If there was any question as to whether these Pryor Tigers could hang with some of the better
teams in the district, that question was answered on Friday night. The answer? An unequivocal yes. Despite losing the game by a single point, Pryor was the better team all night long.
The Pryor defense was stout to start the game with multiple sacks as Tahlequah moved backward with their first two offensive drives. It was the Brendon Monk show during the first quarter. Monk scored on a 14-yard pass from Braden Ward and again on a 7-yard rush. The impressive two-point plays from Kenny Davis' led Tigers continued as Pryor took a 16-0 lead. Tahlequah was able to score right before the half but missed their conversion as Pryor led at halftime, 16-6.
Tahlequah scored first in the second half, but Pryor answered on an 18-yard scamper by quarterback Braden Ward to extend the lead to 24-13. Tahlequah scored again to get within three points but Ward rushed in from four yards out on the next possession. This time, the two-point conversion was no good and would prove costly.
Tahlequah scored again to find themselves down two points. With only a few minutes left and control of the ball, Tahlequah struggled to gain yardage and Pryor forced a punt to regain control. The Tigers, just a first down away from closing the game out, were forced to punt.
The final drive for Tahlequah saw the referees huddled up more than the offense. Tahlequah was able to get to the two-yard line with two seconds left, no timeouts, and rush their field goal unit on and kick the game-winning field goal as time expired to steal one from Pryor, 31-30.
As heartbreaking as that game was, it proved that Pryor has what it takes to not only hang but put themselves into position to win some big football games this season.
With Claremore coming up next and a century or so of competition between the two programs, it doesn't get any bigger during the regular season.
With team leaders like the brothers Ward, a Monk, Foster and Roberts on offense, and a group of guys that play angry in Bailey, Cantrell, McAlvain, and Mathison on defense, Pryor is going to be just fine.
- Story by Chris Taylor
- Photo by Melissa Harlow