Anadarko boasts a proud football tradition, especially in the modern era. The Warriors have won two State Championships since 2010. However, the 2021 edition struggled at the onset of the season, losing their first four games before righting their course. Fresh off a 3-game win streak, Anadarko was still very much alive in the District title hunt.

That was until the Chargers rolled into town.

On the second play from scrimmage, Will Paque snapped the ball and tossed it forward to his man-in-motion, Gavin Freeman, and the senior receiver showed off his speed, blazing to a 67 yard touchdown to put The Hall up 7-0.

After sophomore defensive back Jordyn Harris broke up a 3rd-and-long pass, the Warriors placed a long punt inside the Charger five yard line.

Paque broke loose on a 20-yard option keeper. After a couple of busted plays, Paque found junior Liam Burton on third-and-long for a kneeling first down catch that kept the drive alive. The Chargers hit on a big play again as Paque found Cooper Cookson completely uncovered down the middle of the field for a 63 yard touchdown strike. Midway through the first quarter, Heritage Hall led 14-0.

Anadarko began to move the ball a little bit better against a stout Charger defense, but penalties derailed their drive and they were forced to punt again.

Facing another third-and-long situation, Coach Brett Bogert '05 brought the razzle-dazzle out of the playbook. Paque fired a laser to Freeman, who caught the pass and pitched to Nick Keith sweeping around the edge and the senior running back took it in stride and raced to a 68-yard hook-and-lateral touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

The Warrior offense continued to feed star running back Lucas Camp, but the Charger defense clogged his running lanes and forced the Warriors into a dangerous third down pass that was almost picked off by Cookson.

As if three over 60 yard touchdowns weren't enough, Paque tossed a shovel pass to Freeman on a jet sweep and the Texas Tech commit wrecked the Anadarko defense for a 62 yard touchdown and a commanding 28-0 lead as the first quarter drew to a close.

After the Charger defense forced another three-and-out, Brigham Evans followed a pulling block from Gavin Wilson through the line, then used exception downfield blocks from Orie Walker and Cooper Cookson to break down the sideline before lunging across the goal line for a 47 yard rushing touchdown. The Hall had scored 35 unanswered to open the contest.

Facing another third down, this time for short yardage, Warrior tailback Lucas Camp broke free for a 40-yard run to ignite his squad. Camp punctuated the drive with Andarko's first touchdown on a 2-yard power run off tackle. On the ensuing two-point conversion, Warrior quarterback Carson Williams was stuffed at the goal line. Heritage Hall held a sizeable 35-6 lead.

Paque connected on another deep pass with Freeman, who hauled it in despite obvious pass interfence to put Heritage Hall in scoring position again quickly. Bogert brought the razzle-dazzle again on a double pass from Paque to Burton to birthday boy Zach Fetrow, who made a fantastic over the shoulder grab for the final Charger touchdown of the game.

The Hall's defense continued to play more like a wall than a hall, and Anadarko gave the ball back with about 2 minutes to play. The Chargers drove the ball into Warrior territory again and set up a Luke Butler field goal from 43 yards out with 26 seconds on the clock. Heritage Hall carried a 45-6 lead into halftime.

The Warriors did make things interesting, picking up momentum against the Charger reserves, and cutting the lead to 45-22. After a short punt gave Anadarko the ball back on the Charger 22-yard line, Coach Bogert sent the first team defense back onto the field to close out the game and shut down any chance of a miracle comeback by the home team. When the final buzzer sounded, the Chargers scored a 45-22 district win.

Paque was an efficient 11 of 14 for 289 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the passing attack. Burton completed both of his throwing attempts for 22 yards and a score. As usual, Freeman was the prime receiving target, hauling in 5 passes for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. Freeman is now 678 yards away from breaking Wes Welker '00's career receiving record of 2,551 yards; if the Chargers make the State final, Freeman would need to average 113 yards (he currently averages 119) per game. Brigham Evans carried 4 times for 53 yards while Nick Keith had 3 rushes for 65 yards, each scoring a touchdown in the game.

Defensively, three Chargers registered 9 tackles each – Cookson, Fetrow, and Keith. Burton and Wilson recorded sacks in the game. Keith also recovered a fumble. Luke Butler was a flawless 6 for 6 on extra points and is now perfect on field goal attempts (6/6) for his career after nailing the aforementioned 43-yarder (career longest) just before the half.

Week 9 of the regular season brings a game that can clinch the District title for the Chargers. Heritage Hall hosts a Kingfisher team that has been struggling since starting quarterback Jax Sternberger was injured several weeks ago. Sternberger is not likely to play in the game, so the Chargers will be a heavy favorite. Nonetheless, in a rivalry game like the one with the Yellowjackets, nothing can be taken for granted. As they say, "there is a reason why they play the games," and the Chargers definitely do not want to get stung in an upset bid. You can bet this will be a fun game to watch, either from the home stands or from home, live on ChargerVision!

Onward!

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Dawn Freeman