Bixby Holds Off F5 in Oklahoma State Final
Bixby Holds Off F5 in Oklahoma State Final
Despite a wet field and a one-hour thunderstorm delay, Bixby managed to defeat F5 to win the Oklahoma state championship over the weekend.
"We knew it was going to be all about field position," said Head Coach Chris Smith.
F5 started the game with possession and put Bixby under plenty of pressure. Bixby was having trouble kicking out of their own 22 and F5 patiently waiting for their chance. After about 10 minutes F5 broke through in the midfield and scored.
The silver lining for Bixby was that they were now able to kick off and let their defense go to work in F5's half. It worked. They got a penalty and Aaron Montgomery was, as usual, accurate and it was 7-3.
Moments later Bixby lock Nick Roberts side stepped a defender and found his way under the posts. Mongtomery converted and Bixby had the lead 10-7.
That lead lasted into the second half and then the Bixby forwards extended it. A loose ball near the F5 goalline was cooped up and after a couple of surges they got it over. Senior prop Chase Wilson did the honors with an assist from captain Carter Breneman.
Montgomery added a penalty but F5 mounted a comeback. Back-to-back yellow cards put Bixby down to 13 players and with that F5 was able to close to within a score at 18-12. Bixby got a kickable penalty and Montgomery tried to extend the lead, but was unable to get a good purchase with his plant foot in the muddy conditions, and the kick was wide.
Bixby held on, however, with flyhalf JD Martin sending several booming kicks down the field to keep F5 pinned back.
"Super sloppy play, but that was expected with the field conditions," said Smith. "F5 is a very physical team, and they were ready to play. We had beat them pretty good just a few weeks early and we knew they would not be the same team. They are well-coached, big and athletic. Our kicking game was big when it needed to be, and we were able to maintain possession when we needed it."
Bixby's finishers also played a huge role, closing out the match pon an energy-sapping day.
This capped off a four-year run for Bixby in which they did not suffer a league loss. And it's expected next year's team will reload nicely, as well.
