SKIATOOK — Tahlequah surprised Skiatook 22-6 on Friday night.
The Tigers did a decent job containing Shae Garner, but the senior captain still managed to get into the end zone for his ninth touchdown of the season.
Possibly the brightest spot of the night for the Bulldogs were some promising runs from TK Wilkerson, who is emerging as a solid threat on the ground.
The first half started with a flurry. Tahlequah took the opening kickoff to the Bulldogs 27, and five plays later they found the end zone. Although Garner caught a nearly 70-yard pass on Skiatook’s opening drive, the Bulldogs were stopped inside the 20 and elected to go for fourth down, but turned the ball over.
Tahlequah scored with 1:47 left in the first quarter on a short run, and then once again midway through the second, and after a two-point conversion it carried a 22-0 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was full of excitement, including a dance-off between the Tigers and Bulldogs marching bands midgame. Less than a minute later, the Bulldogs scored on a short run by Garner.
TK Wilkerson also began to find some room, as the Bulldogs struggled to bring the game back to a one-touchdown deficit. Despite a sudden surge of offense, however, the Tigers kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone and held on to win 22-6.
After the game, senior Kyle Brownlee had a positive outlook.
“You learn a lot from games like this,” he said, “We just need to get back to work next week and bring more effort next time.”
TK Wilkerson agreed. “We got to get back to work on Monday.”
Next week the Bulldogs will travel to Hale looking to become 3-2.