Laverne advances to eighth title game in 11 seasons with Class B semifinal win

By Collin Wieder 

WEATHERFORD - A shot at defending its state title was within reach for Laverne, but it needed to put away a stingy Velma-Alma squad in the fourth quarter.

Laverne did just that, as the Tigers pulled away for an eventual 52-36 win in the Class B state semifinals at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

The Tigers (12-1) held a 40-36 advantage, but needed a defensive stop after V-A (10-4) followed up a Mikey Griffith 3-yard touchdown run with an onside kick recovery. Griffith, the Comets’ star sophomore quarterback, put together a herculean effort all night as a runner and a passer, and he looked like he might add to his big night on the potential go-ahead drive.

Griffith connected on two short passes to get the initial first down into Laverne territory. From there, Griffith and V-A shifted their attack to the clock-draining, QB power play out of the shotgun, a play which headlined the Comets’ rushing attack all night.

But with V-A facing fourth-and-3 at the Laverne 6, Griffith took the snap and looked like he had an opening.

However, it closed quickly as senior linebacker Robert Hettchen, junior linebacker Tayte Dome and senior defensive end Kaiden Knight swarmed together to stifle Griffith well short of the first down.

Laverne took over at its own 5-yard line, and the momentum never left. Sophomore QB Felix Teal kept picking up first downs on designed runs, moving the offense up to the 35.

There, Teal faked a handoff, jetted through a hole and saw nothing but green grass on his way to an untouched, 65-yard touchdown run to make it a 46-36, two-possession Laverne lead with just more than five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Comets had to answer to keep pace. Teal had other plans.

On fourth-and-6 from its own 24, V-A had to go for it. Griffith took the shotgun snap, rolled right and fired to Slade Strickland downfield.

He appeared open for a second, but Teal quickly jumped in front and picked off the pass. Teal then sealed up the win with an exclamation point, trotting in from 25 yards out to send Laverne back to the Class B State Championship for the third straight year and the eighth time in 11 seasons.

The Tigers racked up nearly 450 rushing yards and seven TDs. Teal led all rushers, racking up 315 yards and five TDs on more than 10 yards per carry. He also logged the aforementioned, game-sealing pick and completed one of his two passes on the night for a fourth-and-long conversion that kept a scoring drive alive.

“First, I just want to give all the glory to God,” Teal said. “We’ve been through tough times this whole year. We’ve had injuries and had to push through adversity, but we came through.

“I love these guys; they do so much for me. I can’t thank them enough. It’s a blessing to be back here where we worked for.”

Laverne head coach Matt Cox said this win was a testament to this group’s resiliency and to the program’s winning tradition. They go into every matchup knowing they can win.

“It’s a battle-tested group,” he said. “They’re tough kids and are resilient. They have been all year. They had to deal with a ton of stuff already. It paid off (Friday).

"They expect to win. They came into this thing just believing in each other and believing in what we do. I think that showed as the game wore on. We didn’t panic when things looked bad.”

Cox’s last statement couldn’t have been more accurate, especially early.

V-A scored on an 18-play, 72-yard opening drive with a Griffith 5-yard TD run and two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead. It became 14-0, when Griffith broke a QB power play into the open field for a 51-yard rushing TD with under five minutes to play in the first half.

The Tigers never let doubt creep in. They just put the ball in Teal’s hands and let him work.

On the first play of the next drive, the second-year signal caller took a delay QB dive up the middle, shook off one Comet defender and made the first of his five house calls of the night from 48 yards out. He then converted for two to cut V-A’s lead down to 14-8.

Laverne’s defense then forced a three-and-out and kept the momentum rolling. The Tigers needed just two plays the next drive.

Freshman running back Wyatt Tillery took a handoff up the middle, juked to his right and rolled 45 yards for the game-tying score. Teal then converted his two-pointer to give Laverne its first lead of the night, 16-14.

V-A regained the lead, 22-16, when Griffith connected with Langston Walker for a 39-yard scoring connection. 

Teal and the Laverne offense responded in just over 30 seconds. He capped a short, scoring drive with a dazzling 33-yard scamper that featured a spin move off a V-A defender.

Tillery picked up the two-point conversion this time, and Laverne took a 24-22 lead into half. It would never relinquish the lead again.

Teal scored on a QB sneak to complete a 10-play, 52-yard drive beginning the second half.

Griffith and V-A fought back with the QB’s third and fourth rushing TDs on back-to-back possessions, but the scores sandwiched a Tillery 36-yard, jet-sweep TD that kept V-A at arm’s length, 40-36, where Laverne eventually pulled away.

The Tigers will face Seiling (13-1) in next week’s Class B state championship, a rematch from Week 2's contest, where Seiling prevailed, 40-38. The Wildcats thumped previously undefeated Oklahoma Bible Academy, 46-0, to reach the title game.

Tillery rushed 15 times for 129 yards and two TDs.

Despite the loss, Griffith racked up 454 total yards and five total TDs on 79 offensive plays. He completed 30-of-44 passes for 300 yards and a TD, while adding 35 carries for 154 yards and four TDs.

Senior receiver Crue Garrett caught 16 passes for 131 yards.