Class 4A football: Cooksey ‘made things click’ in Blanchard’s close championship win
EDMOND – Carson Cooksey kept the football and realized he had to make some slippery moves.
He leapfrogged one Wagoner defender and landed just out of someone else’s reach. Then the Blanchard senior quarterback took a triumphant dive across the goal line, successfully eluding everyone who had pursued him.
Cooksey summarized the agile run with one straightforward sentence.
“I was just trying to get in the end zone,” Cooksey said.
Although Blanchard’s disruptive defense took center stage in a 19-14 win over Wagoner to secure the Class 4A state title Thursday night at Chad Richison Stadium, the Lions needed an offensive spark to pull out the tight victory, too.
That’s where Cooksey delivered.
To cap his Blanchard career, Cooksey connected with Coric Pierce for an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter and followed with his 10-yard run in the third. He completed 18 of 35 pass attempts for 200 yards, and he didn’t let tough moments rattle him, always bouncing back to keep the Lions from ever trailing.
Cooksey, who moved from Lawton Eisenhower ahead of his sophomore season, guided the third-ranked Lions with that steadiness throughout his three years as a starter.
“(He’s) a guy that has just made things go and made things click,” said Blanchard coach Jeff Craig. “He’s got a command of our offense and does such a great job. I can’t say enough about him and what he’s done, what he’s meant, and then all of the other guys that are around him just complement him so well on offense.”
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Jake Carter celebrates first career interception
The adrenaline hadn’t worn off for Jake Carter as he stood on the field celebrating with the Blanchard community.
The senior lineman was shaking as he relished the atmosphere.
“The air here’s electric,” Carter said. “It’s crazy. It doesn’t feel real.”
For Carter, one monumental play magnified the surreal nature of winning a state title.
He entered the final game of his Blanchard career with no interceptions.
He walked away with one.
Late in the fourth quarter, Carter swooped in and secured the ball for Blanchard’s sixth takeaway, preventing the Bulldogs from reaching the red zone.
“My first thought was, ‘The ball’s in the air,’” Carter said. “My second thought was, ‘The ball’s in my hands. I actually have the ball.’”
The 6-foot, 235-pound lineman considered showing off his strength but wisely decided otherwise.
“I saw this guy running at me,” Carter said. “I was like, ‘Stiff-arm, I’m gonna be cool and stiff-arm him.’
“Then I was like, ‘That’s gonna be stupid. I’m gonna drop the ball,’ so I just held on and kept running.”
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Lightning delays kickoff for more than 2 hours
When the clock struck midnight, it wasn’t a glass-slipper illusion.
Third-ranked Blanchard had, in fact, shattered No. 1 Wagoner’s undefeated record to secure the Class 4A state title. But the game ended after 12 a.m. because it couldn’t even start until 9:20 p.m., two hours and 20 minutes after the intended kickoff time.
A lightning strike within 8 miles of the stadium delayed the game, according to the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association’s statement, and more lightning continued to push it back.
The Lions and Bulldogs waited in their locker rooms, trying to maintain focus as their game-day tunnels lay deflated on the field and fans cleared the stands.
Cooksey said he ate a pretzel and joked with his teammates.
Finally, the dreary weather subsided, and the Lions and Bulldogs burst through their tunnels as fans returned to the stands.
“It felt like the longest two hours ever,” Cooksey said. “But we got out to a fast start, and that set the tone for the whole game.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 4A football: Cooksey ‘made things click’ for state champ Blanchard
