Bishop Kelley Rallies To Beat Claremore 42-41

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday night, we saw a Class 5A instant classic in Guthrie as #1 Carl Albert beat #3 Guthrie 24-21. On Friday night, Class 5A had our spotlight and lived up to the hype as #8 Bishop Kelley handed #5 Claremore their first loss. The Comets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Claremore 42-41 on Friday night. Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='911901' first='Stice' last='Smith'] played like one of the best quarterbacks in the class as he threw for over 100 yards and three touchdowns and ran for over 100 yards and two touchdowns in the win. There were plenty of fireworks on Friday night as both teams went back and forth throughout the night and the Comets would hit another gear in the final eight minutes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After trailing 41-28 with less than eight minutes to play, Smith and Bishop Kelley went to work. On the next drive, Smith immediately drove the Comets down the field and scored on a 24-yard touchdown run. The defense would then step up and hammer Claremore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='322948' first='Braxton' last='Etheridge'] on third down, forcing an interception and setting up the Comets with a short field. The Comets would convert on fourth down on another run from Smith and then the senior quarterback finished off the drive with his third touchdown pass to put the Comets up 42-41 with 1:43 left. The Zebras would get into Bishop Kelley territory but the rally ran out of time and the Comets took control of the lead in district play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The game started with fireworks as [player_tooltip player_id='1055386' first='Mason' last='McFarlane'] took the opening kick back 50+ yards and the Comets would score on a Smith touchdown run. McFarlane was huge in the return game as he routinely would take the kicks back to midfield and set the Comets up with great field position. Claremore would respond later in the first quarter with an Etheridge touchdown pass to star receiver [player_tooltip player_id='584313' first='Gage' last='Deckard'] on fourth and long. That would be the first of three touchdowns from the Zebras on fourth down. Deckard came up big on the next Bishop Kelley drive as he would come down with an interception and return it all the way to the Bishop Kelley 4-yard line. Etheridge would run it in from 10 yards out and the Zebras took a 14-7 lead into the second quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Comets immediately responded like they had all night. Third down conversions were huge for the Comets and senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1055383' first='Eli' last='Hensley'] would score from 31 yards out. But the Comets weren't the only team that had success in the return game. After the Hensley touchdown, Walker Dunaway would return the following kickoff 89 yards for the go ahead touchdown. But again, Bishop Kelley had a response. They got a 48-yard pass on another third down conversion and the drive ended with a Stice touchdown pass to [player_tooltip player_id='191294' first='Reid' last='Jones'] on fourth and goal to make it 21-21 at halftime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Claremore led 28-21 after their first drive of the third quarter with a short touchdown run from [player_tooltip player_id='1093621' first='Tyson' last='Grimett']. The Comets answered again after another great McFarlane kick return. Smith would then find Gunnar Jackson all by himself for a 37-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28. But the Zebras would score again on fourth down when Etheridge found Rex Clark for a 19-yard touchdown with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter. The Zebras would score their third touchdown while facing fourth down on another Grimett touchdown run to go up 41-28 but then the Bishop Kelley rally began.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With wins over Claremore and Collinsville, the Comets are set up to lock up the district championship next week when they face Nathan Hale. Below, we take a look at some of the top performers from Bishop Kelley and their comeback win over the Zebras. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>BISHOP KELLEY'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1055383"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Bishop Kelley's running game was headlined by Smith at quarterback but senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1055383' first='Eli' last='Hensley'] had a stellar showing as well. He finished with 12 carries on the night for 79 yards and a touchdown. Hensley and Smith have been Bishop Kelley's 1-2 punch in the running game all season for the Comets and it showed on Friday night. Hensley impressed us on Friday night and was always picking up positive yards every time he touched the ball. His highlight of the night came early in the second quarter where he got loose on the home sideline for a 31-yard touchdown run. That would be his only score on the night but his impact was certainly felt. The Comets are one step closer to locking up the district title and having a running game with Hensley and Smith will give them an advantage in the playoffs.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1055386"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"We mentioned senior [player_tooltip player_id='1055386' first='Mason' last='McFarlane'] earlier in the post with the impact he had in special teams. It seemed like every time Claremore was kicking off with some momentum, the Comets would grab it right back with a strong run from McFarlane. From the opening kickoff, McFarlane set the tone that special teams would play a big role in Friday night's game. The Comets had two touchdown drives that were set up by McFarlane returning a kick into Claremore territory. He had another that made it near midfield and the Comets would score on that possession as well. As we get closer to the playoffs, Friday night felt like a playoff game and having an impact player like McFarlane in the special teams department will give the Comets another weapon as they look to make a deep run in November.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["360241"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Bishop Kelley senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='360241' first='Sam' last='Rhoades V'] was one of the players that was no stranger to us coming into Friday night's game. We've seen Rhoades quite a bit over the last few offseasons while he played 7v7 with Sooner 7. But on Friday night, Rhoades was arguably the most dominant defensive player on the football field. The Air Force commit was an absolute nightmare for Claremore to handle on the line of scrimmage. Rhoades was routinely getting into the backfield and causing problems for Claremore's passing attack. And with the Zebras missing their starting running back, Rhoades was able to pin his ears back and get after the quarterback. And Claremore's passing game is one of the best in Class 5A but they did not have much time on Friday with Rhoades consistently coming off the edge on the blind side.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["911901"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"We haven't seen every game or even the majority of games that Bishop Kelley senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='911901' first='Stice' last='Smith'] has played but we'll go out on a limb and say Friday night's performance was right there near the top for him. Smith finished the game with 133 passing yards and three touchdowns and also added 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. And when the Comets went down 41-28, Smith immediately brought them down the field for a touchdown in three plays. He ran for 19 yards, then fired an absolute dart for 11 yards, then scored on a 24-yard touchdown and within 90 seconds, the Comets were right back in the mix. We've seen the numbers Smith has put up this season and have been impressed but when you combine the numbers with the clutch performance, you have a dangerous player to watch.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6533f30ba6561"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->