FOOTBALL: Bass, Heritage Hall eliminate Verdigris in 3A semifinals

Nov. 28—PRAGUE — Travis East was hoping for a big momentum swing.

Heritage Hall had driven the ball to just outside the Verdigris red zone, but with only seconds remaining in the first half, time was on the Cardinals' side. All the defense needed to do was get one or two more stops to prevent a two-score halftime deficit.

Unfortunately, those stops never came.

Chargers quarterback Andy Bass weaved his way to the Verdigris 3 on a 21-yard run, and after a penalty moved the ball to the 2, he covered the remaining distance as time expired to make it a 27-13 differential at the break.

That touchdown served as the dagger for the third-ranked Cardinals, who failed to make up ground in the second half in a 41-20 loss to No. 4 Heritage Hall in the Class 3A semifinals Friday night at Red Devil Field in Prague.

Bass accounted for 322 yards and five touchdowns as the Chargers (12-1) advanced to play No. 1 Metro Christian at 7 p.m. Thursday at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond in their first championship appearance since 2018.

"He's a good football player," Verdigris coach East said of the 6-foot, 195-pound junior who threw for 230 yards and four touchdowns on 20-of-34 passing while also rushing for 92 yards and a score on 14 carries. "We tried to prep for him all week, but of course you can't match that in a scout-team offense. We don't have anybody that can do that. He's a good football player, and he showed that tonight. He's a good football player. We tried to make some plays and missed some plays on him, but he's just a good football player.

"We made some plays down there from the 2-yard line, but when you only need a yard, all you gotta do is fall forward."

After halftime, Bass picked up where he left off.

Taking advantage of a short field, Bass capped a quick 33-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Liam Burton with 9:08 remaining in the third quarter for his final score of the night.

Verdigris (11-2), down 34-13, responded two minutes later when Dalton Person made a diving catch in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown from fellow senior Dylan White on a fourth-and-6 play at the 7:09 mark.

The scoring grab was an act of redemption for Person, who dropped a wide-open pass in a third-down situation on the previous drive. The 15-yarder was his third catch of the possession, during which he also snatched receptions for gains of 48 and 1 yards.

Person finished with 70 yards on four catches while White completed 16 of 29 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns.

"Dalton has made a lot of plays for us over four years," East said. "So that (drop) didn't shake our trust in him. We knew he'd make another big play, and he did. He made several big plays there and did a great job. We're really proud of Dalton and the rest of the seniors; they did a great job."

Person and White were two of 17 Verdigris seniors who saw their high school career come to an end. The Class of 2023 is the winningest in program history for the Cardinals, accumulating a record of 41-9 with three semifinal appearances.

The team's 11 wins in 2021 and 2022 are tied for the school record.

"They're an unbelievable group," East said. "And here's the deal — if we had won this and gone on to next week, it still wouldn't have been enough games with them. Fourteen wasn't even enough. They're a special group of kids. There's 17 of them and four managers, and they're not only fantastic players, but they're fantastic human beings, and fun to coach and fun to be a part of all of it. They mean so much to me and the rest of our coaching staff and this community.

"They mean a lot."

Heritage Hall struck quickly to open the game, returning the opening kickoff to the Verdigris 27 before Bass hit Cooper Cookson for a 9-yard touchdown with less than two minutes expired. The extra point was blocked, making it 6-0.

Verdigris started its first possession at its own 7, but that was only a momentary issue as a 37-yard pass from White to Louie Carlson sparked what would be a 93-yard touchdown drive capped by a Caden Parnell 1-yard run with 5:41 remaining in the frame. The ensuing extra point was no good, so the teams remained knotted at 6.

The deadlock didn't last long, though.

Bass needed only two plays to go 70 yards in 32 seconds, completing passes of 40 and 30 yards to River Faulkner — who scored a 58-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and finished with 139 yards rushing on 18 carries — and Jordyn Harris, respectively.

The Cardinals' next two drives resulted in a lost fumble and a Harris interception of Parnell, but the Chargers managed to only take advantage of the latter despite recovering the former turnover at the Verdigris 20.

Bass followed the pick with his third touchdown pass of the first quarter, again finding Harris for a 26-yard strike that increased the advantage to 20-6 at the 1:23 mark.

The Cardinals returned the favor, though, forcing a pair of turnovers on the next two Heritage Hall possessions via a fumble recovery and a Tyler Willis interception.

They, too, capitalized on only one of the takeaways, with White hitting Willis for a 29-yard touchdown with 9:49 remaining until halftime two plays after the fumble.

Points were at a premium after that for Verdigris, for it scored only once more through its final seven possessions while punting four times and turning the ball over on downs twice in Charger territory.

"We left it out there," East said. "We made some mistakes and different things. That's a good football team. There's no doubt about it that Heritage Hall is a good football team. We gave them everything we had and kept working. Our kids fought to the end, and that's all I can ask for as a coach. It's always fight with everything you got."

Although it seems the golden age of Verdigris football has concluded with the departure of the senior class, there is plenty of talent — both returning and coming through the elementary and junior high pipeline — for Cardinal fans to be excited about.

Key returners include Mason Mittasch and Willis, and other younger players like Chris Zaferes, Ty McKnight and Austin Boren among others are expected to take on major roles next season.

"We've got other guys coming," East said. "We've got some good grades coming. Our fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth are all really good classes and great kids. Then we've got some great juniors and sophomores that have played for us this year, and they're going to do a great job leading us into the future. We can't replace these guys (the seniors). We all know that. You can't replace them every year, but the program goes on.

"These guys have laid the foundation for what it means to be a Verdigris Cardinal and a big part of the family."