WARR ACRES – Putnam City scored four times before the Pirate offense stepped on the turf at Pirate Stadium Thursday (Sept. 26), leading to a 68-7 homecoming rout of Northwest Classen.

Pirate senior Tobias Braddy took the opening kickoff 94 yards for a score, breaking free from three Knight defenders at Northwest Classen 30-yard line.

The Knights (1-3, 0-1) answered on the next possession with their only score on an 81-yard touchdown pass from junior Anthony Jones to senior Brandon Butler. The duo torched Western Heights last week but that was their only score of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff PC junior Savion James fielded the ball and sprinted down the Pirate sideline, evading defenders for an 81-yard score to make 14-7.

During the Knights’ next possession, the Original defense hassled Jones in the backfield, a trend for most of the game. Senior Brayden Knox picked up a sack.

On the next play, junior DeJon Ackerson came off the edge for a strip-sack of Jones. Senior Michael Exum, who blitzed from the other side of the field, picked up the ball in the end zone to extend the lead to 21-7 with 9:30 left in the first quarter.

After the kickoff to Northwest Classen, the Pirate defense struck again. Sophomore Gabriel Osborne leaped and intercepted an overthrown pass from Jones, returning it 30 yards to the end zone at the 9:13 mark.

In less than three minutes of game time, Putnam City had scored four times to make it 28-7 while the offensive unit stood on the sideline.

“If keep coaching this game long enough, you’re gonna run into something like that,” Putnam City coach Willis Alexander said of the unusual start. “Special teams played really well, and I mean, it set the tone for us.”

The special teams big play trend continued on the ensuing kickoff when junior Steven Matthews recovered a Knight fumble.

That led to the Putnam City offense finally taking the field at the Northwest Classen 8-yard line with 8:58 left in the first quarter.

PC scored in two plays on a senior Marqucio Woody’s 2-yard run to make it 35-7.

The Pirate special teams weren’t done as senior Elijah Asberry recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

Perhaps a little rusty from standing around, the Original offense couldn’t move the football and sophomore Evan Metoyer missed a 37-yard field goal.

The Pirate defense would give them another chance as Exum recovered a fumble on the next play thanks to missed handoff by the Knights.

PC’s offense struggled to move the ball thanks in part to penalties. Then, they went to Woody and the ground game. He capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run and the lead was 41-7 after a blocked extra point.

On the ensuing drive, Northwest Classen moved the ball into Pirate territory but stalled. Osborne fielded the punt near the PC sideline, reversed field and found a seam, spriting 81 yards for a touchdown to make it 47-7 with 1:30 left in the first quarter.

The Pirates scored again with 1:29 left before halftime when sophomore backup quarterback Denymn connected with junior Visanio Boyd, Jr. in the middle of the field for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

On the Knights’ first play after the kickoff, Pirate senior Johnn Sheffey stepped in front of Jones’ pass for a 25-yard interception return for a score to make 61-7 with 1:09 before halftime.

The second half used a running clock due to the lopsided score. Putnam City would get one more score with 2:27 left in the third quarter on a 2-yard run by senior Nathan Brown.

UP NEXT

Putnam City (3-1, 1-0) travels to Choctaw (1-2, 0-0) next Friday (Oct. 4) for its first big test in 6A-II District 2.

The Yellowjackets are 1-2 with a win over Lubbock Monterey (Texas) and losses to Kansas 6A power Gardner-Edgerton and Oklahoma 6A-I power Bixby. Choctaw opens district play at Piedmont Friday (Sept. 27).

Last season, the Yellowjackets routed the Pirates, 65-20.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Northwest Classen (1-3, 0-1)	7	0	0	0	7
Putnam City (3-1, 1-0)	47	14	7	0	68