By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
LAWTON – Cannon Wood knew Piedmont’s offense would find its rhythm.
So the Wildcats 6-0 halftime deficit didn’t worry him.
“We all said, let’s go do it in the second half,” he said.
They did.
Wood carried 22 times for 125 yards and a touchdown as Piedmont used a dominant second half surge to push past Lawton Eisenhower 21-12 Thursday night at Cameron Stadium.
“In the previous two games, we set ourselves up in position to make plays and didn’t make them,” head coach Jeff Hall said. “Tonight we made them.”
Wood served as Piedmont’s steady battering ram while Cole Riggs – with a 33-yard reception on a crucial third down – and Tyson Benford – with a 40-yard run – provided big plays for the Wildcats. Wood added a 48-yard burst, too.
He scored on a 4-yard run to give Piedmont its first lead, 7-6, with 4:38 left in the third quarter. PHS led 14-12 after quarterback Josh Mars answered an Eisenhower touchdown with a 4-yard scoring run of his own with 8:31 remaining, setup by Riggs’ long catch.
“The progress Cole has made since he was a sophomore to now is unbelievable,” Hall said. “He’s essential for us on both sides of the ball.”
Piedmont’s defense stopped Eisenhower on its final possession and, led by Wood, Piedmont held the ball for the remainder of the game.
Mars added the exclamation point with a 4-yard scamper in the final minute.
“We knew we’d play some youth this season and that we weren’t going to be the same team Week 1 that we would be in Week 10,” Hall said. “I can’t say enough about the kids and how they’ve bought into what we’ve been preaching.”
Piedmont’s defense held the Eagles to a pair of field goals in the first half to keep the game closer than it could have been. Ike reached the Piedmont 1-yard line in the second quarter, but was held out of the end zone.
“I can’t say enough about our defense. Good grief, the progress we’ve made defensively, it might be the most progress I’ve ever seen made in one season,” Hall said.
The game started poorly for the Wildcats. Eisenhower totaled 105 yards in the first quarter while Piedmont was held to minus-3.
Aldo Hernandez scored first for the Eagles with a 39-yard field goal on Ike’s first possession.
Riggs narrowly missed putting Piedmont on the board late in the first half, but his 20-yard catch-and-run on fourth-and-21 ended with a fumble that was recovered by Eisenhower in the end zone for a touchback.
But Piedmont never panicked and it paid off in the end.
The Wildcats will close the regular season at home next Friday against Woodward. A win sends the Wildcats to the playoffs.
“That means everything to us. We’ve worked our butts off all season,” Wood said.
