Commerce Tiger Football

 

Commerce Rolls on in Playoffs
By Anvil Welch
Globe Sports Writer

COMMERCE, Okla. — Unbeaten Commerce, powered by a strong defense and an opportunistic passing game, moved into the quarterfinals of the Oklahoma Class A prep football playoffs Friday night by ousting Park Hill Keys 28-7.

A 21-point second quarter lifted the Tigers, ranked second in Class A by the Tulsa World and third by The Associated Press, to their 12th victory.

Commerce quarterback Klint Reading threw three scoring passes and the Tiger defense made it rough on opposing field general Zach Harbuck.

Commerce, next Saturday night, will play the winner of tonight’s game between Hinton and Velma-Alma. The Tigers need Hinton to triumph for Commerce to get a third game in a row at home.

Park Hill Keys, which previously had lost only to unbeaten Vian, finished 10-2.

“That’s a good team,’’ Commerce coach Rick Trimble said of the Cougars. “It was a tough game. That’s what we expected.

“We kind of took what they gave us (on offense),’’ Trimble said. “We had trouble running the ball. But we threw the ball well and caught it well.

“This one, though, probably goes to the defense,’’ a grinning Trimble said. “Everybody on the defense played lights out. That’s the best I’ve seen us play defense in a long time.’’

Commerce came alive in the second period after a scoreless opening quarter. It didn’t log a first down until the second.

A Keys fumble was recovered on the Cougar 34-yard line and set up the first scoring drive by the Tigers. Reading, on fourth-and-4, hooked up with tight end Logan Cawyer for a 15-yard scoring strike at 8:43.

The Cougars then didn’t handle a pooch kick by Commerce and the Tigers’ Tim Osborn recovered the ball at the Keys’ 43.

Reading hit Josh Kelly for 37 yards and, following a false start, hit tight end Micah Littlejohn for an 11-yard scoring pass at 7:57.

The Tigers then tacked on a safety as the heavily pressured Harbuck was called for intentionally grounding the ball from the end zone.

Fullback Jared Dopp’s 5-yard run at 3:01 provided the Tigers with their third touchdown of the quarter.

Keys scored in the third period on Harbuck’s 4-yard run at 8:26 to make it 21-7.

But Commerce retaliated in the fourth on Reading’s 10-yard strike at 5:35 on fourth-and-6. Reading also found Cawyer — his favorite target in this contest — for a 35-yard gain during the 49-yard drive.