The Sayre Eagle football team traveled to Merritt last Friday evening where they overpowered a strong Oiler passing attack to gain a 28 to 6 victory. Merritt used 35 passing plays to roll up 232 yards on 16 completions. One was a 55yard strike from QB Aaron Partain to wide receiver Ace Snowden late in the first quarter. That was all the Eagle defense gave up for the rest of game while the offense scored in each of the first 3 quarters for their 4 touchdowns and 28 points. Sayre’s strength came on their power wedge rushing offense that used 53 plays for 263 yards and all four touchdowns. The key to the success of the Eagle offense was a strong wedge forming line with Alex Chavez as the point of the attack at the center position. The strength of the upfront line beside Chavez included left guard Triston Easter, left tackle Braden Wood, right guard Stone Mackey, right tackle Cason Hagerman, left end Brayden Mosburg and right end shared duties between Brock Helton and Tate Bawden. Zeke Curtis as the fullback gave the final push behind the line. This arrangement has been difficult to stop and has allowed the Eagles to go on long distance drives at a 5 yard per carry average in the 6 games played this season as well as using up a big part of the clock each time. Merritt’s opening kickoff went out of bounds to give the Eagles their first offensive possession starting at their own 35. Sayre quickly used up 4 minutes of the clock by churning 65 yards in seven plays with the TD a one-yard slip into the Oiler end zone by Jaden Mosser. Cam Plummer ran across the 2-point conversion and Sayre led 8 to 0. The big play of the drive was a 45-yard sprint by Mosser to the Oiler 7-yard line. Braycen Fite returned the ensuing kickoff from the Merritt 4-yard line to his 15. Neither team could generate a successful offense in the next 2 possessions. Sayre set up for their third run of the night at their own 46-yard line but 4 plays left them short by 8 yards of a first down. From the Oiler 44-yard line Merritt ran 2 plays for 3 yards before QB Partain heaved his 55--yard touchdown pass to Snowden. Helton prevented the PAT to leave the score 8 to 6 with Sayre on top with 2:44 left in the first quarter. After the ensuing kickoff the Eagles ran 3 unsuccessful plays to set up a fourth down punt. Mosser got off a 28 yarder that rolled to a stop at the Oiler 20-yard line. Merritt lost 5 yards in 3 plays before punting back to Sayre. The 41 yarder was fielded by Tate Bawden and returned 11 yards to the Merritt 45. The Eagles got the wedge untracked and spearheaded the distance to the end zone on eleven plays. Mosser scored on a 3-yard punch. The PAT was successful with Dustin McSorley doing the honors. With 4:23 left in the first half the Eagles were on top 16 to 6. The Oilers received the second half kickoff and after pass completions of 16- and 24-yards Merritt seemed to be in business at the Sayre 25. However, a fumble occurred with Carter Brewer recovering for the Eagles at the Sayre 25. Sayre wasted no time in putting their next 6 points on the scoreboard when they traversed the 75 yards in 8 plays. McSorley powered through 3 successive defenders before breaking lose for a 33-yard touchdown. The PAT failed and Sayre now led 22 to 6 with 6:52 left in the third quarter. Hudson Dyer returned the ensuing kickoff 14 yards from his own 20 to the Oiler 34. The Eagle pass defense clicked when they refused a pass completion on the next 3 plays. Gavin Bashaw punted 26 yards to the Sayre 40. From their own 40 the Eagles went on a methodical wedge powering drive to the Merritt end zone in 9 plays. The big play of the drive was a 10-yard burst by Camden Plummer. McSorley scored the TD on a 2-yard smash. The PAT failed and the final score was on the scoreboard. Midway through the fourth quarter the Oilers made a run at the Sayre goal line when they marched from their own 20 to the Eagle 7-yard line before they ran out of downs. From their own 7 the Eagles ran off the final 4:38 of the clock to end the game. Sayre has now won four of their six games this season giving them a 4-win 2 loss record and a district 1 record of 2 wins one loss. The Eagles will entertain Watonga this Thursday evening on Eagle field with a 7 PM start time. Dustin McSorley led the offense in rushing with 121 yards on 21 carries while Jaden Mosser chalked up another 85 yards on 18 carries. Cam Plummer was everywhere on the field to log 10 tackles. Curtis and A. Ball added 8each. In respect of a former Eagle football record holder, I would like to mention the loss of an outstanding Sayre Quarterback in Kolt Merrick this past week. Merrick tied for the longest Sayre TD pass of 90 yards to Walker Moler in 2021 against Oklahoma Christian. The pass tied with Artie Logans 90 yarder set against St. Mary’s in 1970. His Rushing and Passing yardage for one game was set in 2021 with 260 yards. 194 was by rushing and 66 passing against BFDC. Former holder was Ben Barnes with 252 yards Passing against Mangum in 2007. He also holds the record for most rushing yards for a Quarterback in a season with 874 yards on 115 carries eclipsing the former holder Mark Thornbrough with 511 yards in 2002. He was a well-rounded athlete for Sayre in the years 2018 through 2021. He will be missed by many many friends and relatives. May he RIP.
SAYRE STATS MERRITT 17 First Downs 14 53/263 Rushing Yards 15/31 2/4/20 Passing Yards 16/35/232 283 Total Yards 263 0 Turnovers 1 7/50 Penalties 10/78 2/71/35.5 Punts 3/88/29.3 RUSHING D. McSorley 21/121 J. Mosser 18/85 C. Plummer 7/38 J. Wootton 3/8 Z. Curtis 1/6 C. Brewer 3/5 RECEIVING T. Bawden 2/20 TACKLES C. Plummer 10 Z. Curtis 8 A. Ball 8 B. Helton 7 E. Garrison 6 B. Mosburg 6 T. Bawden 4 J. Mosser 3 C. Brewer 3 Others 13
