HOMECOMING WIN: Tigers top Sallisaw, 38-27, to pick up first win of the season
Sep. 17—Beckett Robinson accounted for 186 total yards of offense and four touchdowns to help lift Tahlequah to its first win of the season Friday in a 38-27 victory over Sallisaw on homecoming night at Doc Wadley Stadium.
Robinson did most of his work as a receiver, finishing with 138 yards on seven catches with a pair of scores. He rushed for 42 yards on six carries with a score, and also threw a 6-yard TD pass.
"It's never easy to win on Friday nights. I've said that many times," Tahlequah head coach Brad Gilbert said. "It might have been ugly at times, but we executed enough plays to get the job done tonight and I'm proud of these guys. It kind of gets us going into district play on a winning note, and that's what you always look for."
The Tigers, who closed non-district play at 1-2 under Gilbert, made a statement on the offensive side of the ball in the first half.
Junior quarterback Brody Younger started the scoring with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Robinson at the 7:37 mark of the first quarter to put Tahlequah up 7-3.
The Tigers' next two scores came on a 2-yard touchdown run by senior running back Josh Munoz and a 30-yard TD run by Robinson that gave them a 21-6 advantage.
Tahlequah took a 28-13 lead into halftime following a Robinson TD pass to Eli Gibson with 5:07 remaining in the second quarter.
The Tigers closed with a season-best 413 total yards of offense and were equally good on the ground and through the air. Younger completed 11 of his 19 pass attempts for 193 yards with a TD and interception, and Munoz ran for a career-high 123 yards on 23 carries. Tahlequah, who averaged 6.6 yards per play, finished with 214 rushing yards and 199 passing yards.
Tahlequah's two scores in the second half came on a third quarter 1-yard touchdown run by Robinson and a 25-yard field goal by Bodee Jimerson with 10:39 left in the game.
Sallisaw, led by quarterback Parker Jackson and receivers Ce'alm Kilpatrick and Broque Oft, accounted for 310 total yards of offense.
Jackson completed 33 of 40 passes for 228 yards with a pair of touchdowns and threw an interception to Tahlequah senior defensive back Dylan Leep.
Kilpatrick had a game-high 10 receptions for 69 yards, and Oft led the Black Diamonds with 81 receiving yards on three catches.
Sallisaw (0-3) scored first on a 42-yard field goal from Christian Taylor at the 8:31 mark of the opening quarter. Taylor added a 38-yard field goal with 3:52 remaining in the first quarter to get the Black Diamonds to within 7-6. Sallisaw's biggest play came on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Jackson Oft with 7:55 left before halftime that narrowed Tahlequah's lead to 21-13.
The Tigers will move on to District 6A-II-2 play on Friday, Sept. 23 when they travel to play Putnam City West, who had a bye week. The Patriots are 2-1 on the season with wins over Western Heights (48-0) and Putnam City North (29-21 in overtime). Their lone loss was to Putnam City (37-8) on Sept. 9.
