A long road trip and facing the state’s top-ranked team did not bode well for the Caddo Bruins Friday night as they dropped a 53-6 verdict to Laverne in the quarterfinals of the Class B1 state football playoffs.
The Bruins finished with a solid 9-3 record in head coach Jeff Wigington’s debut campaign at the helm.
Things really got off to an ominous start as the Tigers returned the game’s opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and 8-0 lead. That was just the start of a plethora of explosive plays on both sides.
Followinganexchangeof possessions, Caddo began moving offensively and appeared primed for a possible game-tying score following a 54-yard bomb from Cale Wigington to Jake McKay.
Wigington’s next pass, however, was picked off by the Tigers and returned 90 yards for a score, which put the hosts in front 16-0.
Caddo found a bit of a spark moments later when Jake Green snagged the ensuing kickoff and raced 72 yards down the sideline to paydirt, which cut the Laverne lead to 16-6.
That momentum was short-lived though as the hosts cashed in another score from long distance just 70 seconds later with a 54-yard touchdown toss that increased the margin to 22-6 after one stanza.
The Bruins could never quite get the momentum back on their side as the Tigers pulled out to a 40-6 advantage at intermission. Two third quarter touchdowns put it away and moved Laverne on to the state semifinals.
“We were doing what we wanted on that first drive,” Coach Wigington commented. “We thought we could throw it some and we hit the big pass to McKay early. We lined up to throw the quick out and they just made a good play and jumped the route at the last minute and took it back for six. The kickoff return by Green got us back in it but we just could never really get back into an offensive rhythm after that. Our defense held up for a while but their running back is a home run guy and he broke a couple on us. We just weren’t able to match their big plays.
“Overall it was a good year. We finished 9-3 and all three teams that beat us are playing in the state semifinals this week. Two of them could win state championships.”