Wesleyan Christian and Nowata carve out wins in Bartlesville-area Week 9 football action

In terms of the win column, it was not a happy Week 9 for Bartlesville-area smaller high school football teams.

Of these nine schools in the E-E coverage area, only two won — Wesleyan Christian School and Nowata.

In perhaps the most interesting battle, Adair nudged past Pawhuska 65-62 on a last-second field goal.

Up in Kansas, the Caney Valley Bullpups saw their season reach the finish line with a 32-14 playoff loss to Council Grove (Kansas).

Other than that, nothing was close. The remaining five area teams lost by margins of anywhere from 24 to 55 points, although those squads still turned in gritty efforts.

Only one regular season game remains.

Wesleyan Christian, Barnsdall and Nowata have clinched playoff spots, but will be trying in Week 10 to improve their postseason seeding.

Copan — which fell to Coyle — still has a strong opportunity to earn a playoff spot for the first time since 2009.

Here are more details on Week 9 games.

Wesleyan Christian 49, Watts 0

According to the old Broadway tune, “You’ve gotta have heart.”

In the WCS Mustangs’ case, it’s spelled Hart — as in senior Aden Hart.

He broke loose for three rushing touchdowns of 17, 49 and 8 yards, respectively, in the heavy statement win. Tyrel Cloud added two passing touchdowns (both to Mason Jensen) and two rushing scores (34, 4), as well as a two-point run. Carson Tennison scored two rushing two-pointers and Isaac Valenz booted an extra point.

Hart and Cloud both rushed for more than 100 yards.

On defense, Brock Timmons and Zander Week rang up 10 and seven tackles, respectively. Timmons made four tackles for a loss.

WCS (6-3, 5-1) is on the verge of wrapping up the No. 2 seed in its district.

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“We came out focused and ready to play,” WCS coach Curt Cloud said. “I felt like everything was firing correctly.”

He praised his team’s intensity in a late-season road game.

Hart, who also made six tackles on defense, turned in the best offensive performance of his career, Cloud said.

“He ran downhill, which I feel he has been developing all season,” he said.

Nowata 20, Salina 16

Nowata (4-5, 2-4) had dropped four games in a row before snapping back against Salina.

Ironmen coach Chance Juby praised his team's energy and contributions by freshmen.

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Veteran Peyton Trotter pounded out three touchdowns and Keyshawn Verner tallied a two-point conversion for all of Nowata's points.

A late defensive stand, stopping Salina on fourth-and-3, proved to be a key factor.

Nowata then ran out the clock when Trotter powered to a first down on third-and-7 — making it by just a half-yard — to allow the Ironmen to run out the clock.

"It was a hard-fought battle," Juby said.

Drumright 46, Barnsdall 0

Barnsdall coach Kylee Sweeney was at a loss to explain the wide margin in a game that decided the District C-3 championship.

"We had a huge crowd at home, this was a big district game and I thought we had a good game plan," he said. "We had too many miscues, too many turnovers and too many mistakes at crucial times."

The Panthers amassed only 79 total yards, which Sweeney said might be the first time in his eight seasons that Barnsdall has been held to less than 100 yards.

"Their quarterback broke three long TD runs over 50 yards on us," Sweeney said, adding he congratulated Drumright on what appears will be a 10-0 regular season.

With a win next Friday, Barnsdall (7-2, 2-2) could go into the playoffs with some momentum.

Adair 65, Pawhuska 62

'I'm so proud of my kids," Pawhuska coach Matt Hennesy said. "They played with a lot of heart."

And they put up some huge numbers.

Quarterback Canyon Hindman was 25-of-36 passing for 382 yards, five touchdowns and three two-point coversions. Hindman also rushed for 63 yards, two touchdowns and another two-pointer on 16 carries.

Lane Kyler recorded 185 yards receiving and four touchdowns on five catches, while Traven Richardson had six catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and also registered a pick-six on defense.

JoJo Hendren added 93 yards receiving.

Noah Willson "played a great game on defense," Hennesy said.

Council Grove (Kan.) 32, Caney Valley (Kan.) 14

Council Grove gained some revenge from last season when the Bullpups eliminated it from the playoffs.

Jackson Griffin rushed for both Caney Valley touchdowns in Friday's loss. Igor Santiago booted both extra points. Griffin finished with 204 yards rushing on 34 carries in his high school finale.

Holden Ziegler proved to be Council Grove's big gun, as he scored two touchdowns. Cade Goodell also scored twice.

Council Grove passed for 200 yards compared to 2 for Caney Valley.

Caney Valley had young players in the secondary because of injuries and Pups starting quarterback Garrett Watson had to come out with an injury in the second quarter, Caney Valley coach Criss Davis said.

Despite the loss and 5-4 record, Davis praised his players.

"What a great group of kids I had," he said. "They never quit."

Jackson finished with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and tallied 20 touchdowns this season.

Verdigris 30, Dewey 7

"We played our tails off," Dewey coach Ryan Richardson said.

The Doggers trailed only 8-0 late in the first half before giving up a 70-yard touchdown pass.

Bryce Sickler scored Dewey's touchdown on a 6-yard run.

Other Dogger highlights included an interception by Zaiden Masters, at least one sack by Gavin Lynch and a strong game by quarterback Ryder Muninger, including a 60-yard pass play to Easton Davis. Eddie Rice also displayed a lot of grit at running back.

"We made a goal line stand in the first half," Richardson said.

Rejoice Christian 49, Caney Valley 0

Caney Valley coach Stephen Mitchell had to watch the game from his car because of an illness.

But he saw enough to praise his team's effort.

A few players he singled out were freshman defensive end/running back Bryor Bonde (quite a few tackles), defensive standout Garrett McLemore (five or six tackles) and Zack Ketchum, who returned off the injured list and recorded a 45-yard kickoff return and 45-yard pass completion.

Coyle 66, Copan 16

This was a tough one for the Copan Hornets, who had hoped to pull off the upset and secure a postseason berth.

Copan (4-5, 3-3) still has a solid shot to accomplish that when it hosts Oaks Mission (3-6, 2-4) next Friday.

Pawnee 62, Oklahoma Union 7

The Oklahoma Union Cougars (0-9, 0-6) moved closer to a winless season but put a touchdown on the board.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: WCS and Nowata carve out wins in Bartlesville-area football action