WARR ACRES — On a night when third-ranked Putnam City honored a state championship team from its 1970s heyday, the 2025 Pirates took a step to write a chapter of their own with a 20-13 win over No. 4 Piedmont Friday (Nov. 7) at Pirate Stadium.

The victory clinched second place in 6A-II-1 and a first-round bye in the playoffs for PC.

The 1975 4A state title team was honored at halftime, a reminder of the Pirates’ glory days in the 70s when they won three championships, 1974, 1975 and 1977 (when the defeated sister school Putnam City West).

“On their shoulders, we stand,” Putnam City coach Willis Alexander said of the ’75 title team. “Those are giants and they’re immortal in Putnam City.”

The Pirate coach had members of the ’75 team speak to his team.

The message?

“A state championship is something that lives with you forever. Embrace that, feel that, and understand that feeling and want that feeling.”

Senior Tripp Alexander, Willis’ son and a Pirate defensive lineman, believes his team has taken a step towards their own gold ball

“I feel like we could do something real special. I love this team.”

Neither the Pirates or the Wildcats could get on the board in the opening quarter with Piedmont’s flexbone running offense draining the game clock.

All of the scoring in the contest came in the second quarter.

After a Pirate drive stalled, Piedmont junior Troy Brooks blocked a punt from Pirate junior Edgar Yanez, who jumped on the ball a the Pirate 21-yard line. Five plays, later Piedmont sophomore Brooks Backus scored from one yard out for a 7-0 lead with 7:48 left before halftime.

Putnam City answered with a 65-yard drive on the ensuing possession. The Pirates relied primarily on the run game and added a fullback in senior DeShawn Buford. However, PC senior quarterback CJ Turnbull had two first down passes in the drive, to senior Rodgerick Sloan, Jr. and senior Mitchell Taylor.

After Turnbull converted a fourth down sneak up the middle, Sloan went around the right end for a 19-yard gain to the Piedmont 1-yard line. Turnbull scored on a run up the middle.

For the extra point, Taylor managed a high snap as the holder and Yanez booted it through but a Piedmont defender was offsides and made contact which blew the play dead.

The Piedmont penalty turned out to be unfortunate for Original. On the re-kick there was another high snap. The kick was then blocked by the Wildcats. Piedmont led, 7-6 with 4:22 left in the second.

On the following drive, the Pirates had a chance to get off the field but a defensive offsides penalty led to a fourth down conversion for Piedmont.

Wildcat sophomore Knoxtyn Rallo broke free on the next play for a 57-yard score. PC junior Jonas Stinson-Powers blocked the extra point and the Wildcats’ lead was 13-6.

The Pirate offense answered quickly. Turnbull sprinted 43 yards to the Piedmont 12 to open the drive. Sloan got the ball to the 5-yard line and Buford capped off the drive with a touchdown run. Yanez’s extra point was good and the ballgame was tied at 13-13 with :25 before the intermission.

On the ensuing kickoff, three Putnam City defenders surrounded Rallo, who had the ball stripped. Sophomore Shaun Brown picked up the ball and returned it to the Wildcat 7-yard line. Sloan scored on the next play. The extra point gave PC a 20-13 lead with :11 left in the second quarter.

“Football is three phases: offense, defense, special teams,” Willis Alexander said. “You got to have all three phases play well in order to be successful.”

The Wildcats had one legitimate scoring chance in the second half. Piedmont junior quarterback Jordin Holman connected with fellow senior Carter Hainrihar on a 55-yard pass play to the Pirate 21. The Wildcats didn’t move the ball any farther. Tripp Alexander buried Rallo for a 6-yard loss one the next play,

Later, facing a fourth down, Piedmont tried a halfback pass from Caram Maddux (a freshman quarterback). It fell incomplete and the ball turned over on downs.

Willis Alexander said defending a rare offense like the flexbone was “challenging, very challenging.”

Tripp Alexander, a defensive lineman, added, “We had to stay disciplined.”

The younger Alexander also credited the PC secondary for slowing the Wildcats whose constant movement in the option game before the ball is pitched and runs to the outside give defenses fits.

“They stepped it up when we needed them. 
They stopped giving up the pitch. They shut down their whole offense,” Tripp Alexander said.

Sloan said the Pirate offense started slow but got the job done.

“We just tried to continue what we did last week, try to run the ball and try to take the one on ones and all that.”

Sloan finished with 66 yards and a score on the ground. Turnbull rushed for 70 yards and threw for 75 more.

UP NEXT

The Pirates (8-2, 6-1) have a first-round bye next week.

Coach Alexander has never had a bye in the playoffs.

“We think we have an idea what we want to do, but it helps us heal up a little bit.”

Putnam City will play the winner of Muskogee (5-5, 5-2) and Northwest Classen (2-8, 1-6) Nov. 21.

If the Roughers advance, the game would be a rematch of the Pirates’ 14-0 quarterfinal loss at Muskogee last season.

Photographs courtesy of Danielle Johnson.

	1	2	3	4	F
Piedmont (7-3, 5-2)	0	13	0	0	13
Putnam City (8-2, 6-1)	0	20	0	0	20