An opportunity to extend their postseason is on the horizon for the Dewar Dragons, who defeated the Wetumka Chieftains in Round One of the OSSAA Playoffs. The Dragons had some tense moments last Friday, including two ties with the Chieftains, but they were able to pull ahead to garner a 68-28 victory to continue their season.

With their first opponent demolished in a 40-point victory, the Dragons are turning their sights to the Summit Christian Eagles, who are currently 8-3 for the season. The Eagles led a tough campaign at the start of the season and a loss to Regent Prep sealed their position in the No. 2 spot for District B-8. Though they were able to acquire eight wins this season, they have already experienced three losses – Depew (40-8), Prue (38-14) and Regent Prep (56-8).

“They are a much improved football team and we scrimmaged them earlier in the season, actually,” Dewar football coach Josh Been said. “We didn’t get to go against them a lot, but they seemed to be a much improved football team. Overall, I feel like we have to, again, stop the big play. They have one really good tailback.”

A big boost in the middle of the season is what helped propel them into the running for the top of the District B-8 leader board. They were able to sweep through conference opponents Oaks Mission, Foyil and South Coffeyville in shutout victories.

The Eagles turbulent season came to a head when they defeated Prue in the First Round of the OSSAA Class B Playoffs, redeeming their earlier season loss. Holding Prue to only two touchdowns, the Eagles offense was able to secure a 52-12 win.

Summit Christian sophomore quarterback Wyatt Austin’s throwing power was matched by the driving force of the Eagles’ running backs senior Dennis Hatley and junior Luke Burner. Delivering three touchdowns against Prue, Austin racked in the passing yards tallying up 214 last Friday, while also throwing down a few on the ground to earn 83 rushing yards.

The Eagles use of their quarterback is similar to the way that the Dragons have implemented junior quarterback Joey Fowler this year, who garnered six touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown against Wetumka. Austin can depend on Hatley and junior wide receiver Caleb Sloat to find his passes with Hatley garnering 103 yards and Sloat earning 99.

Not only do the Eagles have a flexible quarterback they have Bruner and Hatley to back up their offense on the ground. The senior running back obtained 112 rushing yards against Prue, while Bruner delivered 52 yards and one touchdown.

The strategies that the Eagles have implemented in their game against Prue mirrors those that the Dragons have been using on the field all season – balanced offense, flexible quarterback and a strong defense. The Eagles have two young defenders that helped them gain their 40-point win last Friday – freshmen Landon Foster and Austin. Foster led his team with 24 tackles and six sacks, while Austin took down 21 tackles and had four sacks.

The Eagles will be a force to be reckoned with a resurgent offense that fought their way to the No. 2 spot, but the Dragons have an undefeated record behind them and national attention.

Dewar has had an incredible season thus far, taking their undefeated record in the postseason, 11-0. Their tough campaign led to a ranked national and state ranking for the Dragons. According to MaxPreps, the Dragons are currently ranked 10th in the nation for Class B teams and are holding onto the No. 2 spot in the state. Shattuck is the only team that is currently above Dewar in Oklahoma for 6/8/9 man football.

Though the Dragons extended their winning streak into the postseason, there were a few troubling moments last Friday, which led to two ties in the first half. Wetumka, who the Dragons saw earlier in the season, obtained two significant rushing touchdowns to the game 6-6 and eventually 14-14. Fumbles and penalties didn’t help the Dragons cause; however, the Dragons were able to pull ahead both times and slowly began to shut down the Chieftains’ offense, leading to their 40-point win.

The Dragons have shown that they can have an explosive offense and last Friday was no different. Fowler obtained six passing touchdowns for the Dragons and was assisted by running back Shawn Maxwell, who rushed for 144 yards and obtained two touchdowns.

With a well-oiled offensive machine, the Dragons will also have to continue their defensive success in order to hold back the Eagles. Maxwell was not only a key player on the offensive side of the ball, but also took down 17 tackles, two sacks and five tackles for a loss. The Dragons have good defensive moments but will need to be more flexible with the Eagles having a diverse playbook.

“They do a lot of different things,” Been said. “They’re probably one of the most advanced offenses we’ve played in a while. They get into a lot of different formations. I feel like we got a good game plan defensively.”

Dewar vs. Wetumka

DHS WHS

Total Yards 718 N/A

Passing306 N/A

Rushing 412 N/A

First Downs27 10

Turnovers 4 5

Penalties 9 5

Yards 75 25