Dragons come up short at Marlow

With just under two minutes to play last Friday night at Marlow, Purcell just missed on recovering  an onside kick that could have provided a chance at victory.

But the Outlaws got on the kick, that was out for awhile, and secured a 35-27 victory over the Dragons.

“I’m proud of our kids,” head coach Tracy Scott said. “One thing about this bunch, they fight tooth and nail to the end.”

The Dragons position in the district standings wouldn’t have changed with a win. Purcell was going to finish fourth and travel to Heritage Hall next Friday night regardless of the outcome of the Marlow contest.

“We played well and played hard but had there been something on the line we might have played even better,” the coach said.

The Dragons had their chances at the very difficult venue and just came up a score short.

“We had the ball at the one going in (for a score) and fumbled,” Scott said.

At that point Marlow led by three, 21-19. 

But they took over the ball and marched down the field for a touchdown.

After each team scored twice more, quarterback Kody Kroth hit Mojo Browning with a 16 yard touchdown play setting up the onside kick situation.

Addison Love scored on runs of 10 and 11 and Mojo Browning took an interception 74 yards to the house.

“Offensively, Love and Browning both played well,” Scott said.

Love carried the rock 24 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one pass reception for eight yards.

Browning finished the night with nine grabs for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Kroth was 17-30 with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Creed Smith hauled in four Kroth passes for 71 yards. Nick Albright had a pair of catches for 22 yards. Hayden Harp had one reception for an 11 yard gain.

On the defensive side of the ball, Browning had a pair of interceptions including one that resulted in a score.

Reuben Leveridge led the team with 18 tackles. Albright registered 14 stops, Love 13 and  Jeremy Cudd and Sam Wofford with a dozen tackles each.

Scott pointed out the stellar nose guard play of Jaysen Shea.

“Our defense is set up for him to get double teamed in the middle and he did for most of the night,” Scott said. “For him to make seven tackles is quite a chore. It’s a pretty big deal for a nose guard.

“We’re playing well right now,” the coach said.

They will need to play well with No. 1 and undefeated Heritage Hall the first playoff round opponent.

The Chargers are very multiple on offense with some one back sets with doubles or triples and some two back sets with a blocking back in pistol or gun sets.

Purcell coaches expect the Chargers to run a 3-3 stack defense against the Dragons.

“They’ve got a couple of guys that can score in a hurry. We will have to know where they are at all times,” Scott said.

“They have a really good defense so we will have to be able to sustain drives and for sure not turn the ball over,” Scott said.

Dragon notes:

Kickoff at Heritage Hall is set for 7 p.m. Friday.

Purcell Head Coach Tracy Scott nominated Addison Love as the Offensive Player of the Week. Love rushed the ball 24 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one pass reception for eight yards.

Nominated as the Defensive Players of the Week were Mojo Browning and Reuben Leveridge.

Browning intercepted two Outlaw passes, returning one for a touchdown and had two tackles. Leveridge registered a team-high 18 tackles.

Scott nominated Jaysen Shea as the Defensive Lineman of the Week. He made seven tackles.

Line coach Kurt Gray nominated Caden Bonham as the Offensive Lineman of the Week. Bonham graded out at 95 percent against Marlow.