Rewind, for a moment, to 2013.

In Norman, Trevor Knight and Blake Bell are battling for the Sooners starting quarterback job, and freshman Sterling Shepard '12 is making his debut. In Stillwater, J.W. Walsh and Clint Chelf are vying for Brandon Weeden's now vacant role as the Pokes' signal caller. In California, Barry J. Sanders '12 gets his hands on the football at Stanford.

In northwest OKC, a rebuilding Charger football team dropped a tough 28-14 home loss in District play to the eventual state semifinalist Newcastle Racers. Led by junior QB Connor McGinnis '15, those Chargers went on to win a first-round road playoff game at Lone Grove before being ousted by a powerhouse Seminole program that featured Xavier Freeman, then high school senior and current Heritage Hall assistant coach. ChargerVision was in its first year operating as a full-blown student stream team for every football game, home and away.

Fast-forward to 2024.

The Chargers still hadn't lost another regular season District game. With a decisive 35-20 home victory over visiting North Rock Creek to open District play, the streak remains in tact at 74 in a row.

The Hall pounced on the Cougars early and raced to a 29-0 halftime lead. The first Charger score was on a four yard pass from Conner Quintero to Rhett Davis, who flipped over the defender at the goal line to produce points.

With North Rock Creek's bruising tailback Caleb Hawkins powering the ball toward an answer score, the Charger defense rose to the challenge. After a pass glanced off the hands of an intended NRC receiver, Jerrod Williams, Jr., snagged his 4th interception of the year and took it 84 yards to the house for a 14-0 home lead.

Hawkins continued to have success running the ball for the Cougars, but it seemed like every time the visitors attempted a pass play, the Heritage Hall defense in position to break it up. The next Cougars drive was thwarted by Connor Phelps, whose jarring sack led to a Cal Welker fumble recovery near midfield.

The Chargers weren't having much luck with the passing attack either, and turned it right back over on the ensuing play.

North Rock Creek threatened again after Hawkins hauled in a long pass near the Charger 10 yard line. However, on the next play, a blitzing Walker Wedel knocked the ball loose on a huge blindside hit of the quarterback and Crawford Browne fell on the loose ball to maintain the two-score advantage.

Penalties plagued the Chargers next offensive drive, which made it into the red zone before being moved back to midfield. Then, NRC linebacker Kaiden Samuels reacted quickly in zone coverage to bat a Quintero laser over the middle to himself and rumble down to the Charger 34 yard line on an interception.

Yellow flags were flying on the Cougars' ensuing drive as well, and The Hall found a way to slow down Hawkins. Facing 4th and 6, North Rock Creek threw deep into solid coverage by England and Williams, who knocked the ball down.

A new quarterback entered the game for The Hall and the change of personnel led to an offensive breakthrough for the Chargers.

Sophomore gunslinger Teagan Lawson found England on a big pass play into Cougar territory. A few plays later, facing 4th and 2, the sophomore duo connected again on a button-hook for a first down to keep the drive alive. Head coach Brett Bogert '05 turned to the ground game and runs by Barrett Travis and Graham Murphy pushed the Hall down to the five yard line. After a penalty, pushed the home team outside the red zone, Lawson and England teamed up on a tunnel screen to get the back to the Cougars' doorstep. A couple of plays later, on 4th and goal from the six yard line, Lawson rolled right and found Travis sitting in a zone pocket for another touchdown. Feeling the surge of momentum, The Hall went for two and Lawson found Travis kneeling for the catch near the right-side pylon to stretch the lead to 22 points with about 4 minutes until the break.

The Charger defense stuffed a couple of runs, successfully defended a third down pass, and forced a NRC punt to give the ball back to their offense near midfield, facing a 2-minute drive situation.

A second down flea-flicker sailed over Welker's head, but a third down screen pass to Travis pushed the ball to the Cougars 30 yard line with just over a minute to play. Lawson kept the ball on a second down roll-out for first down yardage, but was leveled out of bounds by Hawkins on the NRC sideline. The personal foul flag advanced the ball to the 10 yard line with 37 seconds showing on the clock. On the next play, Lawson danced in the pocket and spotted Carter Knowles on a crossing route at the five yard line. The strong receiver hauled in a laser, turned, and dragged a few Cougars on his back across the goal line.

Head coach Brett Bogert '05 led his team to the locker room after 29 unanswered points.

The Cougars made adjustments at the half though, as they came out throwing the ball all over the field. In a drive aided by Charger penalties, North Rock Creek was able to put their first points on the board a few minutes into the second half. Quarterback Landon Kelough followed a bevvy of lead blockers off tackle for an 11 yard power touchdown run.

The receiver screen-game continued to work for the Chargers as Lawson and England teamed up for a 38 yard pass into Cougar territory. After yet another penalty set the offense back, Bogert tried some razzle-dazzle to ignite a spark; Lawson handed off to Hudson Ferris on the reverse, but a heave to the end zone was skillfully picked off by a recovering North Rock Creek defensive back near the goal line.

Kelough found Hawkins on a delayed screen and the all-everything athlete carved up the Charger defense before being pushed out at the three yard line. The Charger defense dug in, stuffed a pair of runs, and then broke up a couple of passes for a goal line stand to regain possession as time continued ticking away in the third quarter.

On third and long from the six yard line, Lawson connected with Welker over the middle for a first down. On the next play, the Chargers were penalized and faced a first down and 18 from their own 9 yard line. On the following play, Lawson tossed a screen over the aggressive NRC blitz to Travis who raced 91 yards for a score. However, the play was called back to the Heritage 30 yard line on yet another flag.

The offense got things moving on runs by Graham Murphy and Travis, and Lawson and England continued their connection through the air to move the ball into the red zone as time expired on the third frame. On the first play of the fourth quarter, England almost scored on a quick wide receiver screen he carried to the 2-yard line. On the next snap, Travis took the hand off, pin-balled off the backs of a couple of his lineman trying to find a seam and followed the push across the goal line for a touchdown. However, NRC's superman, Hawkins, raced off the edge and soared to a block of Beau Butler's extra point attempt to keep the score at 35-7 with 11 minutes in the contest.

The Cougars clawed back almost immediately, as Kelough lasered a short pass to Hunter Betram, who broke a tackle and raced 80 yards to the end zone for an answer score.

On the ensuing drive, The Hall was able to run valuable time off the clock on punishing runs by Travis, Murphy, and Wedel, but couldn't punch it in and turned the ball over on downs at the NRC 23 yard line.

After two incompletions brought about a third and ten, Kelough found Hawkins deep on a 50-yard jump ball pass to reverse the field to the Charger 30. As momentum began to shift at an uncomfortable pace for Charger fans in the stadium, the Cougars faced a 4th and two from the 9-yard line with five minutes on the clock. Hawkins took the direct snap and pushed the pile across the goal line to make it 35-20. The extra point was pressured by Travis from the outside and a strong push inside from Jackson Lewellyn, and the kick sailed wide left.

Down two scores with time running out, the Chargers lined up to receive an onside kick that never came. The Cougars opted to float it high and the Chargers returned it to their own 27-yard line to attempt a time-draining drive. However, the Cougars predicted the ensuing runs and screen attempt and forced The Hall to punt it away with 3 minutes left.

Now making his case for the high school All-American team, NRC's Hawkins returned the punt for an apparent touchdown. However, the play was called back on a blindside blocking penalty that sent Caleb Blue to the turf and the Cougars began their drive from their own 15-yard line instead. After two incompletions set up a third and long, Wedel punished the passer as he threw it and Travis picked off the pass. Offsetting penalties, a blindside block on the Chargers and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the arguing North Rock Creek coaching staff, gave Heritage Hall the ball back on the NRC 30 yardline with two and a half minutes on the clock.

Facing 4th and 21, Lawson connected with England on another tunnel screen pass, but the ball popped loose as England contacted the ground short of the first down yardage. One of the Cougar defenders scooped it up as the referee signaled England down. A personal foul flag was thrown in response to more criticism from North Rock Creek players on the field about the call. After the turnover of downs and penalty, the Cougars started at their own 5 yard line with just over a minute to make two scores. Taking completely to the air, they were unable to move past midfield and The Hall secured a win.

Lawson led the air raid, completing 17 of 23 passes for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns. His sophomore connection with top target England produced 11 receptions for 141 yards. Welker made a full return to the field and snagged 4 passes, as did Travis. On the ground, Barrett racked up 154 yards on 19 carries including a touchdown. 

The Charger defense was led by Wedel (14 tackles, 2 solo) and Murphy (12 tackles, 1 solo). Phelps and Kline Reuter each had a sack, Welker and Brown each recovered a fumble, and Travis and Williams, Jr., each picked off a Cougar pass. 

The District victory was the 74th in a row for the Chargers, who are now 3-1 on the season. Up next is an improved Anadarko team that is undefeated this season at 4-0. The high-powered Warrior offense is averaging 45.5 points per game in wins over familiar opponents Lone Grove (36-34), Bridge Creek (42-18), Chickasha (58-28), and future district opponent Star-Spencer (46-8). If the Chargers want to earn that 75th win in a row they'll have to do it on the road at a tough place to play.

Can we fast-forward to Friday already?!?

Written by Luke Steelman '93
Photos by Ben Thomas '25 & Sabrina Coleman