COMMERCE — Overcoming a sluggish first half, the fifth ranked Class A Commerce Tigers scored on five straight possessions in the second half to capture a 42-8 victory Friday night over Oklahoma Union at Tiger Field.
With the victory the Tigers are 5-0 on the season and 4-0 in District A-8 action.
The loss dropped the Cougars to 1-4 on the year and 0-4 in the district.
Friday, the Tigers travel to Okay for a 7:30 p.m. district clash.
Although it appeared Commerce would run away with the game after going 65 yards in just two plays on their first possession, the Tigers suffered some breakdowns on both sides of the ball the remainder of the first half.
Senior quarterback Joey Bowling brought the partisan crowd to their feet with a nifty 64-yard touchdown run on the Tigers second play from scrimmage.
Bowling kicked the point-after for a 7-0 Commerce lead with 9:20 left in the first quarter.
Coach Lance Williams' Cougars consumed much of the second quarter needing 12 plays to cover 56 yards to grab the lead.
Cougars' senior quarterback Jake Baldwin found freshman wide receiver Clay Williams open on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 5:38 until halftime.
The play was a fourth-and-goal call.
Baldwin's two-point conversion run allowed Oklahoma Union to carry an 8-7 lead to the locker room at halftime.
“At halftime, I didn't loose my composure or anything, I just pointed out to them that this particular game wasn't about X's and O's,” Commerce head coach Willie Ng said. “I just told them that Oklahoma Union wanted it more.
“We challenged them to come out and play good, fundamental football and things would take care of themselves,” Ng said. “And our kids did that for the final two quarters.
“You can't take anything away from Oklahoma Union,” Ng said. “They were doing some things that we didn't stop.
“But we made a few adjustments at halftime and took them completely out of their game,” Ng said. “We were very solid on both sides of the ball in the second half.”
Commerce received the second half kickoff and covered 83 yards in only three plays to grab the lead for good.
Junior tailback Bryson Sullivan caught passes of 39 and 20 yards from Bowling before bursting up the middle for a 24-yard TD run. Bowling's two-point conversion run propelled the Tigers to a 15-8 margin with 10:33 left in the third quarter.
Following a 13-yard punt by OU's Donnie Kipps, Commerce required only two plays to cover 36 yards for another touchdown.
In less than two minutes, Bowling found wide receiver Tyler Maxville streaking down the sideline for a 43-yard TD pass at the 8:34 juncture. The PAT by Bowling increased the Tigers lead to a 22-8 margin.
Another dismal punt of 6-yards by Kipps set Commerce up at their own 43-yard line late in the third quarter.
Sullivan took the pitch and raced 57 yards on the first play for a touchdown on the Tigers third possession of the quarter. Bowling kicked the extra point with 5:16 on the clock to produce a 29-8 Commerce lead.
During the fourth quarter, Bowling threw two 33-yard touchdown passes, one to Sullivan and one to Maxville in just over one minute of play to conclude the Tigers’ scoring.
Sullivan rushed for 138 yards on eight carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the Commerce offense. Bowling added 55 yards on seven carries with one TD as the Tigers ran for 207 yards and passed for 204 yards.
Bowling completed 11 of 17 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Sullivan caught five passes for 83 yards and one touchdown for Commerce while Maxville added three receptions for 88 yards and two TDs. Luis Arizpe added three catches for 33 yards.
The Commerce defense limited the Cougars to 175 total yards in offense which included just 17 yards passing.
Kipps led the Cougars ground game with 105 yards on 29 carries.
The game in figures
Oklahoma Union 0 8 0 0 — 8
Commerce 7 0 22 13 — 42
First quarter
Commerce — Bowling 64 run (Bowling kick), 9:20
Second quarter
OU — Williams 6 pass from Baldwin (Baldwin run), 5:38
Third quarter
Commerce — Sullivan 24 run (Bowling run), 10:33
Commerce — Maxville 43 pass from Bowling (Bowling kick), 8:34
Commerce — Sullivan 57 run (Bowling kick), 5:16
Fourth quarter
Commerce — Sullivan 33 pass from Bowling (kick failed), 8:53
Commerce — Maxville 33 pass from Bowling (Bowling kick), 7:49
Team statistics
OU Com
First downs 11 15
Rushes-yards 52-158 20-207
Passing yards 17 204
Return yards 0 39
Comp-att-int 3-8-0 11-17-0
Punts-avg 7-21 0-0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-2
Penalties-yards 2-10 5-50
Individual statistics
Rushing — OU, Kipps 29-105, Teal 7-43, Baldwin 13-7, Davis 2-(-2). Commerce, Sullivan 8-138, Bowling 7-55, Smith 4-14.
Passing — OU, Baldwin 3-8-017. Commerce, Bowling 11-17-0-204.
Receiving — OU, Williams 2-9, Teal 1-8. Commerce, Sullivan 5-83, Maxville 3-88, Arizpe 3-33.
