Saturday at Woody Roof Field was a special day for the Weatherford Eagles 6th grade football team as they defeated Altus 34-6 in the D3 Oklahoma Independent Youth Football League Super Bowl.
Of the 34 points, 20 came in the first quarter.
“I am really proud of the way we played in this game and all season,” coach Greg Hayes said. “These boys played their hearts out all season long and I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed coaching this group of guys.”
In the first quarter, quarterback Taven Hayes found Darian Barr on a 35- yard touchdown pass. Jaxon Slagel scored the 2-point conversion on a run up the middle.
The Eagles kicked an onside kick and Hayes recovered the kick. Hayes found Ryder Fuller on a 12-yard pass play three plays later, putting Weatherford up 14-0 early in the game.
Weatherford kicked the ball deep, but Altus fumbled and Weatherford recovered. Fuller scored a touchdown on a 30-yard reverse play, putting Weatherford up 20-0 in the first quarter. Weatherford had 20 points before playing on defense.
“Starting that fast and controlling the game was key,” Hayes said. “We came out and played well. Starting fast allowed us to set the tone and play the way we wanted to play.”
In the second quarter, Weatherford kept going with plays like Hayes throwing the ball to Jack Goldsberry on a 48-yard touchdown on a slant route. Barr scored a 36-yard rushing touchdown. Barr scored a 2-point conversion and Weatherford was in front 28-0.
Altus scored a touchdown on a pass play. They went for the 2-point conversion, but Goldsberry was there for the tackle, making the score 28-6.
Weatherford scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run by Goldsberry, putting Weatherford in front 34-6 at halftime.
“I told my guys we do not want to let up and to keep their foot on the gas pedal,” Hayes said. “They had a really good athlete who we had trouble tackling. We did not make hardly any adjustments. I said to just keep making tackles and to keep playing good defense.”
In the second half, Weatherford kept playing their hearts out and won the game 34-6, capping off an undefeated season.
“It is hard to beat a team three times,” Hayes said. “We had a great game plan and our players just went out there and executed. We have lots of great athletes on our team and we played really well.”
Hayes said multiple players played well on defense and the offensive line played well too.
“Goldsberry played a heck of a game on defense,” Hayes said. “He forced two fumbles. One on the kickoff fumble and one on defense late in the game. Grayson Grant and Carson, Jace Schulz and Aranda each recovered a fumble. Wessyn Short had a couple receptions which were big for us to keep the chains moving. The offensive line did a great job creating holes and giving Taven time to throw.”
Weatherford finished the season with a record of 9-0 and they went 7-0 in the regular season and won both playoff games. They beat Chickasha 42-8 in the semifinals to advance to the finals. Hayes said their experience is what helped them make this season so successful.
“These guys have played together for a long time,” Hayes said. “Twenty-five out of the 32 kids who played on my team are playing in 7th grade this year. These kids faced some adversity, even though we went unbeaten. They are learning how to bond and how to be successful as a group.”
Barr had 33 touchdowns on the year and Hayes has 41 touchdowns on the season. Hayes had 21 rushing and 20 passing.
“We spread the ball around a lot,” Hayes said. “We had seven or eight kids score this year and it was really cool to see the ball being shared throughout the year.”
Hayes said the future of Weatherford football will continue to be in great shape.
“I want to say good luck to these boys as they move into high school football,” Hayes said. “The future of Weatherford football is very bright in my opinion and these boys are just going to keep getting better and better.”