Roughers remain perfect, roll in Tulsa

Oct. 22—TULSA — Good teams and good seasons have those valleys of adversity they have to navigate.

For Muskogee, one such moment came early on Friday night at S.E. Williams Stadium in what became a 30-6 win over Booker T. Washington's Hornets.

Jamarian Ficklin went out in the first half when he suffered a right leg injury, but his team turned that into some big moments. Deyonn Bowler made the first of his two interceptions, and freshman backup Coda Bernoski came in and hit two long pass plays, one to Ondraye Beasley for 38 yards on a screen and then to Kayden McGee on a 40-yard touchdown play.

It broke what was a scoreless tie at the time, and there was still well over a half to play, but the momentum shift arguably was the difference in the game.

"We needed to step up defensively and I was just locked in looking to make a play given the situation," said Bowler. "We were still confident. We can play with any team regardless."

But it caused Roughers head coach Travis Hill's heart to skip a beat, so to speak.

"No doubt about it," he said. "The No. 1 thing you want out here is for your kids to be healthy, much less a guy like 1 (Ficklin).

"But it's neat when you put freshmen in that situation and they shine. I didn't see (Barnoski) flinch, and I was worried about him just catching the snap. He did a great job and it was wonderful to see that."

Yet the freshman felt all the emotion of the unexpected moment which you'd expect.

"I had to do what I had to do, but I was nervous for sure," he said.

A sore Ficklin returned with 8:47 to go until the half. He connected with McGee for 35 yards over the shoulder at the Hornet 21. Another 10-yard pass to tight end Anthony Watson got to the 14, but two plays later Ficklin was picked again, this time by the Hornets' Anthony Harris at his team's 5-yard line.

Muskogee held, forced a punt, and Ficklin found Beasley for 39 yards to the 13. But the drive stalled and Darrion Armstrong's 33-yard field goal made it 10-0 at the half.

Sore as he was, Ficklin chose to keep on a 1-yard touchdown sneak in the third quarter. He later hit Anthony Watson on a 12-yard touchdown pass, a score set up by Bowler's second interception.

The sophomore signal caller was without his top receiver coming into the game in senior Jayden Bell. Bell's absence complicated matters on defense as well. He fractured a bone in his hand last week against Tahlequah but that determination wasn't made until early in the week.

"This wasn't about me, I came back for my team," said Ficklin.

Ficklin gave a nod to Barnoski's effort.

"That's what a backup quarterback should be able to do, and he proved what he is able to do," Ficklin said.

The night was also about what a defense should do.

Muskogee held the Hornets to 198 yards of offense. Watson shined there too with two sacks, other tackles for lost yardate, and spent all night pressuring Washington quarterback Lathan Boone.

"I felt it was our best game. I think it was one of my best games," he said. "And to do it against Booker T, they've been good for as long as I've known them. This was big for us."

Talking about the defense got Hill a little choked up.

"I don't think they believed in themselves early but they do now," he said. "This isn't just about kids, this is about life."

Hill didn't give any specifics on the extent of Ficklin's injury, but said they'll evaluate over the weekend and figure out a course of action.

And so, the Roughers (8-0, 5-0 6AII-1) are off to their best start dating back to 1980, when they won 12 in a row before losing in the semifinals. They also clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs.

They'll face Bartlesville at home on Friday and close with a battle for the district title the following Friday at home against Stillwater.

Washington is 4-4 and 3-2.

Muskogee 30, T. Washington 6

Muskogee 0 10 6 14—30

T. Washington 0 0 0 6—6

Scoring summary

Second quarter

MHS-Kayden McGee 40 pass from Coda Barnoski (Darrion Armstrong kick), 10:30.

MHS-Armstrong 33 FG, 1:42.

Third quarter

MHS-Ficklin 1 run (kick failed), 3:55.

Fourth quarter

MHS-Anthony Watson 12 pass from Ficklin (kick failed), 9:53.

BTW-Kuhron Ross 1 run (pass failed), 6:03.

MHS-Brandon Tolbert 37 run (LaTavion Johnson pass from Ficklin), 5:06.

TEAM STATS

MHSBTW

First Downs 16 13

Rushes-Yards 31-86 22-74

Passing Yards 242 124

Passes C-A-I 14-26-3 15-29-1

Punts-Avg. 2-44 7-28

Fumbles-Lost 0-00 -0

Penalties-Yards 5-50 14-110

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing: Mus, Tolbert 6-42 (TD), Johnson 14-36. BTW, Ross 12-32 (TD).

Passing: Mus, Ficklin 12-24-164-2 (TD). BTW, Lathan Boone 15-29-124-1.

Receiving: Mus, Watson 5-47 (TD), Ondraye Beasley 3-110, McGee 2-75 (TD). BTW, Micah Tease 5-94.