Heading into the last three games, the Chargers expected their competition to escalate. The first of those tests was Plainview; The Hall passed that test with flying colors via a 50-14 win over the Indians. The next hurdle to clear en route to a District Championship was a physical Sulphur squad.

Heritage Hall traveled down I-35 in the rain, and took the field in Sulphur as the precipitation subsided, hoping to make a statement to the rest of Class 3A about their intentions for the remainder of this season.

On the opening drive, junior quarterback Andy Bass was in top form, finding Orie Walker and Jordyn Harris on multiple receptions for more than 10 yards. After picking apart the defense in the air, Bass kept the counter handoff and scampered in from 8 yards out for a touchdown. After a rare extra point miss by Carter Counts, the Chargers held a 6-0 lead over the Bulldogs.

The home team worked the clock, picking up first downs on a long third-down pass and later on a fourth down quarterback sneak. After bending, but not breaking, the Chargers stopped the Bulldog advance on downs at the 38-yard line with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter.

After a power run by River Faulkner, head coach Brett Bogert '05 opened up the playbook. Senior fullback Liam Burton lined up at quarterback with Bass at his side. Burton took the snap and handed off to Bass, who burst to his right, but then threw back across the field to Burton who rumbled all the way to the Sulphur 8-yard line. Faulkner then capped the 2-minute drive with an 8-yard run. Seeking to recover the missed extra point from the first drive, Bass connected with Burton on a two-point conversion pass and the Chargers led 14-0 with the first frame drawing to a close.

The Bulldogs continued to try to pound the ball on the ground with three consecutive runs, but the Heritage Hall defense was up to the challenge, forcing a punt. Harris, back for the punt, slipped and narrowly avoided touching the ball in what would've been a disastrous shift in momentum.

The Chargers quickly erased any concerns on the first play of the drive. Bass connected over the middle with Walker who raced downfield for about 40 yards before being forced out of bounds. Bass ran the ball inside the five yard line, but a Faulkner fumble on the ensuing play gave Sulphur the ball back near their own goal line.

However, The Hall defense put up a wall and didn't allow a single yard on the next three plays. The Bulldogs punted from their own end zone and the Charger offense took over in good field position.

The Chargers turned the ball over on downs, but the defense recovered a Sulphur fumble in Bulldog territory. Faulkner took a handoff from the 25 yard line, pinballed through the defense, popping out on the left side of the field to score his second touchdown of the night. Bass connected with Burton on another two-point conversion pass to make it 22-0 in favor of The Hall with about 4 minutes to play in the half.

Sulphur continued to run the ball between the tackles, and did so with decent success, but found themselves 45 yards away from points with less than 30 seconds on the clock. However, the Charger secondary defended two deep passes well. After a short power run to the 40 yard line, the home team called a timeout to set up a "hail Mary" play with 1 second on the clock. Lockdown corner Jordyn Harris found a bead on the ball though and picked off the scoring attempt at the 5 yard line to end the half.

The Bulldogs took the ball to start the second half. Inspired by Harris' interception to end the half, freshman corner Jerrod Williams out-jumped a Sulphur receiver along the sideline to haul in his first interception of the game and give the Chargers the ball with good field position.

The Hall went to the ground attack with runs for double-digit yardage by Faulkner and Bass to get into the red zone again. However, Bass was clocked as he set up to pass and the ball was jarred loose by a Bulldog blitz for another turnover.

Feeling time slip away in the third quarter, the Bulldogs went for it on fourth down, but linebacker Cooper Cookson came up to smack the Bulldogs runner and force a turnover on downs.

Bass quick-pitched to Faulkner who rolled right and surprised the Bulldogs by pulling up and finding Rashaud Smith wide open for a 28-yard touchdown pass. Counts' extra point sailed wide again, and the Chargers led 28-0 with just over 6 minutes left in the third quarter.

Daring Sulphur to pass the ball, the Charger defense stacked the box and stuffed the run on three plays to force another Bulldog punt.

With Faulkner continuing the pound the ground and work for every yard and first down, Bass connected on a 59-yard play-action pass to Harris, who got behind the Bulldog defense on a post-route. Counts was true on the extra point to extend the lead to a commanding 35-0.

Sulphur continued to run the ball behind their big offensive line, picking up a few yards a play, but was not able to convert a first down. After a penalty forced a 4th and 30 from deep in their own territory, the Bulldogs muffed the punt snap and Cal Welker fell on the ball.

The Chargers scored on consecutive runs by Faulkner to open the fourth quarter, but Counts' extra point attempt was blocked. The Chargers led 41-0 with 11 minutes to play.

Reserves began to filter in to the game for valuable experience. Sulphur capitalized with a 73-yard kickoff return following Faulkner's score to get into scoring position. The Hall's backup defense made the 'Dogs work hard for their touchdown, but eventually relented as the shutout was erased on a short run. The extra point attempt by Sulphur sailed wide left to arrive at the eventual final score of 41-6.

From the signal-caller spot, Bass connected on an efficient 17 of 23 attempts for 253 passing yards, a touchdown, and two 2-pt conversions to Burton. Walker and Smith were his prime targets with 5 catches apiece; Walker with 91 yards and Smith with 72 and a score. Faulkner tallied his sixth straight 100-yard rushing game with 101 to go with three touchdowns on 14 carries. Bass was effective in the ground game as well, racking up 59 yards and a touchdown on just 4 well-timed carries.

Defensively, multiple Chargers brought the thunder. Senior mike linebacker Zach Fetrow registered 21 tackles, Faulkner had 15 (including 2 sacks and a fumble recovery), and Cookson took down 13. Harris and Williams snagged interceptions.

While a statement was made in the 41-6 victory, the road warriors must pass one final daunting challenge to secure the program's 9th straight District title. The Chargers travel to Marlow for a showdown with the 9th-ranked defending 2A State Champion Outlaws in the final regular season game of the year. The game was moved to Thursday night to avoid stormy Oklahoma weather and prevent sloppier field conditions, and will broadcast by the ChargerVision crew on the NFHS Network. The pregame show with game commentators Aaron Fetrow and Drew Faulkner is scheduled to start at approximately 6:30pm and kickoff is slated for 7pm.

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Alison Counts