With Tuttle likely entrenched at the top of 4A-2, Bethany’s next two games will likely impact the Bronchos’ chances for the second spot in the district.

“Obviously, (Tuttle) is probably going to be the winners of the district,” Bethany coach Jon Arthur said after the Tigers throttled the Bronchos, 69-0.

After traveling to Harrah (4-2, 2-1) Thursday (Oct. 16), the Bronchos will host Ardmore (3-3, 2-1) next Friday (Oct. 24) in the final home game of the regular season.

Ardmore, Harrah and Bethany (3-3, 2-1) are all tied for the second spot in the district. Blanchard (3-3, 2-1) is tied as well, but the Bronchos have head-to-head advantage over the Lions after beating them, 27-26, on Oct. 3.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The statistics from last Friday’s loss to Tuttle showed how tough of a night it was for the Bronchos.

Tuttle senior Cruz Campbell was 10-of-14 for 228 yards and four touchdowns. Of those scores, two went to junior Jalen Lane. His twin brother, Jordan, also added a touchdown.

Tiger senior Shawn Rounsaville, Jr. rushed 14 times for 145 yards and two scores.

For the Bronchos, junior Brody McLaren completed 8 of 13 passes for 29 yards. He also threw an interception.

Senior Seth Greiner had five catches and nine yards in the loss. Fellow senior Jagger Weaver had the most receiving yards with a 12-yard catch.

Missing Wyatt Keefer and Baren Tehee due to injury, Bethany turned to sophomore Xzvier McGee. He ran the ball 10 times for 29 yards. McLaren added 12 runs for 20 yards.

Sophomore defensive lineman Breck Brady was praised by Arthur for his performance in stopping the run. Brady had six tackles in the game.

Freshman Kemper Denton and senior Marcos Lopez each had five tackles.

Senior Seth Greiner, sophomore James Plummer and junior Mitchell Pace each collected four tackles in the loss.

“When we had (the starters) all in there and doing what they should, they did a nice job, stopping the run.,” Arthur said. “Certainly, they did a few good things in the run game here and there just weren’t real consistent. So just kind of take some of that off film and learn to get better from it.”

When the game got out of hand, both teams played plenty of backups which skewed the numbers for both teams.

“Obviously, we pulled some of those guys really early in the secnd half and it got a little ugly there,” Arthur said. “(We were) just giving our young guys a chance to get better.”

Tuttle showed its explosive offense and score quickly on the Bronchos.

“They just kind of made you pay in the open space in the secondary, which we we kind of had a plan for,” Arthur said. “It’s just that there’s a lot of space out there sometimes. I mean, there’s a lot of space out there and they’ve got guys who are really, really fast.”

MCLAREN LOOKS TO REBOUND

In the Tuttle loss, McLaren was held to less than 100 yards in the air for the first time this season.

He’s now thrown for 800 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions. Of the four picks, three came during blowout losses to Shiloh Christian (2) and last week’s loss to Tuttle (1).

McLaren’s completion rate is just shy of 60 percent for the season.

UP NEXT – Harrah

The Bronchos have a short week, travelling to Harrah Thursday (Oct. 16) for a fall break matchup with the Panthers.

Harrah sophomore quarterback Callan Whitnah had a career-high three rushing touchdowns and rushed for 131 yards in a 28-25 win over Chickasha last Friday (Oct. 10).

In the air, Whitnah is averaging 128.2 yards a contest in the air. He’s thrown three touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Harrah has five different receivers over 100 yards receiving for the season. Senior Wyatt Hunt has 10 catches, 149 yards and three touchdowns for the season.

Junior Brock Day has rushed for 724 yards with seven touchdowns this season.

Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.