WARR ACRES — Putnam City trailed rival Putnam City North in overtime when senior Kahmi Herrera took a second down handoff at the Panther 9-yard line.

Herrera escaped the arms of North defensive end Mosely Robinson before he reached the line of scrimmage and squeezed through the hole to the 4-yard line. He met two more defenders there. Pirate sophomore Kingston Johnson blocked his man and the players became a pile at that spot.

The pile began to move and Herrera squeezed through again. North sophomore Ryder Rosholt and freshman Nile Green made contact, pushing and pulling to keep him from the goal line.

However, Herrera kept his legs moving through the contact for a touchdown. The extra point capped a wild 35-34 overtime win for Original Friday (Oct. 2) at Pirate Stadium.

After the game, Herrera smiled when asked if he liked running through contact.

“A little bit,” Herrera laughed. “But, I got to be safe.”

Herrera was expected to be the Pirates’ main rusher this year but missed the first three games due to injury. He finished with 121 yards on 17 carries. That followed a 100-yard performance last Friday (Sept. 25) in Piedmont.

“He’s like a bowling ball,” PC coach Willis Alexander said with a grin. Herrera kept his feet moving through contact on several occasions.

Junior Marcico Petties, who made his mark while filling in for Herrera this season, gained 118 yards on 24 carries. He nearly had 100 yards by halftime.

Following Herrera’s score senior kicker Edgar Yanez sent the kick through the uprights for the walkoff win.

“They were motivated. I mean, we both came in looking for that one (win),” Alexander said. “(North) did everything they could. I mean, we made a play in the kicking game. They didn’t. That’s the difference.”

The Panthers (0-5, 0-1) took the ball first in the extra period. North got to the Pirate 1-yard line on a reverse to senior Gavin Davis. A penalty moved the Panthers back.

Senior Vaisaulu Toles, North’s backup at quarterback, led the final series after junior Owen McMahan was injured in the fourth quarter.

Facing third down, Toles took the snap and was immediately surrounded by two Putnam City defenders at the 15-yard line. He uncorked an off-balance throw over the middle that sophomore Dorian Bradford caught and held on to before crashing into a defender in the end zone.

The extra point by junior Ozzie Munnerlyn was blocked, setting up the Pirates to win it with their OT possession.

The journey to overtime started with turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Pirates led 28-21 and McMahan under threw a pass and PC junior DeAngelo Robinson snagged it for an interception with 4:49 left. But, the Pirates gave the ball right back.

Original senior quarterback Daeveon Simmons had trouble with a bad snap. He recovered and tried to hand the ball off to Petties but the timing was off, resulting in a fumble. Senior Stephen Brown recovered it, giving North another chance.

That continued a trend of turnovers, mistake and special teams issues for PC.

“I’m not going to take nothing away from (North), but a lot of times I think we stopped ourselves,” Alexander said.

This time, the Panthers cashed in. Helped out by a pass interference call late in the drive, North, drove 67 yards in 1:35.

On the scoring play, McMahan scrambled away from Pirate defenders and stepped up from the pocket. He jumped up and tossed it to Gavin Davis, who sprinted to the corner of the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.

McMahan was pancaked by two defenders after releasing the ball, resulting in a penalty and McMahan having to leave the game.

In a sign of things to come, Munnerlyn’s extra point was blocked but it still wobbled through the uprights to tie the game at 28-28.

PC’s Simmons completed 9 of 13 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown in the air. Sophomore Kiarri Franklin racked 50 yards receiving on three catches. Senior Ameer Boyce added 34 yards on three catches, including a touchdown.

Simmons also scored twice on the ground. He ran the ball 14 times for 35 yards.

B.O.T.E. GAME NOTES

• With the win, the Pirates won the Great American Rivalry series game for the second year in a row. PC extended its win streak over North to six games.
• The overtime game marked the third such game in the series between the two schools which began in 1982.
• The Panthers still hold the series edge, 25-21. The schools have played every year since 1982 and played twice in 2007 with a playoff meeting. Original has an 18-10 advantage from 2000 to present.
• The two teams combined to score 56 points in regulation but neither team scored in the the first or third quarters.

UP NEXT

Putnam City (1-4, 1-1) travels to Norman (3-3, 1-1) next Thursday (Oct. 8) to take on the Tigers.

Norman earned a 62-13 road rout of Lawton Eisenhower on Friday.

Putnam City North (0-5, 0-1) hosts Lawton Eisenhower (0-6, 0-2) next Friday (Oct. 9).

Photographs courtesy of Danielle Johnson.

PUTNAM CITY – Simmons 1 run (Yanez kick), 9:12, 2Q
PUTNAM CITY NORTH – Toles 3 run (Munnerlyn kick), 7:25, 2Q
PUTNAM CITY – A. Boyce 22 pass from Simmons (Yanez kick), 3:25, 2Q
PUTNAM CITY NORTH – Pettie 63 pass from McMahan (Munnerlyn kick), 1:52, 2Q
PUTNAM CITY – Petties 22 run (Yanez kick), :52, 2Q
PUTNAM CITY NORTH – Toles 3 run (Munnerlyn kick), 10:20, 4Q
PUTNAM CITY – Simmons 1 run (Yanez kick), 6:36, 4Q
PUTNAM CITY NORTH – G. Davis 30 pass from McMahan (Munnerlyn kick), 3:05, 4Q
PUTNAM CITY NORTH – Bradford 6 pass from Toles (kick failed), OT
PUTNAM CITY – Herrera 9 run (Yanez kick), OT

Updated October 2, 2026 at 11:30 PM

Updated October 2, 2026 at 11:30 PM