Swarms, swarms, everywhere swarms.

High atop the Anadarko press box, the ChargerVision crew prepared to go live while avoiding annoyed yellow-jackets. Down on the field, the visiting Charger football players ripped through Cheer's creative paper banner and swarmed the field to take on the Warriors.

Things went well in the first half for The Hall. Beau Butler knocked in a 39-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. Then, the Chargers scored on a 56-yard dart-and-dash pass from Teagan Lawson to Cal Welker.

Then came the swarm of yellow-flags.

Late in the second quarter, Walker Wedel picked off a pass on the Warriors' half of the field. A few plays later, Conner Quintero threw a strike over the defense into the end zone to Carter Knowles, from 28 yards out, to stretch the lead to 17 at the break.

With the teams in the locker rooms, the sun finally set to put the 'dark' in Anadarko, but the local bugs began arriving fashionably late to watch the scorefest. By the time the second half began, the insects swarmed the Friday night lights and nearly blanketed the back of ChargerVision commentator Cooper Cloud '11's white polo as he set the stage for the second half.

This time, it was the Charger offense that surged, swarming the end zone for four second half scores. Barrett Travis got the ground game going and punched in a 1-yard power run early in the third quarter. Quintero connected with Boston Fuller on a 37-yard pass to go up 31-0. Travis tacked on a 15 yard touchdown run, and Carson Phelps scored late to punctuate a 45-point destruction of a previously unbeaten district foe.

Xavier Freeman's aggressive Charger defense was swarming all night as well –  3 interceptions, 2 fumbles, 2 sacks, and 6 tackles for loss. Leading the way were Graham Murphy (6 tackles, 1 solo, 2 sacks) and Wedel (6 tackles, 2 solo, 1 sack, 1 interception). Butler and Terrance Johnson joined Wedel in the pick-party, while Welker and Max Everett grabbed fumbles.

Both Charger quarterbacks were solid on the night. Lawson, who got his first varsity start ever, completed 8 of 14 attempts for 115 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Quintero connected on 7 of 14 passes for 122 yards and 2 scores. They spread the ball out well, with top targets being Knowles (5 rec, 48 yards, TD) and Welker (4 rec, 94 yards, TD). Travis nearly had his 4th 100-yard rushing game, racking up 95 yards on 19 carries with 2 touchdowns. 

Speaking of swarms, the Kingfisher Yellowjackets fly over to The Pop to renew a fierce 2010's rivalry with the Chargers. In addition to the teams frequently battling for State on the hardwood during that decade, the District football race usually went to the winner their gridiron game. The Chargers have won the last six meetings and lead the all-time series 12-3, dating back to 1984.

This year's 'Jackets are 2-3 and are coming off a 26-3 home win over the Purcell Dragons, looking to sting the Chargers and end their historic 75-game win streak. Only Thomas (121 from 1953-1987) and Tulsa Union (94 from 1997-2011) have had longer District victory runs than The Hall.

Break out the wasp spray, there's another swarm coming in hot from out west.

Onward, Chargers!

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Tina Walker