Cascia Hall puts deep freeze on Muldrow's offense in first-round 3A playoff win

By Patrick Kays 

TULSA - Things were a bit chilly in Tulsa.

A few Muldrow fans gathered in restrooms at Ray Siegfried II Stadium on the campus of Cascia Hall Prep. Some not needing to “go,” but simply trying to get warm and loosen up - escaping the bite of the sharp bitter wind bouncing off of the large buildings that rise above the southern side of the field.

On the field, a similar story was told. The Cascia Hall Commandos relentlessly froze a flashy Muldrow Bulldog offense, who searched desperately for an answer, en route to a dominating 40-6 opening-round victory in the 3A playoffs. 

The first drives for both teams encompassed the idea of the contest as a whole.

After a quick three-and-out for the Bulldogs, a punt and penalty put the Commandos on their own 10-yard line.

Ten plays later, quarterback Cooper Lai found Ethan Clark for a 14-yard touchdown to give them a 7-0 lead with 5:39 left in the first quarter.

A missed Muldrow field goal on the ensuing long-and-methodical drive would be the domino to push things entirely Cascia Hall’s way.

Lai found Baxter Robertson on a fantastic throw for a 50-yard gain on the first play of the drive. The next play, Jayce Ward took it to the house for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 with 10 minutes left in the half.

“We played the way we wanted to play. We played with defense first,” said Cascia Hall coach Joe Medina. “Then we turn around and run the ball as well as we have run it all year, then hit that big pass.”

“I am just proud of our practice execution that turned into a game-time reality (Friday).”

In the six consecutive Cascia Hall touchdown drives from the start of the contest, Lai would be perfect from the field at 11-for-11 passing for 147 yards and two touchdowns. His second passing score was a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ward with 35 seconds left in the half, making it 27-0.

Ward finished with 12 carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns - paired along with the one catch for 27 yards and a score.

Those two, Lai and Ward, received high praise from their coach.

“They are great leaders, both Jayce and Cooper. I have a great senior class, but those two guys are very emblematic of the kind of kids we have here,” said Medina. “(They are) just gamers and play with a lot of savvy. They do everything right and it pays off on game day.”

Lai gives all the credit elsewhere.

“I give all the credit to my receivers. I give all the credit to my o-line,” said Lai. “There were a couple passes that were a little low and a little high, and (the receivers) went up and got them for me.”

Ward looks at Cascia’s execution of their game plan.

“We knew (Muldrow) had a strong defense going into (this contest) and we just figured if we could execute our plays and isolate our good skill players, that we were gonna get in the end zone,” said Ward. “I was fortunate to get the ball enough to find the end zone three times and I'm happy that we got the win.”

Cascia Hall running back Owen Darby also joined in on the fun as he rushed eight times for 97 yards and a score.

Robertson finished with 131 all-purpose yards.

The Commandos had 274 total yards at the break, while holding Muldrow to just 38 yards. Their game plan to stop the Bulldogs' rushing attack was a key to the finish, in the mind of Muldrow head coach Brandon Ellis.

“We knew they were going to load the box and we were stuck with what got us here to this point,” said Ellis. “The cards were dealt and we had to deal with it. They are a good bunch.”

Muldrow’s only score came from the regular-season state rushing leader Trenden Collins. With just more than a minute remaining in the contest, Collins cashed in from 47 yards out for the game's final score.

Collins finished with 122 of the team's 157 yards on 20 carries. He will graduate leaving a lasting impact on his coach.

“He is the most talented player I have ever coached in 23 years,” said Ellis. “He has got everything. 4.3 GPA, two-time state high jump champ, athleticism off the charts, and he is a team leader.”

Ellis left with a good attitude on his team's finish.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” Ellis said. “I mean 8-2. Nobody saw that coming this year.

"So I mean we weren’t even supposed to be here this year. It was a good season for us.”

Muldrow will continue to search for their first playoff win since 1985.

As for Cascia Hall, they will travel down the road to take on undefeated Metro Christian next Friday for a spot in the 3A semifinals.