By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
It was through the air that Piedmont finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter in a hard-fought defensive struggle Thursday night at El Reno’s Memorial Stadium.
And it was in the air that Piedmont’s Cannon Wood, a star running back, would make a defensive interception to take away El Reno’s comeback and seal the win. Piedmont scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win the Canadian County rivalry game. Coach Jeff Hall said the team got tougher at the end.
“It was a hard-fought win. We kind of pulled it out at the end. I’m proud of our resolve and how we answered the bell in the fourth quarter,” Hall said.
Piedmont’s offensive attack had sputtered in the first half, but showed promise moving the ball despite a lack of points. On defense, an interception at the end of the second quarter by Jayden Fuston kept El Reno out of the end zone, and the teams went to the locker room with El Reno ahead 6-0.
It looked as if El Reno’s Malachi Nicholson might be too much for the Piedmont defense to stop early in the second half.
The defense did enough to give the offense a chance to kick into gear behind Cannon Wood and several running plays and short bursts for first down yardage, but Wood was unable to break a long run.
El Reno was ahead 6-0 at the end of three quarters.
Piedmont quarterback Joshua Mars overthrew Seth Shelton in the first half for what would have been an easy TD. Mars would not do it twice.
In the fourth quarter, Mars and the Wildcats were faced with a fourth down when Mars dropped back to pass and found Fuston open in the end zone. Mars’ throw dropped into Fuston’s hands on that throw, and with the extra point good, Piedmont had a 7-6 lead in the fourth quarter.
Cannon Wood sealed the win with an interception while playing on defense.
An Elijah Fisher pass was not high enough to get over Wood, whose outstretched hand tipped the ball from the intended Indians’ receiver. The ball fell into Wood’s hands and he kept his balance, then found an open lane down the sideline and into the end zone.
The Piedmont defense seemed to get stronger and finish stronger after the pick six.
Piedmont Coach Jeff Hall described how tough El Reno was to beat.
“It was a really tough game. I think it was two really, really good teams, and they are going to play long in the playoffs,” Hall said.
In the first half the Wildcats found it hard to stop El Reno’s Malachi Nicholson, who had an 81-yard TD called back by a holding penalty. He found the end zone on a 28-yard scamper to give El Reno an early lead, 6-0. The extra point attempt failed.
The El Reno defense kept Piedmont backs in check but Cannon Wood found room to pick up big chunks to keep El Reno’s offense off the field.
Mars overthrew Seth Shelton who was running free down the middle of the field and would have scored. Mars did complete a swing pass to Tyson Benford that got Piedmont into the red zone. However a fourth down play and 2 yards to go was stuffed.
Piedmont’s defense stiffened before halftime to keep the Indians out of the end zone before the half.
The defense shut down Nicholson in the fourth quarter.
“I think our defensive staff did a great job with a game plan and our kids came out and executed it. There were times that they moved the ball really well and we struggled to tackle a little bit but we kind of shaped that up a little bit and got a little better at tackling and kind of slowed it down a little more,” Hall said.
