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SHS kicks Cardinals out of playoffs
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When the game’s on the line, the Sallisaw Black Diamonds are at their best.
Phillip Lefler kicked a 25-yard field goal with four seconds left to cap a second-half comeback as No. 5-ranked Sallisaw edged Collinsville 31-28 on Friday night in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The Diamonds trailed 21-11 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Matt Oberste ran for two touchdowns, Lefler booted his second and third field goals of the night and the defense came up with several big stops as Sallisaw survived the upset bid.
It was the fourth time this season the Diamonds have come from behind in the fourth quarter to snatch a win. Sallisaw head coach Craig Benson was pleased to see his team move into the quarterfinal round with another gutsy rally.
“They’re very resilient and they’re very calm under pressure,” Benson said of his team. “We’ve done that several times this year when we’ve been in dire situations. They persevere and find a way to come out of it with a win.”
The visitors led 21-11 when Tyler Ames tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to James Oakley late in the third quarter.
Sallisaw battled back by taking the ensuing kickoff and driving 73 yards to the end zone. Oberste moved the chains with a 16-yard run and passes to Trey Wiley and Andrew Miller before completing a 26-yarder to Wiley. Those plays led to Oberste’s quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line with 10:32 left in the game. Lefler’s extra point kick pulled Sallisaw within 21-18.
The Diamond defense forced a Collinsville punt and Sallisaw got the ball back at its own 40. Oberste ran for a 15-yard gain and threw a 37-yard pass to Chase Hunt inside the Cardinals’ 10. That set up a 22-yard field goal by Lefler to knot the score at 21-21 with 6:19 left.
Collinsville regained the lead moments later when Shane Douglas hooked up with Joe Keith for a 51-yard touchdown strike.
Sallisaw got the ball back with 3:45 left and needed just four plays to reach the end zone. Oberste completed passes to Wiley, Miller and Hunt to move the ball down to the Cardinals’ 5. He ran it in from there and Lefler added the extra point to pull Sallisaw even at 28-28 with 2:25 to go.
The Cardinals had just one turnover in the game, but it came at a crucial time. Sallisaw defensive back Blaine Kilinc stepped in front of a pass and returned the interception 18 yards down to the Collinsville 10 with 59 seconds left.
Sallisaw ran two running plays before Lefler came on to kick the winning field goal.
Collinsville got to run one final play after kickoff, but Sallisaw noseguard Caleb Smith sacked Douglas for a 19-yard loss to seal the win for the Diamonds.
Sallisaw improved to 10-1 with the victory, while Collinsville closed its season at 6-5.
Benson praised the Cardinals for playing a good game.
“Collinsville had a good gameplan and I thought their kids executed it really well,” he said.
That gameplan allowed the Cardinals to put together a pair of touchdown drives in the first quarter. Taylor Lowe threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Rabbitt to cap their first drive of the night and Douglas ran seven yards to make it 14-0 after their second possession of the game.
Sallisaw got on the scoreboard with 3:04 left in the first half when Oberste threw an 18-yard TD pass to Hunt. Jeromy Davenport ran for the conversion to get Sallisaw within 14-8 at halftime.
The Diamonds received the opening kickoff of the second half and put together a 17-play drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. The drive stalled at the Collinsville 7, but Lefler kicked the first of his three field goals to make it 14-11.
“When you leave that defense on the field for so long—like they did to us in the first half—it will take some wind out of your sails. That drive at the start of the third quarter kind of kick-started our comeback,” said Benson.
The Diamonds also got a boost from the return of Oberste from a shoulder injury that sidelined him the previous two weeks. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 265 yards and was the game‘s top rusher with 87 yards on 21 carries. On defense, he had a pair of tackles for losses.
“There’s no doubt about what he does for the this football team—whether it’s on offense or defense,” said Benson. “The coach from Collinsville, Lance West, said that he was the difference in the ball game. He was our bell cow.”
Wiley was the leading receiver with 12 catches for 147 yards. Hunt caught four for 85 yards, Miller two for 21, Aaron Fullbright one for 9 yards and Kilinc one for 3.
Davenport added 21 yards rushing for Sallisaw.
The Diamond defense held Collinsville to 82 yards rushing on 30 carries. Oakley was the Cardinals’ top rusher with 32 yards on seven attempts. Douglas was 11 of 17 passing for 199 yards.
The Sallisaw defense was led by Jake Fitzsimmons with nine tackles. Hayden Spencer and Dakota Petree were in on eight tackles each and Trevor Fitzsimmons, Russell Kennedy and Smith all made six stops. Kilinc and Oberste had five tackles apiece.
Phillip Lefler kicked a 25-yard field goal with four seconds left to cap a second-half comeback as No. 5-ranked Sallisaw edged Collinsville 31-28 on Friday night in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The Diamonds trailed 21-11 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Matt Oberste ran for two touchdowns, Lefler booted his second and third field goals of the night and the defense came up with several big stops as Sallisaw survived the upset bid.
It was the fourth time this season the Diamonds have come from behind in the fourth quarter to snatch a win. Sallisaw head coach Craig Benson was pleased to see his team move into the quarterfinal round with another gutsy rally.
“They’re very resilient and they’re very calm under pressure,” Benson said of his team. “We’ve done that several times this year when we’ve been in dire situations. They persevere and find a way to come out of it with a win.”
The visitors led 21-11 when Tyler Ames tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to James Oakley late in the third quarter.
Sallisaw battled back by taking the ensuing kickoff and driving 73 yards to the end zone. Oberste moved the chains with a 16-yard run and passes to Trey Wiley and Andrew Miller before completing a 26-yarder to Wiley. Those plays led to Oberste’s quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line with 10:32 left in the game. Lefler’s extra point kick pulled Sallisaw within 21-18.
The Diamond defense forced a Collinsville punt and Sallisaw got the ball back at its own 40. Oberste ran for a 15-yard gain and threw a 37-yard pass to Chase Hunt inside the Cardinals’ 10. That set up a 22-yard field goal by Lefler to knot the score at 21-21 with 6:19 left.
Collinsville regained the lead moments later when Shane Douglas hooked up with Joe Keith for a 51-yard touchdown strike.
Sallisaw got the ball back with 3:45 left and needed just four plays to reach the end zone. Oberste completed passes to Wiley, Miller and Hunt to move the ball down to the Cardinals’ 5. He ran it in from there and Lefler added the extra point to pull Sallisaw even at 28-28 with 2:25 to go.
The Cardinals had just one turnover in the game, but it came at a crucial time. Sallisaw defensive back Blaine Kilinc stepped in front of a pass and returned the interception 18 yards down to the Collinsville 10 with 59 seconds left.
Sallisaw ran two running plays before Lefler came on to kick the winning field goal.
Collinsville got to run one final play after kickoff, but Sallisaw noseguard Caleb Smith sacked Douglas for a 19-yard loss to seal the win for the Diamonds.
Sallisaw improved to 10-1 with the victory, while Collinsville closed its season at 6-5.
Benson praised the Cardinals for playing a good game.
“Collinsville had a good gameplan and I thought their kids executed it really well,” he said.
That gameplan allowed the Cardinals to put together a pair of touchdown drives in the first quarter. Taylor Lowe threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Rabbitt to cap their first drive of the night and Douglas ran seven yards to make it 14-0 after their second possession of the game.
Sallisaw got on the scoreboard with 3:04 left in the first half when Oberste threw an 18-yard TD pass to Hunt. Jeromy Davenport ran for the conversion to get Sallisaw within 14-8 at halftime.
The Diamonds received the opening kickoff of the second half and put together a 17-play drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. The drive stalled at the Collinsville 7, but Lefler kicked the first of his three field goals to make it 14-11.
“When you leave that defense on the field for so long—like they did to us in the first half—it will take some wind out of your sails. That drive at the start of the third quarter kind of kick-started our comeback,” said Benson.
The Diamonds also got a boost from the return of Oberste from a shoulder injury that sidelined him the previous two weeks. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 265 yards and was the game‘s top rusher with 87 yards on 21 carries. On defense, he had a pair of tackles for losses.
“There’s no doubt about what he does for the this football team—whether it’s on offense or defense,” said Benson. “The coach from Collinsville, Lance West, said that he was the difference in the ball game. He was our bell cow.”
Wiley was the leading receiver with 12 catches for 147 yards. Hunt caught four for 85 yards, Miller two for 21, Aaron Fullbright one for 9 yards and Kilinc one for 3.
Davenport added 21 yards rushing for Sallisaw.
The Diamond defense held Collinsville to 82 yards rushing on 30 carries. Oakley was the Cardinals’ top rusher with 32 yards on seven attempts. Douglas was 11 of 17 passing for 199 yards.
The Sallisaw defense was led by Jake Fitzsimmons with nine tackles. Hayden Spencer and Dakota Petree were in on eight tackles each and Trevor Fitzsimmons, Russell Kennedy and Smith all made six stops. Kilinc and Oberste had five tackles apiece.
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