By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor
Piedmont grinded defensively, but mishaps on offense led to a 13-7 season-opening loss to Canadian County rival El Reno Friday at F&M Bank Stadium.
Three turnovers and multiple penalties left the Wildcats behind the chains most of the game, leading to just 169 total yards on 39 plays from scrimmage. The Cats defense held its own, limiting the Indians to 239 yards, including just 85 yards passing and kept the team within striking distance the entire game.
“To be honest our defense played really well,” Piedmont coach Jeff Hall said after the loss. “Hats off to those guys. They had a game plan and stuck to it. Bo (Hardy) and Bryce (Digiacento) each played great at the linebacker spots.
“Offensively we just had too many self-inflicted wounds. In this offense, if you don’t execute it’s tough to have success.”
El Reno struck first with a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dorian Plumley to tight end Kolton Hunt for a 7-0 lead after the PAT. Hunt sneaked past Piedmont’s safeties and Plumley spotted the broken coverage for the score.
Piedmont’s offense stumbled early, but regrouped after El Reno’s touchdown. The Wildcats put together a drive in the second quarter and capitalized on fourth down with a 28-yard touchdown pass from senior Dylan Hampton to senior Mason Teeter to tied the game 7-7 after the extra point. Hall gave credit to the players for executing a great call from offensive coordinator Aaron Dillard.
“In order for them to play the option like they were, we knew they couldn’t cover that route,” Hall said. “Coach Dillard saw it and made a great call. Good ball, good catch. I loved the effort by Mason to get in.”
Mistakes continued to plague Piedmont in the second half.
After punting on their first drive in the third quarter, the Wildcats followed with two fumbles and a muffed punt return on their following three drives. The Indians took advantage after the mishandled punt, capping a 45-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run by Plumley. After stopping the two-point try, Piedmont fell behind 13-7.
“We had a lot of bad penalties and turning the ball over doesn’t help either,” Hall said. “We had some personal fouls and illegal blocks that set us behind after good plays. We have a lot of work to do and we learned we’re going to have to lean on our defense right now.”
Piedmont failed to get past the 50-yard line the remainder of the game, forced to punt on its first drive of the fourth quarter before running out of time on its final drive. The Cats finished with 106 rushing yards while Hampton went 3-for-5 for 63 yards through the air.
“We didn’t do enough good things to win,” Hall said. “I think we were really close from an execution standpoint, but when one person breaks down the entire offense looks bad. And it seemed like it was a different guy each time.
“We have to find a way to correct those things and go execute next week against Weatherford.”
The Wildcats look to bounce back against Weatherford next week on the road. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. next Friday.
