CHICKASHA – Bethany junior Judson Gilliland scored twice on the ground and once in the air as the the fifth-ranked Bronchos rolled Chickasha, 52-14, Friday (Sept. 27) in the 4A-2 opener for both teams.

After settling for a 22-yard Griffin Tarrant field goal with 5:56 left in the first quarter, the Bethany offense got on track to score four more times before halftime.

Senior quarterback Jackie Payne found the edge along the Bethany sideline for the Bronchos’ first touchdown, a 15-yard scamper at the 2:34 mark in the first quarter.

Gilliland’s first score came at 11:12 in the second quarter. He broke two tackles and sprinted up the middle for a 29-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 17-0.

After Chickasha failed to convert a 4th-and-2 from their side of the field, Bethany had good field position from the Chickasha 38-yard line.

It didn’t take long for Gilliland to score again.

On the second play from scrimmage, Gilliland broke free on the right side down and cut down towards the Bethany sideline for a 38-yard score. Bethany’s lead was 24-0 with 8:06 before halftime.

Gilliland had 145 yards on just 10 carries for the game.

The Bronchos scored one more time with 4:45 in the second quarter when Wyatt Geissler got into the act. The senior caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Payne, leaping to catch the ball in the end zone.

Chickasha would get on the scoreboard with a touchdown just before halftime and Bethany led, 31-7.

After receiving the second-half kickoff, the Bronchos scored on the first play from scrimmage.

Geissler took a handoff from Payne and sprinted towards the Bethany sideline. At the first down marker, he broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run. Only 15 seconds had elapsed in the third quarter and Bethany led, 38-7.

Late in the third quarter, Payne would connect with Gilliland in the air. At 1:52, Payne scrambled to his right then threw it back to the left to Gilliland who sprinted down Bethany sideline for a 62-yard score.

The Bronchos’ final score came with 4:50 left in the game when junior
Baren Tehee had a 7-yard touchdown run.

“We played pretty well in all phases of the game,” Bethany coach Jon Arthur said via email. “Being able to run the ball for over 300 yards is always a good thing and we stopped the run really well on defense.

“Overall it was a good first district game. Our guys played with a lot of focus and intensity which we will look to carry into next week’s game against Blanchard,” Arthur said.

UP NEXT

Bethany (4-0, 1-0) has its final game of its four-game road trip against No. 4 Blanchard next Friday (Oct. 4). The Lions beat Harrah, 21-7 Friday (Sept. 27).

Both teams join Tuttle for three-way tie for the top spot in 4A-1 after one week of district play.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Bethany (4-0, 1-0)	14	17	14	7	52
Chickasha (0-4, 0-1)	0	7	0	7	14