WARR ACRES – Putnam City overcame first half turnovers and junior Joshua Lombard ran for three scores in a 26-14 playoff win over Bartlesville Friday (Nov. 15).

Sophomore Gabriel Osborne opened the game with a big play. Osborne caught the opening kickoff at the 5-yard line. He made two Bruin defenders miss and sprinted past everyone else for a 95-yard touchdown.

To start the second quarter, Lombard replaced sophomore quarterback Denymn Friday and scored on a 21-yard run. Sophomore Evan Metoyer’s extra point was blocked and Original led, 13-0 with 11:53 before halftime.

The Pirate offense moved the ball but turned the ball over three times in the first half.

A bad snap on a Pirate punt was recovered by Bartlesville sophomore Evan Goad in the end zone, cutting PC’s lead to 13-7 with 9:44 left before half.

A Friday fumble led to Bartlesville taking the lead. Bruin senior Damien Niko got behind the defense on the first play after the fumble for a 23-yard touchdown pass from freshman Michael Kent. With the extra point, Bartlesville took a 14-13 lead to the locker room.

In the second half, Lombard replaced Friday at quarterback.

The move paid off when Lombard scored on a 25-yard run, sprinting around the right end and down the Bruin sideline to retake the lead for the Pirates, 19-14 (after another missed extra point).

Lombard added the final score of the game with 6:12 left when he found a seam on the right side, sprinting down the Pirate sideline for a 55-yard score to make it 26-14.

“He made plays and we needed him to make plays,” Putnam City coach Willis Alexander said via phone of Alexander who surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground.

The Putnam City defense gave up one score after a turnover gave Bartlesville a short field.

“The defense dominated,” Alexander said.

Class 6A-II OSSAA Football Championship
FIRST ROUND/FRIDAY, November 15, 2024
Putnam City 26, Bartlesville 14
Putnam City North 21, Southmoore 0
Sapulpa 46, Lawton Eisenhower 31
Piedmont 48, Ponca City 7
Muskogee, Bye
Stillwater, Bye
Choctaw, Bye
Sand Springs, Bye

QUARTERFINALS/FRIDAY, November 22, 2024
Putnam City at Muskogee, 7 p.m.
Putnam City North at Stillwater, 7 p.m.
Sapulpa at Choctaw, 7 p.m.
Piedmont at Sand Springs, 7 p.m.

SEMIFINALS/FRIDAY, November 29, 2024
TBD

CHAMPIONSHIP/SATURDAY, December 7, 2024
TBD, 7 p.m. (University of Central Oklahoma)

UP NEXT

The Pirates (7-4) travel to meet top-ranked and defending 6A-II state champion Muskogee (10-0) in the 6A-II quarterfinals next Friday (Nov. 22).

The Roughers have four shutouts this year and has given up double-digit point totals in five games this season.

Muskogee averaged 49.9 points a game in the regular season. In its regular season finale last Thursday (Nov. 7), the Roughers beat Putnam City North, 36-0, in a game that ended at halftime to due to lightning and storms in the area. That point total ended a streak of seven games where Muskogee had scored 49 points or more.

Alexander agrees it will be a tough task against the Roughers but said his focus will be on his team.

“It’s not so much about Muskogee, it’s about us,” Alexander said, People say we got to play Muskogee. Well now. Muskogee gets to play us. That’s my attitude.”

	1	2	3	4	F
Bartlesville (3-8)	0	14	0	0	14
Putnam City (7-4)	7	6	6	7	26

Photographs courtesy of Danni Johnson.