(Free) #4 Edmond Santa Fe Defeats #3 Broken Arrow 35-28

Friday night featured a few big-time matchups with huge playoff implications but none of them perhaps were bigger than this one between Santa Fe and Broken Arrow. This matchup featured 2 top 5 teams in 6A-1 with 2nd or 3rd place on the line depending on what Jenks does for the rest of the season. Both teams came out firing early and the game was close throughout the night but a few turnovers ended up being the difference in this one. Let’s take a deeper look at how this heavyweight matchup turned out. First Half Santa Fe started with the ball in this one and wasted no time scoring as carried the ball 10 times on their opening drive and scored the games first touchdown from a yard out to take a 7-0 lead. Santa Fe then held strong on defense and forced a turnover on downs despite allowing a long kick return from Broken Arrow’s . Although they stalled out and looked uncomfortable on their first offensive possession, Broken Arrow was able to force a punt from Santa Fe to get the ball back quickly where they found a rhythm, and scored on a short run to tie the game at 7. After the initial offensive surge to start the game, both defenses settled in and forced a string of punts to end the first quarter and for a large portion of the second quarter with big plays from , , , and a few others from both squads. The defensive streak, however, would not last as would go on an electrifying 86 yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead that they would take into halftime despite a last-second scoring effort from Santa Fe that resulted in an interception made by BA’s Sterling Ramsey. Second Half Broken Arrow went into halftime with the lead, a lot of momentum, and the ball to start the second half. The Tigers, however, were unable to take advantage of the circumstances and were forced to give the ball back to Santa Fe with about half of the 3rd quarter still remaining. The Wolves then once again drove quickly and tied the game up on a 5 yard TD pass from Pfieffer to Shawn Allen with just over 5 and a half minutes to go in the third. Following Allen’s TD, Santa Fe would once again hold strong on defense and force a turnover on downs before taking the lead on a 42-yard bomb to recent Oklahoma commit . Desperate for some kind of rhythm or momentum, Broken Arrow would finally get a good drive together in the second half and score on another rushing touchdown to tie the game at 21. Then, just as it was looking like the tides were going to turn in favor of the Tigers, Santa Fe’s took matters into his own hands with an 85-yard kick return touchdown to give the Wolves a 28-21 lead heading into the 4th quarter. Despite the huge blow on the return, Broken Arrow would respond and tie the game once more with a 32-yard touchdown pass from to who had an incredible game, reaching the endzone 3 times. Once the game was tied, the next two possessions would end up being the deciding ones as Santa Fe would score on a 10-yard run from and then force a fumble inside their own territory with about 5 minutes to go. Broken Arrow would hold Santa Fe on the goal line but would not have enough time to drive and tie the game. Santa Fe wins 35-28. Player(s) of the Game - - 30 carries, 174 Yards, 1 Touchdown - 6 Catches, 116 Yards, 1 Touchdown Looking Ahead After the loss, Broken Arrow falls to 4-3 on the season and has little to no room for error leading into the playoffs. While they have looked dominant at times this year against lesser opponents, Broken Arrow’s losses have come against the top 3 teams in the state in Owasso, Jenks, and Santa Fe, which leads you to question how far they can truly go once the playoffs kick-off. Crazier things have happened, but unless the Tigers kick it into high gear going forward, they may be looking at an early exit once the postseason rolls around. With this win, Edmond Santa Fe improves to 5-2 on the season and is certainly in the driver’s seat for a high seed in the playoffs as long as they can take care of business against Enid and Norman. Santa Fe’s only losses on the season have come against two of the best in the state in Owasso and Bixby, the latter whom they will not see in the playoffs. While they lost in a rather ugly fashion to Owasso to begin the season, Santa Fe has come a long way and looks like a much different team now than they did back in August. With their defense settling in and playing to their potential, their dominant one-two punch of and in the backfield, and their talented WR core that features and , don’t be surprised if Santa Fe makes a deep run in the playoffs and potentially give Owasso a run for their money if the two meet again.