FOOTBALL: Fourth-down scores save day for Cardinals offense

Dec. 8—EDMOND — Andrew Carney refused to be overcome by McAlester's "Black Death" defense.

The Buffaloes came into Saturday's Class 5A state championship at the University of Central Oklahoma's Chad Richison Stadium surrendering only 11.7 points per game, but given the explosive nature of the Collinsville offense, they were forced to adopt a bend-but-don't-break mentality.

The goal of doing so was to limit the Cardinals' chunk plays and scoring opportunities despite allowing some short-yardage openings, but Carney ensured that strategy backfired.

The senior quarterback accounted for three fourth-down touchdowns — two rushing and one passing — to save Collinsville's undefeated season. Two of those scores came with Collinsville trailing, meaning a failed attempt could've given McAlester an opportunity to take a two-possession lead.

"(If we don't get those), the ballgame's over; no question," Collinsville coach Kevin Jones said. "Man, McAlester's got a heck of a football team. We told them nothing was going to be easy tonight, and boy, that wasn't a lie. There was absolutely nothing easy tonight for either side."

Carney's first fourth-down score came on a 1-yard keeper with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter, capping an eight-play, 74-yard drive to tie the game at 7-all. He completed a 55-yard pass to Oscar Hammond moments earlier to put the Cardinals in scoring position.

Carney went to Hammond again early in the second with Collinsville facing fourth down and trailing 21-14, this time for an 18-yard touchdown strike that ended a seven-play, 65-yard drive.

Hammond, who snagged a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter, caught seven of Carney's eight completions, finishing with 119 yards receiving.

The final fourth-down score came on another 1-yard keeper with 9:53 remaining in the fourth, only this time it gave the Cardinals their first lead at 35-28.

"We say as an athlete, you need to have 100% faith in a coach, and as a coach, you need to have 100% faith in the athlete," Carney said of his coaches' confidence in his ability to score on fourth-down situations. "If you guys both have that faith like we do, great things happen."

In all, those three crucial scoring possessions saw Collinsville drive a combined 219 yards on 22 plays while chewing up 8:32 of clock.

McAlester's bend-but-don't-break approach failed. Carney broke the unbreakable "Black Death" defense that hadn't given up more than 21 points all season. The Cardinals reached that threshold in the first quarter.

"They had great athletes on defense, don't get me wrong," said Carney, who didn't need a fourth-down conversion for his 6-yard game-winning touchdown run with 1:52 remaining. "They were the best defense I've ever played against. They had some dudes back there."