Through the air and on the ground, the Piedmont Wildcats showed off their offensive power in their home opener Friday night against the Norman Tigers in the first quarter. DreAndre Bruton caught a touchdown pass and Carter Hainrihar scored on the ground.
Norman, however, had answers of their own, and they left F&M Bank Stadium with a 41-14 victory over the Wildcats.
In the first quarter, an 80-yard touchdown run by Norman senior running back Kam Donald, and another long drive orchestrated by the Tigers offense knotted the score 14-14.
Norman’s defense had trouble early with the Wildcats’ flexbone attack behind Jayden Fuston, as Piedmont controlled possession until a red zone stand by the Tigers with about 4 minutes left in the second quarter.
How it started
The Wildcats scored first. Quarterback Grayson May connected with DreAndre Bruton, a sophomore, who snagged a pass in the end zone for the 7-0 early lead. Norman answered with Kam Donald’s 80-yard TD run. And after Carter Hainrihar’s strong run cutting through the Norman defense and finding the end zone, the Tigers matched it with a long drive and a rushing touchdown from Crew Noles to tie the score.
With 4 minutes left in the half, the Norman defense held the Wildcats on a fourth down attempt from the 10-yard line.
The Wildcats tried to pick up the first down with a rushing play to DreAndre Bruton. But he was stopped short of the first down line and appeared to have been injured on the play. He walked off the field holding his arm. He returned to the game, but he was shaken up again on a play in the third quarter.
Norman mounted a drive toward the end of the second quarter. With under a minute in the half, a screen pass from Phoenix Murphy to his brother Ryder Murphy gave the Tigers the lead, 21-14.
Phoenix Murphy scored on the ground with under four minutes left in the third quarter to take a 28-14 lead.
The Wildcats offense hit a wall as Norman’s defense stiffened, and a blocked punt gave the Tigers a short field that led to another touchdown pass from Murphy to Murphy. The extra point was no good, but the Norman lead swelled to 20 points, 34-14.
Finally, a 45-yard pass from Murphy to Murphy extended the lead with 3:24 to go in the fourth quarter. The extra point made it 41-14.
For more game coverage read the Piedmont-Surrey Gazette.
