OKLAHOMA CITY – Western Heights mistakes and offensive struggles doomed the Jets in a 49-0 loss Friday (Oct. 11) in a 5A-2 contest.

“This game was more lost off mistakes instead of off talent,” Western Heights coach Travis Burdine said via text. “Lawton is a good team but I feel we could have gave them more of a challenge.”

The Wolverines first score came on special teams. The Jets’ punt was blocked straight up in the air. Lawton senior Marcus Rucker ran it back 20 yards for the touchdown.

On the ensuing possession, a fumble by senior Elyn McGilbra gave the Wolverines the ball at the Jet 19-yard line.

Lawton took advantage of the turnover on a Tavaris Deans caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Pene Vaisagite with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

Western Heights gave the Wolverines good field position on the next possession. The Jets went for the fourth-down conversion at their 19-yard-line. McGilbra was sacked at the 11-yard line. That led to an 11-yard quarterback keeper by Vaisagite to extend the lead to 21-0 with 1:45 left in the first quarter.

The Jet offense finally made some noise when Ja’Kyri Arbertha took off for a 24-yard run around the end to give Western Heights the ball at the Jet 49-yard line.

The Jet offense went backwards from there and fumbled snap by McGilbra gave Lawton the ball on the Western Heights 37-yard line.

The Wolverines cashed in on a short screen pass to senior Nate Jones, which turned into a 49-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 27-0 (after a missed extra point) with 8:25 left in the second quarter.

Another failed fourth-down conversion in Jet territory led to a short field for Lawton. The Wolverines scored again on a misdirection 29-yard from Lawton junior Michael Harrus for a 34-0 lead.

The Jets drove to midfield but couldn’t get any farther before halftime.

On the second half kickoff from Lawton to the Jets, confusion about who would field the kickoff led to Lawton recovering and taking possession at the Jet 32-yard line.

On the next play, Vaisagite found sophomore Braeden Burrell for a 32-yard touchdown pass. On the extra-point attempt, Burrell fumbled the snap but recovered to throw it to a receiver for the two-point conversion to make it 42-0 with 11:15 left in the third quarter.

The Jets offense continued to struggle and Matthew Cardiel’s next punt was partially blocked, going straight up the air. Lawton sophomore DJ Campbell caught it and ran it 22 yards for another touchdown, making it 49-0 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

Western Heights moved the ball to near midfield on the next possession, capped by a 22-yard run from DJ Lister.

Later in the drive, McGilbra crossed midfield, reaching the Lawton 49-yard line. However, it wasn’t enough for the first down and the Jets turned it over on downs.

Lawton couldn’t sustain the drive with the short field and turned it over on downs with 11:39 left in the game.

The Jets went backwards and then McGilbra was intercepted by Lawton’s Hayden Brantley.

That led to the game’s final score when Burrell connected with junior Champ Brewer for a 49-yard touchdown pass with 5:22 left in the game.

Burdine said he plans to make some offensive changes this week to “help put points on the board.”

“But as a coach, I’m still proud of the guys not giving up and working to get better,” Burdine said. “Time will show that these guys have what it takes to develop into a competitive team.”

Burdine he said he talked with his squad and the starting to learn about time and effort needed to become a winning program.

UP NEXT

Western Heights (1-5, 0-3) travels to Guthrie (4-2, 3-0) next Thursday (Oct. 17). The Blue Jays beat El Reno, 49-0, Friday (Oct. 11).

	1	2	3	4	F
Lawton (3-3, 3-0)	21	13	15	6	55
Western Heights (1-5, 0-3)	0	0	0	0	0