Charger Defense Repels Savages to Advance to Semifinals

As kickoff closed in Friday night, everyone in attendance at Pop Murray Memorial Field realized the impact of this game on the Chargers' season.

Win, and Heritage Hall would advance to the Semifinals to face the winner of Wagoner and Blanchard. Lose, and the Chargers undefeated season would come to a devastating end. Though the win-or-go-home game put a massive amount of pressure on the Chargers, the Hall was determined to show all of Oklahoma what they came to claim this season, the coveted Gold Ball.

Standing in the Chargers way, though, was an athletic and talented Broken Bow Savages squad.

The first quarter of play was controlled by the defenses for the most part, as neither team could find a groove early. Broken Bow started well on the defensive side, but nothing was working for the Savages on offense.

The scoring drought ended a the start of the second quarter when Billy Ross, Jr., burst into the endzone to give the Chargers a touchdown advantage. Morgan Dinwiddie would score minutes later from a yard away to boost the Chargers to a 14 point lead.

After giving up a long pass play, the Heritage defense managed to keep the Savages out of the end zone. Broken Bow would finally get on the board with a field goal to cut the lead to 14-3 with just over a minute left to play in the first half.

The Chargers moved the ball down the field efficiently, including a successful fake punt on 4th down where Blake Adams connected with Grayson Wilson for 16 yards. Moments later, Garrett McGinnis provided the highlight of the half, nailing a 35 yard field goal as time expired to give the Chargers some much needed momentum heading into the break.

The second half was dominated by the Hall, which shut down the Broken Bow offense and torched the Savage defense.

The Charger defense put points on the board when Zane Wade punched the ball out of Hunter Gray's hands and Jaden McDaniel returned the fumble 13 yards for a 23-6 advantage after the extra point missed.

Next, star quarterback Blake Adams found Wade from 43 yards away to score a 29-3 lead for Heritage Hall.

The defense continued to dominate. The Savages mishandled a wishbone snap that pinballed around the linemen and squirted out, where Preston Taylor picked it up and dashed 33 yards to score.

The final points of the game would go on the scoreboard when Broken Bow's Hunter Gray scored a touchdown on a quarterback run with 5 minutes to play. It was too little too late – this night belonged to the Chargers, who remained undefeated with a 36-9 blitz of the Savages.

Adams showed up big for the Chargers, finishing 13 of 20 passing for 149 yards and a score. Dinwiddie and Ross, the "thunder and lighting" ground attack, finished with 107 yards and two touchdowns. Wade finished with only one catch, but lead the Chargers in receiving yards. Conner Carey pulled down five receptions, while Chandler Shapard added three of his own.

On the defensive side, Connor Keith recorded a personal best 13 tackles and 2 sacks. Grayson Wilson continued to terrorize opposing defenses, adding 13 tackles to his team-leading season total of 122. Carson Orton recorded 3 of the Chargers' 8 sacks in the game.

Heritage Hall showed they are a force to be reckoned with in Class 4A. The Chargers will have their work cut out for them next week, as they face a Blanchard Lions squad who pounced on powerhouse Wagoner to end the State's longest winning streak to advance to the semifinals.

This will be another tough challenge for Heritage Hall, but Coach Brett Bogert '05 will no doubt have the team ready to face off for a chance to play in the State Championship.

The game will take place at Western Heights High School at 1:00pm on Saturday, November 25. Per OSSAA media contracts, ChargerVision is unable to broadcast live, but will record the game for later posting. Fans who can't attend can watch for a $10 fee on the NFHS Network.

Let's pack the stands at Western Heights and cheer the Chargers onward!

Article by Rives Mitchell '19
Photos by Jake Steelman '19 / More on Flickr

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