By Mike Kays
Mitch Stevenson said it would be fun.
Friday night at Indian Bowl, Stevenson backed up those words, throwing for four touchdowns, all in the first half, and 268 total yards in his final game as the Roughers beat Tulsa Memorial 45-13 on a bittersweet regular-season finale.
It was a bittersweet finale. Due to Thursday’s ruling by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association forcing Sand Springs to forfeit its win against Claremore three contests ago, it became Muskogee’s season finale.
The Roughers (3-6, 3-4) needed a near-impossible turn of events to make the post-season with that reversal and those hopes were ultimately squashed by Claremore. The Zebras clinched the spot opposite Union next week in the first round of the playoffs with a 21-0 shutout of Sapulpa, putting Muskogee out of the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Jenks, which needed to lsoe to Sand Springs, won that game handily.
Still, as Stevenson said, the Roughers planned on going out on a high note. In a season that’s had shortages of good fortune, Muskogee accomplished something even the three semifinalists of the past five years weren’t able to do — walk off the field for their final time a winner.
“I had more fun than I said I would. You know there’s nothing like Friday nights out here,” he said fighting tears after the game. “Me and the rest of these seniors, we’re going to miss this so much.”
Stevenson was 14-of-27 for the night.
Wideout Kyler Harris had 10 catches for 129 yards and two of those touchdowns, a 22-yarder on Muskogee’s first offensive series of the game and a 31-yarder in the second quarer. He had a third on a short pass out of the wildcat formation from Victor Williams for the final points of 2009, coming with 6:41 to go in the game.
“We’ve had a lot of bumps in the road, but this is the most fun I’ve ever had in a season,” said Harris, the junior transfer from Blackwell who arrived in the off-season with his dad, offensive coordinator Rusty Harris. “God’s blessed us in a lot of ways through it all, and it’s going to pay off in a lot of ways down the road.”
Williams, a sophomore, finished the game with 105 yards rushing on five carries, including a 49-yard third quarter TD run.
With all the happiness spreading its way around, Muskogee coach Matt Hennesy compared the situation to a funeral.
“It’s an end. You know it’s coming, and in our case we had a little time unfortunately to prepare for it because of the circumstances this week, but it’s hard for me because I love these kids,” he said. “It was a great way to go out.”
Another of seven juniors, Jeremiah Firth, caught his first TD pass of the season, an 18-yarder in the first quarter. Senior Londre Carson scord on a 2-yard run and another senior, Ruben Gaines, set up Muskogee’s second touchdown with a 34-yard interception return.
Tulsa commit Brenton Bogar, who will likely play cornerback for the Hurricane should he make it official in February, had a 40-yard TD pass from Stevenson.
Memorial (2-8, 0-7) never led. Robert Dansby’s 21-yard run just seconds into the second quarter put the Chargers on the board at 18-7, and it would get no closer.
“It’s bittersweet,” Hennesy said. “But I’m proud these kids finished the way they did.”
