Yukon has Pioneers on brink of elimination

YUKON – Defenses clashed and battled at Yukon High School with playoff hopes on the line, and the Stillwater Pioneers came up short.

Through a game that included almost three full shutout quarters, the Millers edged out SHS 17-14 on Friday. The teams were tied in district before the matchup, each standing with a 2-2 district record, and now Stillwater’s postseason hopes are all but dashed.

With the loss, three things have to line up for the Pioneers. First, the only thing Stillwater can control now, the Pioneers have to win out the season against No. 19 Owasso at home next Friday and at No. 12 Choctaw to close out the regular season. Unranked SHS is 0-4 against ranked opponents this season.

Second, Yukon has to lose its final two games, which isn’t that much of a stretch. The Millers (4-4) have to fall to Choctaw and Owasso on the road.

Third, Enid has to lose its final pair of games as well. The Plainsmen’s season closer against No. 2 Tulsa Union is one to bet on, but next week Enid hosts a 1-7 Ponca City team.

Stillwater’s chances are slim, but not impossible. And the Pioneers certainly didn’t go down Friday without a fight.

“We said early in the week it was going to be a tough battle coming down to the wire,” SHS coach Rusty Atkins said. “I thought our defense at times played really, really well. We forced them into some bad situations, and they got one loose on us and that was unfortunate for us.

“But our defense played fairly well. We got the ball back when we needed to. We just have to eliminate the big plays.”

SHS broke a 14-point shutout with only two minutes to spare in the first half when senior running back David Pierson punched into the end zone on a 2-yarder. Pierson had 25 yards on four carries for the night.

Each team’s defense dominated for almost the entire second half as the scoreboard sat unchanged at 17-7, Yukon.

Then with 26 seconds left in the game, Stillwater got back in the game with a 16-yard connection from quarterback Jerame Littell to wide receiver Jesse Vester in the Yukon end zone.

With a 3-point deficit and half-a-minute left, SHS launched an onside kick into the Millers’ front line, but the Pioneers couldn’t recover the kickoff.

“(That final touchdown) gave us a chance,” Atkins said. “That’s all we were looking for, to give the offense a chance late in the game and they scored. They had a great scheme for us to go score.

“We hooked up on a long pass, but then we have to get the onside kick and those are always 50-50. I’m proud of the way the kids fought back and made it a game.”

Littell led the Pioneers in rushing with 40 yards on 15 carries. He was followed closely by Davion Carter, who accrued 33 yards on eight touches.

The passing game provided the majority of Stillwater’s offense. Littell threw 17 of 35 for 221 yards and a touchdown, but also recorded an interception.

His favorite was tight end Anthony Sparks, whom Littell hit four times for 90 yards, including a 56-yard bomb.

Stillwater (3-5) returns home next week to host Choctaw (3-5 overall, 3-2 district).



YUKON 17, STILLWATER 14

Stillwater 0 7 0 7—14

Yukon 0 17 0 0—17

Second quarter

YHS–Granado 43 pass from C. Jones (Godwin kick), 9:55

YHS–Retter 10 run (Godwin kick), 6:27

SHS–Pierson 2 run (Hassel kick), 2:02

YHS–Godwin 37 field goal, 0:28

Fourth quarter

SHS–Vester 16 pass from Littell (Hassel kick), 0:26



Individual Statstics

RUSHING — Stillwater, Littell 15-40, Carter 8-33, Pierson 4-25, Menter 2-15, Vester 1-2; Yukon, T. Jones 13-60, C. Jones 15-45, Banta 7-28, Retter 1-10, Deeds 1-8;

PASSING — Stillwater, Littell 17-35-1, 221 yds.; Yukon, C. Jones 14-25-0, 195 yds.;

RECEIVING — Stillwater, Sparks 4-90, Hassel 5-72, Vester 6-48, Davenport 1-13, Carter 1-(minus-2); Yukon, Walker 4-67, Retter 4-50, Granado 2-45, Edwards 2-19, Doyle 1-9, Horn 1-5.



District 4 Standings



Dist Pts Over

Tulsa Union 5-0 75 7-1

Owasso 4-1 36 5-3

Enid 3-2 26 5-3

Yukon 3-2 14 4-4

Choctaw 3-2 - 5 3-5

Stillwater 2-3 - 3 3-5

Ponca City 0-5 - 67 1-7

U.S. Grant 0-5 - 75 1-7

Friday’s Games

Yukon 17, Stillwater 14

Union 42, Ponca City 0

Owasso 30, Choctaw 8

Enid 42, U.S. Grant 0

Friday, Oct. 30 Games

Stillwater at Choctow, 7:30 p.m.

U.S.Grant at Tulsa Union, 7:30 p.m.

Yukon at Owasso, 7:30 p.m.

Ponca City at Enid, 7:30 p.m.