District 2A-8 Championship Belongs to Commerce

QUAPAW — Erupting for 42 points in the first half, the Commerce Tigers cruised to a 49-14 victory over the Quapaw Wildcats Thursday night at Shipman Field to capture the District 2A-8 crown.

Coach Willie Ng's 10th-ranked Tigers finish 9-1 on the regular season and 6-1 in the district while coach Brad Homer's Wildcats are 2-8 on the year and 1-6 in district play.

The Tigers will play either Chelsea or Pawhuska, depending on tonight's results, next Friday in Commerce. Commerce jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as the Tigers scored on their first six possessions of the game.

After holding the Wildcats on the opening series, the Tigers covered 51 yards in six plays to take the lead for good.

On a fourth-and-goal call, junior tailback Bryson Sullivan bulled over from 1-yard out and Tyler Maxville booted the point-after for a 7-0 Tigers lead with 6:32 showing on the clock.

The brother combination of quarterback Kasey Ng and wide out Kyler Ng clicked for a 12-yard TD pass play on the next Tigers possession.

Commerce took advantage of a 16-yard punt by Quapaw's Connell Cawyer to move only 27 yards in four plays with 2:18 left in the first quarter. 

Another short punt of 23 yards by Cawyer enabled the Tigers to cover 33 yards in only three plays before scoring just eight seconds into the second quarter.

Junior running back Braden Smith burst straight up the middle for a 27-yard touchdown run and Maxville added the point-after to give the Tigers a 21-0 cushion.

Smith displayed his pass-catching abilities on the next Commerce series with a 45-yard TD pass from Kasey Ng to culminate a 59-yard drive.

The PAT by Maxville with 7:54 until halftime created a 28-0 Tigers lead.

Four minutes later the Commerce ground game chewed up 27 yards in four plays with Austin McMain scoring on a 1-yard plunge.

Maxville’s point after kick  increased the lead to 31-0 with 3:28 before intermission.

Sullivan stepped in front of an errant Guthrie Murray pass on Quapaw’s next possession and returned it 40 yards for a TD with 1:42 showing on the clock.

The extra point by Maxville gave Commerce a 42-0 advantage at halftime.

Taking the second half kickoff, the Tigers drove 38 yards in three plays with McMain scoring on a 20-yard run. Maxville’s point-after came with 10:17 left in the third quarter.

Commerce denied Quapaw three points with 1:55 left in the third quarter as linebacker Marco Sierra blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt by Cawyer.

During the fourth quarter, coach Ng went to his reserves who promptly lost two fumbles that led to Quapaw’s points.

After senior defensive end Justin Mahurin stripped the ball from Commerce running back Tyson Howard, the Wildcats needed only three plays to cover 46 yards for a score.

Murray found wide receiver Josh Ball open on a 38-yard crossing pattern for a TD with 5:15 left in the game.

Running back Tyler Bacon tacked on the two-point conversion run.

Another fumble recovery by Mahurin at the Commerce 43-yard line gave Quapaw another scoring chance.

Murray connected with senior wide out Derek Lee for a 27-yard touchdown on the third play of the drive.

Cawyer’s extra point attempt was blocked with 1:49 left to end the scoring.

McMain led the Tigers ground game with 91 yards on eight carries while Sullivan added 55 yards on seven attempts.

Kasey Ng completed 4 of 10 passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns while Kyler Ng led the Commerce receivers with two catches for 24 yards and one TD.

Senior tailback Josh Hurley paced the Quapaw ground game with 47 yards on 12 carries.

Murray completed 7 of 21 passes for 163 yards and two TDs with two interceptions.

The game in figures

Commerce    14    28    7    0 — 49

Quapaw    0    0    0    14 — 14

First quarter

Commerce — Sullivan 1 run (Maxville kick), 6:32

Commerce — Kyler Ng 12 pass from Kasey Ng (Maxville kick), 2:18

Second quarter

Commerce — Smith 27 run (Maxville kick), 11:51

Commerce — Smith 45 pass from Kasey Ng (Maxville kick), 7:54

Commerce — McMain 1 run (Maxville kick), 3:28

Commerce — Sullivan 40 interception return (Maxville kick), 1:42

Third quarter

Commerce — McMain 20 run (Maxville kick), 10:17

Fourth quarter

Quapaw — Ball 38 pass from Murray (Bacon run ), 5:15

Quapaw — Lee 27 pass from Murray (kick failed), 1:49

Team statistics

    Com    Qua

First downs     10    11

Rushes-yards     32-189    32-98

Passing yards     83    163

Return yards     47    21

Comp-att-int     4-10-0    7-21-2

Punts-avg     2-29    4-21.2

Fumbles-lost     6-3    4-1

Penalties-yards     7-65    2-20

Individual statistics

RUSHING: Quapaw, Hurley 12-47, Garner 4-21, Murray 11-17, Vance 2-9, Bacon 1-4, Ball 1-0, Mahurin 1-0; Commerce, McMain 8-91, Sullivan 7-55, Smith 2-25, Howard 6-12, Watkins 3-12, Jameson 1-0, Kasey Ng 5-(-6).

PASSING: Quapaw, Murray 7-21-2-163; Commerce, Kasey Ng 4-10-0-83.

RECEIVING: Quapaw, Lee 3-42, Sappington 2-43, Ball 1-38, Bacon 1-40; Commerce, Kyler Ng 2-24, Smith 1-45, Sullivan 1-14.