FOOTBALL: Defensive adjustments give Collinsville edge in shootout

Dec. 8—EDMOND — Erik McCarty is regarded as one of the top players in the state, and he lived up to the hype Saturday night.

The McAlester running back gave the Collinsville defense all kinds of problems, finishing with 268 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 31 carries. However, most of his damage came in the first half.

By the end of the first quarter, McCarty already had 124 yards and three scores — including 44- and 60-yard runs — while averaging a whopping 17.7 yards per carry.

Collinsville had given up 21 points or more only twice through 13 games, and thanks to McCarty, the Buffaloes reached that mark in only 14 plays despite possessing the ball for just 6 minutes, 33 seconds in the first quarter.

He looked nearly unstoppable, and though the Cardinals managed to somewhat wrangle him in the second quarter while holding McAlester scoreless, McCarty was still averaging 12.1 yards per touch at halftime.

When asked where McCarty ranks among players Collinsville has seen this season, coach Kevin Jones didn't shy away from giving the speedster credit.

"Shoot, he's probably No. 1," Jones said. "I'm being serious. He is so tough, and he's probably better on defense than he is on offense, which is saying a lot. He is an absolute beast. He's making plays from the backside hash on a jet sweep away from him for a 3- or 4-yard gain. He's special; he's very, very special."

Something had to be done, else Collinsville would be flirting with disaster in the second half.

Luckily for the Cardinals, defensive coordinator Sean Tesar discovered a solution.

McCarty was too good to stop entirely, but making the right adjustments could neutralize him just enough to prevent more crippling long runs.

"They kind of had a little unbalanced set, and they motioned over and were kind of hurting us off tackle there," Jones said. "Coach Tesar made some great adjustments at halftime. We got an extra hat over there, and we tightened down on that side. That made a huge difference in the second half because they were really popping some huge runs on us. That coupled with our guys just bowing up and anchoring down and playing better run defense."

McCarty had 193 yards on 16 carries in the first half, but Collinsville held him to 75 yards on one less carry in the second half — a reduction of 7 yards per carry (12.1 to 5 ypc).

That helped the Cardinals in the scoreboard battle as well.

After that high-scoring first quarter, the Buffaloes managed only 14 points on 49 plays despite having 22 minutes of possession through the final three frames.

Even after all that, McAlester had a chance to tie the game late and force overtime after Andrew Carney scored from 6 yards out to give Collinsville a 42-35 lead with 1:52 remaining.

"Our defensive coordinator wasn't too thrilled we scored with two minutes left on the clock, but that's just the way it was," Jones said. "We had to depend on the defense to take care of us, and they found a way."

Even Carney was concerned the Cardinals' final drive, which covered 66 yards in six plays and chewed up 2:52, gave McCarty and McAlester too much time to make something happen.

The defense held the Buffaloes out of the end zone one last time, though, to secure the victory and the first football state title in school history.

"I was kind of weary of that," Carney said. "I know they have amazing athletes, and I knew they'd been driving it down on us the whole time, and I didn't want to give them the chance to do that. But we got things done."

Defensive end Cody Talkington — a 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior — was instrumental in Collinsville's stand in the final moments, sacking McAlester quarterback Trent Boatright for a 7-yard loss one play after the Buffaloes moved into Cardinals territory.

Talkington's momentous achievement left McAlester with only 12 seconds to cover 49 yards, and two plays later, Oscar Hammond batted down Boatright's hail mary pass to end the game.

"I saw that the tackle was taking a pass set, so I knew I obviously had the advantage over him with my speed," Talkington said. "As soon as I saw the opportunity to cut inside, I just cut inside and the quarterback was waiting there for me. It shifted the momentum and pushed us to where we needed to be with our mindset.

"It feels amazing; there's no way I can really explain it," he added. "We've worked so hard, me and my teammates.

"We've put in so much time and effort over the years, and it just feels good to finally get one."