Published: November 08, 2009 09:30 am      

DHS drops regular-season finale to El Reno

El Reno defensive stand sends Duncan into playoffs as runner-up

El RENO — EL RENO — The search for the district championship goes on.

El Reno wrapped up an undefeated regular season with a 14-7 win over Duncan Friday night. The Demons rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit in the second half and was within 13 yards of a tying score late in the fourth quarter only to come up short.

With the loss, Duncan drops to 8-2 on the season and finishes as the District 5A-1 runner-up. The Demons will be at home for the first round of the playoffs when they host Guthrie. The Blue Jays finished the season 6-4 and are coming off a 49-0 win over Noble.

In falling to El Reno, Duncan got one of its best defensive performances of the season. The Demons held an Indian squad that scored 326 points this season to 14, their season low. Jakeil Everheart was bottled up for most of the game but scored on a 32-yard touchdown run and hit Jovia Franklin on a 31-yard touchdown pass late in the second half to account for both El Reno touchdowns.

Duncan dominated the second half but was only able to put seven points on the board against a strong El Reno defense.

“Our kids know how to fight, scratch and claw,” Duncan coach Jim Holloway said. “We came out in the second half and executed better.

“Our field position in the first half was horrible. We started off at the one because of one punt and Tyler (Gay) fumbled another punt. They also hit two passes to change field position on us.”

Because it was pinned back deep early, the Demons were forced to open the game differently than it wanted to come out, going conservative and trying to work out of the shadow of the end zone and would up going three-and-out.

“Field position was a huge factor in the first half,” offensive coordinator Todd Hudson said. “What we ended up starting the first half with wasn’t what we planned. It was dictated by field position.”

El Reno took over at the Demon 37 and two plays later, Everheart broke free on right sideline and scored from 32-yards out. Joseph Vorva’s extra point lifted the Indians to a 7-0 lead.

The Demons moved the ball on their next drive, starting with a 25-yard run by Jordan Laskey. The drive stalled out at the El Reno 35 and Duncan was forced to punt. The defense did its job, forcing a punt but another special teams letdown took away an opportunity.

Tyler Gay set up to field a punt at midfield but failed to field the ball cleanly. El Reno recovered, taking away a short field for Duncan. The defense held but the Demons were pinned inside their 20 once again.

The game remained 7-0 till late in the first half when the El Reno passing game went to work. Everheart hit Raymond Little for a 30-yard gain and found Franklin on a 27-yard gain to put the Indians on the 18.

Duncan forced El Reno back with losses of five and 12 yards but it was for naught as Everheart found Franklin on a 31-yard touchdown pass over the middle on fourth-and-23 with :30 left in the half. The extra point gave El Reno a 14-0 lead going into the half.

Everheart was 11-of-20 passing for 145 yards, 127 of those yards came in the first half.

“We played good, that guy (Everheart) is hard to catch,” defensive coordinator Kim Longest said. “I thought we did a good job. There were times they just went up and made plays.”

El Reno came out in the second half and placed itself in position to put the Demons in a deep hole . Everheart kept the ball three straight times following a Duncan punt to put the Indians at the Demon 15. Everheart failed to get off an exchange on a low snap and the ball fell to the ground where Tyler Wickard fell on it to give Duncan new life.

The Demons followed with their best drive of the game, moving the ball 83 yards on 10 plays. Laskey got the drive moving with gains of 12, 11 and eight yards to move Duncan to the 33. The sophomore led the team in rushing with 65 yards on 12 carries. Devante Harris came up with a big run, picking up 10 yards on a fourth-and-one to move the ball to the 22.

Three plays later, Duncan went with one of its specials. Brandon Wilson faked a reverse handoff and hit Michael Rice for a 20-yard touchdown with 5:21 left in the third quarter. Jack Braught’s extra point pulled Duncan within 14-7.

The defense came up with the next big play for Duncan as Payton Atchley recovered a fumble at Duncan’s 38 yard line late in the quarter. The Demons drove to the 29 only to turn it over on downs when Harris was stuffed on a fourth-and-one.

El Reno offense remained in check throughout the fourth quarter as it went three-and-out on its next two possessions. Taking over at its own 43, Duncan found some consistency and drove down the field late in the fourth quarter. Bradley Wilson had a key six-yard run on a reverse on third-and-four and Brandon Wilson followed with two runs for 30 yards to move the ball to the El Reno 15.

Two plays netted three yards but a loss of three on a reverse put the Demons in a fourth-and-10 situation. As was the case most of the night, El Reno covered up the Duncan receivers and a pass went incomplete to end possession. Wilson finished four-of-11 passing on the night for 37 yards.

El Reno picked up two first downs on the ground to put the game away and claim the district championship.

“It just wasn’t there, they covered us real well,” Holloway said. “They are a good defensive team. I think we are too.”