Irvin, Midwest City run wild on Lawton MacArthur in 37-14 rout
By Glen Brockenbush
LAWTON - What was slated to be a clash of district title contenders instead morphed into a showcase for the best player on the field.
DeAngelo Irvin Jr led a persistent Midwest City rushing attack that gashed Lawton MacArthur while the defense clamped down on the Mac offense, leading to a convincing 37-14 Bombers' win at Cameron Stadium on Thursday night.
The senior quarterback ran for 176 yards on the night, and just as importantly, he made the big plays when his team needed them.
On third and fourth down, Irvin generally got the yardage needed by himself to extend a drive. And on his one touchdown of the night, he made a play just about any quarterback would be envious of.
With the first half winding down and his team up 18-8, Irvin and the Bombers had the ball at the MacArthur 11. After dropping back and looking for a receiver but to no avail, Irvin scrambled to his right.
He changed direction to elude a defender, changed direction again to elude another and then headed toward the goal line, barely getting inside the pylon for the touchdown with 34 seconds left before halftime.
“We have 10 (Irvin), and he just makes things happen,” Midwest City coach Darrell Hall said. “When there’s nothing there, he makes things happen.”
The opposition even knew who to key on going into the game, but there was little the Highlanders' defense could do.
“He’s a good athlete. He’s a four-year starter, he’s smart, he’s quick and he’s just a really good player,” MacArthur coach Brett Manning said of Irvin.
Beyond that, Irvin's attitude and leadership were contagious and led to a team confidence that was hard to deny. That confidence was also built on the back of the fact that the team was able to do just about whatever it wanted in terms of the running game, racking up 390 yards on the night.
The run game was so effective, the Bombers only attempted eight passes, completing three for 43 yards.
“The running backs are great, but it’s also about our o-line,” Irvin said. “They were getting a push up front all night.”
The Bombers’ ability to run the ball was evident on the first drive, moving 57 yards without completing a single pass. But the drive stalled at the Mac 8-yard line, limiting Midwest City to just a field goal.
But, in what would become a theme of the night, MacArthur’s no-huddle, fast-paced offense was almost a little too fast for its own good, staying on the field for barely a minute before failing to convert a fourth-down attempt.
The Bombers took advantage and capped its drive with a La’siera Laviolette touchdown run from 6 yards out.
Mac’s next drive appeared to be stalled out when a penalty against the Bombers on fourth down kept the drive alive. On the Highlanders’ next fourth down, quarterback Gage Graham ran it in from 9 yards out to cut the score to 10-8.
It would be one of the few bright spots for Graham, who completed just three of his first 15 pass attempts and was knocked from the game briefly in the third quarter. While he did return, he seemed to carry some lingering effects and once the game appeared out of reach, Manning switched to backup Dane Edwards for good.
While several MacArthur seniors got dinged up during the game, they often came back in. Even with big district contests still left for MacArthur, it’s sometimes hard to deny the competitive spirits of football players.
“If they can play, they’re gonna play, that’s my philosophy on that and they said they were good and able to go back in,” Manning said.
Derrion Rogers put an exclamation point on the game with an 85-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to put the Bombers up, 37-8. Rogers finished with 131 yards on just seven carries.
While a Jeremy Hutchinson touchdown would give Mac six extra points, the outcome had been decided long before.
Midwest City (5-2, 4-0 in District 5A-1) is now one of just two teams in the district with unblemished records in district play, joined only by Elgin. The Bombers host Ardmore next week, while MacArthur (5-2, 3-1) visits El Reno next week.
