Two powerhouse football programs went head-to-head on neutral ground, with a trip to the state finals on the line as No. 4 Lawton High took on No. 6 Booker T. Washington in Yukon Friday night. The two teams fought back and fourth for most of the four quarters, but in the end, it was the Lawton Wolverines that came away with a 42-27 win in the 6A-II Semifinals.

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The Wolverines trailed 24-14 at halftime, but outscored the Hornets 28-3 over the final two quarters to earn their first trip to State since 1987. Booker T Washington Senior Deonta Owens scored twice in the first half for on runs of 4 and 7 yards. A late field goal pushed the Hornets’ lead to 24-14. Washington had little trouble moving the ball in the first half, as the Hornets rushed for 229 yards on 23 carries, most of which came between the tackles. Junior Justice Hill picked up 143 yards in the first half, on just 12 carries with a touchdown. Hill finished with 206 on 23 carries.

Washington forced Lawton (11-1) to go to the air to start the second half, after the Wolverines totalled minus-6 yards of total offense in the second quarter. Quarterback Jack Meservy rose to the challenge, completing all three passes he threw on the opening drive of the second half, including a 25-yard scoring strike to tight end Tristan Gooden. With a surprise 2-point conversion, Lawton had pulled to within 2 points at 24-22 before the seats were even warm in the second half.

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Lawton’s nearly four-minute scoring drive to open the half seemed to stagger their opponent as the Hornets went three-and-out on their first drive and then booted a punt that went just 23 yards, setting up Lawton at the Hornets’ 44. A defensive pass interference call and a 23-yard pass to Gooden set up the Wolverines at the 3-yard line. Mahlik Hanna capped off the drive, running in for the go-ahead score, giving the Wolverines the lead at 28-24.

The Hornets responded with its only scoring drive of the second half, a 10-play drive that was aided by two Lawton penalties and ended with a 22-yard field goal. Lawton stuffed three runs inside its 5-yard line to hold Washington to just three points on the drive.

The Wolverines offense didn’t slow down the rest of the way scoring on its next two drives, both rushing touchdowns by Darreyl Patterson. The first was a 20-yard run and the second, a 17 yarder, came at the 3:07 mark of the fourth quarter to effectively end the game. Patterson rushed 29 times for 207 yards and two scores on the night. Jack Meservy was very efficient on the night, going 11 of 13 for 240 yards and three touchdowns on the night. Those touchdown tosses went to Gooden, Kalin Sadler and Bryce Birt.

The Wolverines will get the Thanksgiving weekend off, and will face 5th ranked Bixby for the title on Friday, December 5th in Moore. It’s the first time the Wolverines will play for a gold ball since 1987. You can catch all the action with Glenn Brennan and myself, with the kick-off slated for 7pm. We'll get it underway with the Wolverine Pre-Game Show at 6:45 on Z94 and z94.com.

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