FOOTBALL: Parnell quarterbacks Verdigris to rout of Skiatook in half-game scrimmage
Aug. 26—VERDIGRIS — Caden Parnell had never played quarterback, but he appears to have picked up the position quite quickly.
The senior handled his time behind center with poise and efficiency despite being out of his element, completing 9 of 12 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns while also carrying the ball twice for 14 yards as Class 3A No. 3 Verdigris pounded Class 4A's Skiatook 31-0 in a half-game scrimmage Thursday night at Cardinal Stadium.
Both of Parnell's touchdown tosses went to Dalton Person, including a 29-yarder with 49 seconds remaining in the exhibition. Their first connection was a 28-yard touchdown sling that increased the Cardinals' lead to 21-0 at the 2:16 mark of the first quarter.
"It is definitely a big change," Parnell said. "It's a new experience for me. I've never really played quarterback, so I'm trying to learn plays still. It's a lot different than running the ball, of course. It's just a big change.
"It was just like a mindset thing where you just had to tell yourself that you have to have confidence to do it and be there every day and work for it."
Parnell — normally one of the starting running backs — was filling in for Dylan White, who is recovering from reparative surgery on his right shoulder. He has spent the past month and a half or so trying to learn plays in the event he had to quarterback in a game scenario.
With now less than a week until the season opener at Sperry, Verdigris coach Travis East can rest easy knowing he has a quality signal caller if White is unable to suit up.
"He did some really good things," East said. "Caden's a good football player all the way around and a good kid. He's one of those guys who can make things happen, and the deal with him at quarterback also, you got to worry about him running the ball because he can do it. So I was happy with how he did tonight. He did some good things, and I think he'll just get better and better at everything he does. And when Dylan's back, he'll be able to play running back and do some good things there with him and (Mason) Mittasch, and Chris Zaferes had a good showing tonight, too.
"We had some good running backs back there."
East wasn't exaggerating about the quality running back play.
Verdigris racked up 168 yards rushing, averaging about 8.8 yards per carry. Zaferes paced the team with 62 yards on eight carries (7.8 ypc), and Mittasch used six touches to cover 49 yards (8.2 ypc).
The Cardinals' opening play was a telling sign of things to come, for Tyler Willis took a jet sweep 25 yards.
Although the Verdigris offense finished with 315 yards total and 9.8 yards per play, it was far from perfect.
The Cardinals committed three turnovers in the win with two fumbles and an interception. Two of those came in the first quarter, for they lost a fumble on their first drive of the scrimmage at the Skiatook 25-yard line, and the Bulldogs' James Thompson later intercepted Person in the end zone with Verdigris driving at the 9.
The third turnover came in the form of a fumble late in the second quarter, giving Skiatook possession at the Cardinals' 47.
On top of the giveaway, Verdigris was whistled for 70 yards of penalties via eight flags. The Bulldogs had seven penalties for 64 yards in comparison.
"The offense was really good, and then we just kind of sputtered," East said. "We got down the field and had some penalties. We had three turnovers, and these are things we've got to fix. Some of it's just you gotta take care of the football. The Biggest thing is we gotta take care of the football. That and penalties were things we've got to fix, and we'll get after that on film and fix it and sustain the drives. We had a couple drives where you turn the ball over and get down here and you just go backwards with penalties. So we've just got to do a better job of executing and not having those penalties."
Of course, Skiatook wasn't the only team getting turnovers. The Cardinals had two takeaways of their own, both being interceptions.
Verdigris didn't feel the sting of its first lost fumble for long, for Tyler Mitchell stepped in front of Jace White's pass the next play and returned it about 30 yards for a touchdown with 9:26 remaining in the first quarter.
Drache Marveggio snagged one as well later in the period to give the Cardinals possession at the Skiatook 32, but that drive ended with no points after Person's interception.
In all, Verdigris limited the Bulldogs to 28 total yards on 22 plays (1.3 ypp), held them to an 0-of-5 third-down conversion rate and forced five punts averaging 31.6 yards. Skiatook managed only two first downs, the first of which rewarded via a defensive pass interference with five minutes remaining in the scrimmage.
Braeden Foster was Skiatook's leading rusher with 16 yards on eight carries, and quarterback Jace White completed 2 of 6 passes for 9 yards with two interceptions. Eight of its 22 plays were stopped for either no gain or a loss.
"I'm feeling good about them," East said of his defense. "They work hard, and they do a good job. They fly to the football — that's the biggest thing. We got a bunch of guys who've played a whole lot of football on that side of the ball. We return a lot of guys that have played, and they're a cohesive group and they play together and they play hard. We're happy with them, and we're excited to see what the season brings."
The Cardinals are a favorite in Class 3A this year and are ranked No. 1 by the Tulsa World, but they aren't focusing on the headlines as next week's season opener at Sperry approaches.
Verdigris and the Pirates have played every season since 2004, and the series is tied at 10 wins apiece. The Cardinals won the past two meetings by a combined score of 73-6.
"They don't matter," East said of the media's perception of his squad. "What somebody says about rankings doesn't matter. So for us, it's about Week 1, Game 1 and getting ready for Sperry."
