QUAPAW — Showcasing the running of junior tailback Bryson Sullivan, the Commerce Tigers snapped a rare two-game losing streak Friday night with a 34-6 District A8 victory over Quapaw at Shipman Field.
With the win coach Willie Ng’s Tigers are 6-2 in the district and 7-2 overall. The Tigers conclude the regular season next Thursday by hosting Hulbert at 7:30 p.m. on Tiger Field.
Coach Brad Homer’s Wildcats slip to 5-3 in the district and 6-3 on the year. Quapaw entertains Foyil next Friday in a 7:30 p.m. season finale.
Sullivan, 6-1, 185, scored 22 of the Tigers’ 34 points while rushing for 264 yards on 25 carries.
Ironically, Sullivan’s backfield mate the previous two seasons, had an almost equally successful game for Quapaw. Senior tailback Ryan Nowlin (6-0, 170) who transferred to Quapaw over the summer, finished with 131 yards on 19 carries to lead the Wildcats.
Although neither team scored in the first quarter, Quapaw missed a golden opportunity to put points on the scoreboard on their second possession. After a 66-yard run by Nowlin on his second carry, the Wildcats had the ball at the Commerce 11-yard line.
However, Quapaw junior quarterback Guthrie Murray (5-11, 145) misfired on three straight passes into the endzone from the Tigers 6-yard line to turn the ball over on downs.
During the first two minutes of the second quarter, Commerce drove 78 yards in four plays to grab the lead for good.
Junior quarterback Joey Bowling (6-1, 150) lobbed a pass over the middle to senior tailback Mikey Morgan (6-0, 205) for a 69-yard gain to the Quapaw 9-yard line. After runs of 2 and 4 yards by Sullivan, junior halfback Austin McMain (5-8, 160) scored on a 3-yard run.
The conversion run by Bowling was stuffed as the Tigers held a 6-0 lead at the 10:22 juncture.
Three straight carries by Sullivan on the next possession by Commerce covered 49 yards. A 15-yard TD scamper by Sullivan increased the Tigers lead to 12-0 with 7:57 left until halftime. Bowling misfired on the two-point conversion pass.
Commerce missed a scoring opportunity after a high snap was mishandled by Quapaw punter Tyler Beets (5-10, 165) at the Quapaw 10-yard line.
After three unsuccessful plays, Bowling missed a 24-yard field goal wide left with four minutes before half.
Another high snap to Beets resulted in a 1-yard punt after he scrambled and gave the Tigers the ball at the Quapaw 30-yard line.
Sullivan burst straight up the middle for a 30-yard touchdown run with just 59 seconds showing on the clock. Sullivan tacked on the two-point conversion run as the Tigers carried a 20-0 margin to the locker room.
Taking the second half kickoff, the Tigers covered 61 yards in three plays as Sullivan scored on a 44-yard TD romp. Another two-point conversion run by Sullivan increased the Commerce lead to 28-0 with 10:42 left in the third quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, Commerce received a 64-yard touchdown run by McMain at the 3:52 juncture in the third quarter. Bowling missed the point-after kick for a 34-0 Tiger lead.
Late in the fourth quarter, three consecutive penalties on the Tigers breathed life into a Quapaw drive that covered 78 yards in 11 plays.
Murray concluded the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with 3:44 left in the game. Murray’s conversion pass failed creating a 34-6 deficit,
Commerce generated 462 yards in total offense including 382 yards on 36 carries on the ground. Along with Sullivan’s 264 yards the Tigers received 84 yards and two TDs from McMain.
Bowling completed 3 of 6 passes for 80 yards while Morgan had two catches for 79 yards.
Quapaw was limited to 206 total yards while included Nowlin’s 131-yard effort.
Murray completed 7 of 22 passes for 77 yards as Derek Lee had two catches for 44 yards.
The game in figures
Commerce 0 20 14 0 — 34
Quapaw 0 0 0 6 — 6
Second quarter
Commerce — McMain 3 run (run failed), 10:22
Commerce — Sullivan 15 run (pass failed), 7:37
Commerce — Sullivan 30 run (Sullivan run), 0:59
Third quarter
Commerce — Sullivan 44 run (Sullivan run), 10:42
Commerce — McMain 64 run (kick failed), 3:52
Fourth quarter
Quapaw — Murray 8 run (pass failed), 3:44
Team statistics
CHS QHS
First downs 14 9
Rushes-yards 36-382 25-129
Passing yards 80 77
Return yards 0 19
Comp-att-int 3-8-0 7-22-0
Punts-avg 3-37.3 5-17.4
Fumbles-lost 1-0 4-0
Penalties-yards 15-158 6-40
Individual statistics
Rushing — Commerce, Sullivan 24-264, McMain 8-84, Bowling 3-34. Quapaw, Nowlin 19-131, Scott 2-11, Stand 3-4, Murray 11-1, Beets 1-(-18).
Passing — Commerce, Bowling 3-6-0-80, Kasey Ng 0-2-0-0. Quapaw, Murray 7-21-0-77, Nowlin 0-1-0-0.
Receiving — Commerce, Morgan 2-79, McMain 1-1. Quapaw, Lee 2-44, Sappington 2-17, Ortberg 1-7, Nowlin 1-7, Scott 1-2.
